I have always had a love for books and reading. When I was younger, I could often be found with a book in my hands, or on my nightstand. Naturally, this led me to consider writing as a possible career. I dabbled in creative writing in college, and even considered pursuing a masters in English literature. However, after graduation, I didn’t exactly know what career to pursue. I had taken a bit of a hiatus from full-time work, and was looking for a job that I could do from home. One day, while browsing through Craigslist, I came across an ad which featured a creative writing club that was looking for inaugural members. Since I had recently graduated from college, and hadn’t done much concretely with my career yet, I figured this might be the opportunity I was looking for. I applied, and two weeks later, I got a call from the club’s founder. She asked me to come in for an interview, and a week after that, I started working for her in creative writing. Shortly after, she told me the club had enough members to begin holding meetings, and I would be able to choose which weekdays and times to work. This gave me great freedom, as I was able to set my own hours and meet with members whenever I wanted.
Make Sure You Can Answer The Question
If you are applying for a job as a creative writing instructor, make sure that you can answer the following question:
Can you write creative non-fiction, such as articles or short story collections, for publication?
Even if you can’t directly answer yes to this question, you can still land the job. Just make sure that you are able to tell the employer that you can do some of the things they require of their employees. For example, you might say that you can write letters to the editor, or that you can interview people for a newspaper. Creative non-fiction is not as common as you might think, but there are still plenty of publications that will publish your work if you can show that you can pull off the genre.
Do Your Research
Doing your research is extremely important when applying for any job, but it is especially crucial when applying for jobs in the creative industry. Before you begin your job search, it’s a good idea to visit the following sites, and get a good sense of what is available:
- Chambers English Literature Dictionary
- American Heritage College Dictionary
- Barnes and Nobles’ New Book Finder
- Funk and Wagnalls’ Standard Dictionary
- Thesaurus
- Word Wizard
- The Columbia Encyclopedia
These are just a few of the sites you might visit. There are many more, but you get the point. When you have a good understanding of what is available in terms of creative writing jobs, you will be able to narrow your search results to something more specific.
Set A Goal
Setting a goal is extremely important if you want to reach your full potential as a writer. Just because you have a talent for writing doesn’t mean that you will necessarily become a good writer. You will never be able to improve your craft if you don’t set specific goals for yourself. Setting a goal doesn’t necessarily mean that you will achieve it. However, if you do set the goal, and work hard at achieving it, you are sure to improve as a writer. Creative writing goals might include the following:
- Writing a novel
- Writing a novella
- Writing a short story collection
- Writing an article for publication
- Writing a radio play
- Writing a tv script
- Taking a class on writing
- Submitting your work for publication
Whatever your goal is, don’t be afraid to set it. No one is born a good writer. Everyone must learn how to write, and improve their craft if they want to achieve their full potential. Setting a goal is the first step to doing that.
Look For Classes
Taking a class is often the key to improving your writing. If you are looking for a creative writing club, one of the best things that you can do for yourself is to take a class. Even if you don’t end up joining the creative writing club, you will end up learning a lot from the class, and improving your writing exponentially. Most universities offer several levels of classes for creative writing. The better the class, the more likely you will end up attaining improved writing skills which will benefit you in your job search.
Join A Society
Joining a society of writers is another great way to learn how to write, and how to become a better writer. There are many literary societies which you can join, depending on where you live. If you are looking for a creative writing social group, exploring your local library’s literary society is a great way to find a like-minded group of peers.
Look For Jobs In Media
With the Covid-19 pandemic dominating the news in recent months, more and more people have been turning to writing as a way of coping with the increasing anxiety and stress. Journalism and writing have risen as industries, with many high-profile jobs becoming available, particularly in New York and London. If you are looking for a way to utilize your talents, and don’t mind working for a media outlet, consider exploring opportunities in editorial or writing. If you are particularly skilled, you could even consider pitching articles to specific publications.
These are just a few tips for getting started in a creative writing club. Whether you are looking for inspiration, or just want to find a way to utilize your talents, joining a creative writing club is a great option. Your own writing process will undoubtedly teach you many valuable lessons, and improve your writing skills significantly. Good luck out there.