So you’re looking for a job as a writer and don’t have any samples to show prospective employers. What do you do?
You can’t just apply with nothing to show the employer. You have to consider submitting some sort of writing sample as part of your application. Whether you go with a personal story, a well-written fictional piece, or something in between, you need to decide on something before you submit your application.
Here are some ideas to get you started:
Try Your Hand At Personal Stories
Those are popular for a reason- they’re easy to write and make you look approachable and relatable to the reader. You can also see if there’s any opportunity for you to tell the story of how you came to write or if there’s a particular scene that you’d like to describe in more detail.
For example, you could write a short story about your time as a struggling actor in New York City or how you dealt with a family emergency and had to drop out of school.
The choice is up to you. You could also use your personal story to explore the theme of adversity and how you overcame it. You might also consider putting a twist on someone else’s story instead of using your own words- that way you’ll show that you’re willing to take on a new viewpoint and add your own unique spin. Remember: personal stories are easy to relate to and make you look like a real person who can bring something new to the table.
Try Your Hand At a Short Fictional Piece
If you’re looking for a job as a fiction writer the classic route would be to write a short story or novel using someone else’s characters and setting. The advantage of this route is that you’ll be able to show off your storytelling and editing skills as you develop the narrative.
You might want to consider doing a short story about a zombie apocalypse as a self-contained unit or maybe use a zombie as a character in a love story. You could also write a novella about a group of werewolves or a werewolf as a protagonist in a mystery story. The choices are endless! Just remember: your zombies must walk, talk, and act like zombies and your werewolves must behave like werewolves (no biting).
Make sure you familiarize yourself with some of the common pitfalls that new authors fall into so that you don’t ruin your own story by accident. One of the most common errors new authors make is to use the present tense when describing scenes that occur in the past. For example, if you’re writing about a zombie apocalypse and you mention that people run around screaming, the reader will assume that they are still running around screaming now instead of at some point in the past when the story takes place. This is something that could easily be avoided by using the past tense instead of the present tense. It’s also a good idea to write out a short outline of your story before you write the actual manuscript so that you have something to return to if you get stuck.
Try Your Hand At A Sample That’s Already Well-Written
A better alternative to writing something from scratch is to try your hand at editing someone else’s work or to take a look at a previously published piece and see if there’s any way that you could improve it. If you can bring something fresh to the table and show that you can put your own unique spin on something that’s already been published, you’ll have the advantage of saving the employer the time and effort of looking for a new writer.
As an editor, you might be asked to look at someone else’s work and find ways to make it more interesting or accessible to the reader. For example, you could take a look at a crime thriller and see if there’s any way to make it more believable or closer to home for the reader. You might consider re-writing the ending or introducing new characters to make the story more suspenseful or interesting. Finally, you could consider making the story more accessible to today’s readers by considering the use of online marketing and social media to spread the word about the release of the book.
As a writer, all you need to do is follow the writing prompts that the editor provides to get you started. From there, you can go off and develop your own unique spin on the story or take inspiration from the piece and add your own flair.
There are no hard and fast rules when it comes to writing samples- it’s all about what works for you. Just make sure that you have something that’s good enough to show the employer without making them (the employer) sigh and ask, “Is this all you can come up with?”