write me a letter...

It is said that the average person will go through seven careers over the course of a lifetime. Given this, despite being in business for several years now, it’s quite possible that I will be in an entirely different line of work at some point down the line. As it stands, though, here I am as a professional writer. How did this come to be?

Some people experience a magical moment when they figure out what they want to do with their lives. I’m not sure I had a single moment. Instead, the realization that I wanted to be a professional writer was slowly revealed to me in stages… though, you could almost say that I knew all along.

The Beauty of Words

Even if I didn’t really consider it as a career option at the time, I’ve always been enamored by the written word. English literature was one of my favorite courses going through school. While not necessarily a bookworm, I was fascinated by just how much could be achieved by choosing the right words, putting them in the right order, and presenting them in the right context.

It is through this that my writing career got its unofficial start with an e-mail newsletter. I had a relatively small readership, to be sure, but it was richly rewarding to know that my words were being read by someone. It didn’t really matter who that someone was. The very fact that it was being read at all offered a sense of satisfaction.

An Academic Journey

Entering university, I was reasonably certain that I would end up as either an accountant or an architect. As my post-secondary education continued, though, I started to stray away from both of those fields altogether.

Even though I graduated with a Psychology degree, the real power of my academic journey came from my writing outside of the classroom. Yes, research papers and essays helped to develop my research skills. Yes, I became more articulate too, but my activities with the Arts Co-op Program specifically helped to build up my writing career.

I started out as a contributing writer to the Arts Co-op Newsletter, eventually becoming a co-editor in my senior years. I also held a position with the Dean of Arts Office where I produced a newsletter for the 1953 reunion. All the while, the aforementioned email newsletter matured into a Geocities website. I also contributed regularly to The Commentary, mostly with local event coverage.

The Power of the Internet

Upon graduation, while I wasn’t completely certain of what I wanted to do for a living, I was drawn to journalism. I wanted to write. I enjoyed taking ideas and putting them into organized paragraphs, telling stories and informing the public. The power of the Internet helped to lower the barriers to entry and I started blogging for a living, freelancing for Mobile Magazine and other sites.

While it’s not completely fair to say that I stumbled into this career by accident, I may not be where I am had it not been for the growth of the Internet. When I knew it was possible to make a decent living from writing for the web, I knew this is what I wanted to do. Freelance writing isn’t for everyone, but the pros easily outweighed the cons in my mind.

The Future of Writing

The world is in a constant state of flux. What was impossible yesterday is commonplace today. While I don’t foresee me going through seven career changes, I can’t say that it won’t happen. Even so, I do see that writing — in some form or another — will continue to play a prominent role in what I do for a living.

I still can’t say with certainty whether writing is a career or a calling for me, but I am certain that it is what I want to do. Whether the future leads me to fiction writing, more copywriting, script writing, or whatever else, the careful crafting and combination of words will continue to be a part of my story.

What about you? When and how did you know that you wanted to be doing what you’re doing for a living?