Is writing your Obsession?

Yesterday, around 10:30 at night, I called up one of my friends to learn about his job search run and the outcome of it after a month’s hunt. But surprisingly, Roy Arsenal, the one and only die-hard Arsenal fan I know, one of our good friends, answered the call. Roy is working for a news outsourcing company where he is handling four countries news editions, meant to be packaged for the sailors in the sea. Roy is not a man to be explained in few words or in few sentences. He is endowed with enormous quality and competence and virtually can learn any of the skills if it is of his liking. If he thinks he can do this, he does that.

A workaholic, passionate poet, football lover, voracious reader, Roy was not mature in mind to decide for his life to take up the job of his liking or to say even the opportunities were not that great those days when he started looking for the job.

Many of us when we were looking for sound job in those days with good money; Roy had made it in one of the Call center when there were only a few in the market or say during the beginning of the outsourcing business days. He was fast in work and popular choice on the floor. He was one of the few trusted employees who can pitch in any time for the skill display to salvage the prestige of the employer or getting a new business lead in terms of employee’s asset. And then on, one after the other, he kept on changing job with good money. Job was never a constraint for him.

Though, envious we were with each other on professional fronts, yet we were getting close on our selective choices. He loved reading and I too, he loved discussing many things on and off and out of the bound, may it be rubbish, ridiculous or highly thoughtful and most of the occasion I was there to say my rubbish and listen to his thought provoked talks. Most of the occasion, we used to be in different worlds of moods and swings where inhibition had no choices.

I clearly recall, working for a monthly magazine as a Special Correspondent and Research writer, I was hardly meeting my monitory needs and struggling to maintain my job. Whereas, Roy was royal and doing well, though he will not budge with his life for the sake of job. Amidst all, the days we pass together, I could feel Roy wants to get into writing. But he hardly spoke to me about his plans. Only when I left Delhi he started looking for a job in writing. Tough as it always would be because the writing world is filled with more pseudo writers who would not welcome a original writer even though a beginner in to its domain.

Roy struggle, stumble, falter but never said no to his choice of new found love in writing profession. The more he felt dejected, the more he became tougher and his conviction grew stronger to take on challenges. After all how long any one can deny the opportunities once you have the talent in you. Roy freelanced, blogged, stormed and blew the wind and stirred the undercurrent with some of his write-ups. He sustained with his meager savings and paltry earnings before he became the editor of the professional news agency.

Roy continued writing in many forms, for different audience. Last night when the drink was taking him high and shyness was blown off, came in a closely guarded secret. He no longer wants to remain on the payroll of the few business houses to survive as a writer. Bravo! The writer has finally got up from the slumber and wants to fight out and carve his niche. He works on his own project after his office hours, from night 8 PM to 4 AM in the morning. He precisely knows that spare time will never come into his life unless he makes it. Yes! The obsession of writing is working for him. He is madly in love with his writing.

He said, “I do not want to repent at the end saying that I never tried, at least I would be happy having tried. Rest I do not know.” As he puts cautiously, I can read between the lines his hidden ambition and silent attack. Whether he says or not I am going to say that he is going to make it big. When? I have no answer and even he will have no answer now. But I am sure his obsession of writing is going to take him as high as the towering mountains and as deep as bottom of the oceans.

May be Roy’s obsession is haunting my writer to be obsessed. Why don't you find out your writer in yourself?

The opportunities in writing career

Wordsmiths were never in demand so much as they are now. Call it an opportunity because of the Internet. In fact, Internet is nothing but all about the content. Better the content on web, better is the traffic and higher is the ranking. Its all about how many visitors visit your site and rate your content. Thats how Internet works for anything and everything. Beyond, there is much more to it. But, of course, the contents are specific related to the subject. However, the core skill is to write it in legible language and present that in to a form that even six-grade reader can understand well.

If I am not wrong, traditionally writers were highly sought after in the Journalism, that too in print Journalism and publication as an editor or a proofreader. But with the advent of Internet the horizon has grown beyond the country and community. A writer can be anywhere and can be writing for anyone in any part of the world. An Indian writer can get published by an American publisher in America.

Similarly, there are many form of writing which is used to be done by some of the subject expert in the field is now at offering to the professional writers because of fast paced, time bond target to finish a project. A professional writer can always add value to the document. Speed, accuracy, good style, and grammatically correctness in language are the business assets for the writer who can make difference in today’s world.

Based on the Industry they work and kind of writing they pursue, writers can be classified into some major categories, yet these are not all. There may be many more tag that might be in making depending upon the kind of writing they would be pursuing in the future. Some of them are:

Journalist: Traditionally they are the writers, who write for different news papers, news magazines and are supposed to be the eye and ear of people and government. People expect them to carry their voice to the government or the concerned authority in need. Similarly government needs them to reach to the people with right kind of message. From the ages Journalists have been respected and has a great reputation and command in the society. However, very few have lived up to their expectation. In today’s media influencing world, they are highly in demand but their reputation are challenged, because of patronizing of the media group with which they are working. They are no more seen to be an independent voice. Yet, this form of writers will always be in demand.

Copy Writer/ Editor: Copy writers are those who require to develop an idea on certain fixed topic and develop certain script for a specific purpose. Similarly Copy editors are required to have excellent grammatical and sentence construction skills to make a horrible write-up into a readable piece of writing. These writers are greatly in demand for script writing in advertising and film industries. Apart from this they have a bigger role in the publication industry.

Technical writer: Technical writers are the discovery of recent industrial world where they bridge the gap to educate user through their writing about the technology and the product. They make the complex process into simple steps of the subject for the easy understanding of the user, where by they can use the product or perform certain tasks without human interference. Technical writers are hired in most of the industry today. Their roles are to prepare different technical document for the industry use.

Content Writer: Content writer’s job is the very recent demand in the writing opportunity, which is entirely because of Internet. People and company wants professional writing to be done for their web site, which describe about their products and services. Today, merely a web site is not enough to have an Internet presence. A web site nicely designed and presented with wonderful content can create unimaginable face value. Mind you, toady, to know about a company or the person, everyone logs on to the web pages and try to understand at the first hand information. Therefore, You may very well understand the importance of good content on the web site. Content writers can add great value to your image.

Medical Writer / Scientific Writer: Writers who have formal educational and training in Medicine or Science are mostly encouraged to take up this role because of their understanding of the domain knowledge. But due to ever soaring demand for writers even other stream background writers are tried who can learn the terms of the trade faster and use it judiciously.

Patent and Regulatory writer: These writers are basically legal expert who understand subject well. The accuracy of knowledge with articulate use of legal words is the main crux of the writing. Though, tough to train, this writing is very challenging and highly paid for.

Ghost Writer: Ghost writers are always in demand. They are the evergreen people who help millions being at the backdrop. Their role includes writing for different person adopting their style. Most of the Ghost writers help high profile people who has weak command on writing or lack of time.

Financial Writer: This again is the specific writing, which requires domain expertise and educational training. Most of the people who can understand financial subject well can make a good writer. Yet again, there is no yardstick for the writers who are quick in understanding a subject. They can be brilliant asset in any industry. Their writing ability and quick learning skills are big plus for industry as well as for the writer himself/ herself.

These are few forms of the writing, which largely employ or provide work for today’s writer. May be some more form would be in making in the future. However, what form of writing you choose to make career of your own is the question you should ask yourself and may be try writing where you suit well and what you like doing again and again. But, certainly if you like writing and write well, you have a place here.