What You'll Do

  • Revise written material to meet personal standards and to satisfy needs of clients, publishers, directors, or producers.
  • Choose subject matter and suitable form to express personal feelings and experiences or ideas, or to narrate stories or events.
  • Plan project arrangements or outlines, and organize material accordingly.
  • Prepare works in appropriate format for publication, and send them to publishers or producers.
  • Follow appropriate procedures to get copyrights for completed work.
  • Write fiction or nonfiction prose, such as short stories, novels, biographies, articles, descriptive or critical analyses, and essays.
  • Develop factors such as themes, plots, characterizations, psychological analyses, historical environments, action, and dialogue to create material.
  • Confer with clients, editors, publishers, or producers to discuss changes or revisions to written material.
  • Conduct research to obtain factual information and authentic detail, using sources such as newspaper accounts, diaries, and interviews.
  • Write narrative, dramatic, lyric, or other types of poetry for publication.

Essential Skills

Writing 4.75/5
Reading Comprehension 4.25/5
Speaking 3.88/5
Critical Thinking 3.75/5
Active Learning 3.75/5
Active Listening 3.62/5
Judgment and Decision Making 3.25/5
Social Perceptiveness 3.12/5
Complex Problem Solving 3.12/5
Learning Strategies 2.75/5
Monitoring 2.75/5
Coordination 2.75/5

Career Fit Overview

Use this summary to sense whether the day to day rhythm and focus of this path line up with what energizes you.

Top passions

  • Artist: Creating original work and expressing ideas feels natural.
  • Analyst: Investigating problems and finding patterns keeps you engaged.
  • Leader: Taking charge and moving ideas forward motivates you.

Common styles

Persistence, Initiative, Attention to Detail, Achievement/Effort, Independence

Want a personal read on fit. Take the free assessment and see your exact compatibility with this career and many related roles.

Key Abilities

This career demands strong capabilities in the following areas:

Written Expression 4.75/5
Fluency of Ideas 4.25/5
Written Comprehension 4.12/5
Originality 4.12/5
Oral Comprehension 3.88/5
Near Vision 3.88/5
Oral Expression 3.75/5
Inductive Reasoning 3.38/5

Technologies & Tools

Adobe Acrobat Adobe Creative Cloud software Adobe Illustrator Adobe InDesign Adobe Photoshop Apple iWork Pages Ashley Software Writer's Blocks AutoCrit Editing Wizard Bare Bones Software BBEdit Blogger Contour Storyteller Facebook Google Drive Literature & Latte Scrivener MasterWriter Microsoft Excel Microsoft Office software Microsoft PowerPoint Microsoft Word OpenOffice.org

Work Environment & Style

Common Styles for This Career

  • Persistence (High importance: 4.86/5)
  • Initiative (High importance: 4.81/5)
  • Attention to Detail (High importance: 4.64/5)
  • Achievement/Effort (High importance: 4.62/5)
  • Independence (High importance: 4.59/5)

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How to Become One

Most employers require a bachelor's degree in a relevant field. Some positions may also require experience through internships, co-ops, or entry-level work to strengthen your candidacy.

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Also Known As

This career is known by many different job titles across industries. Here are all the variations:

Author Blog Content Writer Blog Writer Blogger Children's Author Comic Book Writer Comic Writer Community Blogger Content Writer Continuity Writer Creative Writer Crossword Puzzle Maker Documentary Storyteller Dramatist Editorial Writer Fiction Prose Writer Fiction Writer Film Writer Freelance Writer Gag Writer Game Author Ghostwriter Greeting Card Maker Greeting Card Writer Humorist Librettist Literary Writer Lyricist Magazine Writer Movie Writer Music Critic Nonfiction Prose Writer Nonfiction Writer Novelist Play Writer Playwright Poem Writer Poet Program Writer Publications Writer Radio Script Writer Scenario Writer Screen Writer Screenplay Writer Script Writer Short Story Writer Songwriter Speech Writer Sports Writer Story Writer Travel Writer TV Script Writer (Television Script Writer) TV Writer (Television Writer) Verse Writer Video Game Script Writer Video Games Storywriter Writer