A Writer's Journey
The ordinary world
I have always worked for small companies. When I say small, I mean 3 to 8 people including the owner. Companies such as these don’t have great benefits packages, but they do offer something large firms usually do not. You get to wear a lot of hats. When I first flirted with writing, I worked for a petroleum engineer. We wrote reserve report for oil and gas wells, and we developed software for the petroleum industry. Doesn’t this sound exciting?
My title was “head broad.” I kid you not. Folks were not so easily offended, and male co-workers could still make jokes without fear of reprisal. As head broad I beta-tested software, and collaborated with a co-worker writing the end-user manuals. I also designed the illustrations for these manuals. Not because I possessed artistic talent, but because my desk sat next to the draftsman, who rented a corner of our office space, and my boss figured I had picked up the skill through osmosis. Photo Shop didn’t exist. You had to do everything by hand. The world does not get much more ordinary.
Remember, storytellers come from everywhere, from all walks of ordinary life. The first step on the writer’s journey is to stop your ears against that little voice in your head telling you that you can do it because you don’t have a college degree in English or some such rot. Step out in faith.
I have always worked for small companies. When I say small, I mean 3 to 8 people including the owner. Companies such as these don’t have great benefits packages, but they do offer something large firms usually do not. You get to wear a lot of hats. When I first flirted with writing, I worked for a petroleum engineer. We wrote reserve report for oil and gas wells, and we developed software for the petroleum industry. Doesn’t this sound exciting?
My title was “head broad.” I kid you not. Folks were not so easily offended, and male co-workers could still make jokes without fear of reprisal. As head broad I beta-tested software, and collaborated with a co-worker writing the end-user manuals. I also designed the illustrations for these manuals. Not because I possessed artistic talent, but because my desk sat next to the draftsman, who rented a corner of our office space, and my boss figured I had picked up the skill through osmosis. Photo Shop didn’t exist. You had to do everything by hand. The world does not get much more ordinary.
Remember, storytellers come from everywhere, from all walks of ordinary life. The first step on the writer’s journey is to stop your ears against that little voice in your head telling you that you can do it because you don’t have a college degree in English or some such rot. Step out in faith.
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