Why You Should Keep Your Day Job (If you want to be a good writer)

Seriously. If you want to be a writer, keep your day job. Not just because it’s insanely difficult to make a living arranging letters on a word document. Not just because work fluctuates with the season and you don’t want to be down and out during Christmastime. Not just because your significant other’s parents will carve you like a turkey with questions at the dinner table about “what exactly it is you do again?”

Don’t keep you day job for any of those reasons. Keep it because you need material. 

I was thinking about Daniel Pink this morning. He worked in government, then was a journalist, then started writing bestsellers like To Sell is Human and Drive. Many of the great writers I admire get their material from somewhere else. The best comedians make jokes about real life. They stand up from their desk to go experience things. 

A day job, or some form of other work, is essential to bring you the perspective you need. Great writing does not exist in a vacuum. Great writing solves real problems for real people, pulling from real experience. Great writing is relatable, pulling poignant human truths from lived-in moments. 

If you’re beating your fingers against the keys, and then beating your head against the wall for more ideas, maybe you should go start washing dishes. Just a couple nights a week. Stick your hands in a dirty kitchen sink with people who can teach you a thing or two about living. 

Right now, I make most of my money from producing commercials for brands. I hope to make most of my money from writing, and someday soon. But I’ll likely always be producing, in some capacity, even if only for the material.