So, you want to be a writer. Honestly, being a writer is many a storyteller’s dream. But what does it really mean to be a writer? In short, the obvious answer is that a writer writes things for others to interact with. The real difficulty comes in defining what a writer does. This is because there are many types of writers. The possibilities are quite near endless. If you want to be a writer, you should be aware of some of the different types that exist out there. Some require more creativity than others. Most also require a certain level of storytelling ability.
Below you will find a list of different types of writers that exist. First, you’ll be introduced to some of the educational requirements for that type of writer. Let me start by letting you know that none of the listed below require formal education. If you would like to do that though, that is fine. Secondly, you will find a general description of what that type of writer does. Lastly, you will find out how storytelling plays a part, whether small or large, in that writer’s job.
A COPYWRITER
Educational Requirements:
You can find lots of information online to get started. If you want, you can also take courses that will help you hone your copywriting abilities. Learning how to write to call someone to action is the name of the game. You will need to learn what works and what does not work in the advertising, promotional, and marketing world. You will also need to learn the why behind what works. One helpful tool is looking at the copy (advertisements, brochures that call you to action, email lists, etc.) that you see everyday. See what actually works and dissect its elements for potential use later.
What Does a Copywriter Do:
A copywriter is someone who writes advertising and publicity copy according to Merriam-Webster. The random email you just got from the course you were thinking about joining that wants to give you a 50% discount if you sign up in the next two days, that is copy. Essentially, the job of a copywriter is to take the information given and make it into some sort of call to action to bring in more clients, customers, subscribers, followers, etc.
How Storytelling Plays a Part in Copywrite:
One essential part of storytelling is getting and keeping an audience’s attention. That is also a key part of copywrite. One needs to get the audience’s attention and keep it long enough to call them to action. Copywriting is also creative. While there are surely tried and true ways to copywrite, it does take a level of creativity to figure out how to get the information given to be an awesome piece of copy.
SCREENWRITER / SCRIPTWRITER
Educational Requirements:
As mentioned previously, there are no specific educational requirements to being a screenwriter. However, you will need to learn how to use screenwriting software or at least how to format a word doc or google doc into a proper script. You’ll want to learn how to be concise in your writing. You’ll also want to learn what should and should not make it on to the page. Only seen or heard things make it into a script, not characters’ thoughts and feelings. Remember, a script is not a novel.
What Does a Screenwriter Do:
Screenwriters write scripts. These scripts can be for many things. The most known things are films, short films, television series, etc. However, nowadays people make scripts for other things such as videos and shorts on YouTube. Comedy skits also sometimes require scripts. Someone can also make a script for informational commercials, videos and more. The work is quite nearly endless.
How Storytelling Plays a Part in Scripts:
Storytelling is a key part of screenwriting. While it is written for the screen more so than to be read, it is still a story that is being written. Also, as the writing is meant for the screen, it usually needs a bit of storytelling zest to make it grab people’s attention. This storytelling is not just necessary in entertainment scripts, it is needed in scripts meant for educational and informational works as well.
POET
Educational Requirements: Things you will want to probably learn are different forms of poetry. Some examples are haikus, sonnets and limericks. That is only three of the who knows how many forms of poetry that exist. There are many forms of poetry that could be useful to you in your journey as a poet. You will also want to study up on the definition of words. Investing in a good thesaurus would also be helpful. These can help you with word choice when crafting your poems.
What Does a Poet Do:
Well, poets write poems of course. There are also competitions that one can enter for poetry. Poets sometimes create compilations, a.k.a. books, of their works. Other things that could be done as a poet are creating greeting cards and similar items. Poets sometimes also perform their poems for others to hear and enjoy. Poets also study their craft. Writing good poetry is not as easy at it seems and it takes actual time, effort, thought and intentionality.
How Storytelling Plays a Part in Poetry:
Poetry is one of the highest forms of storytelling, or at least in my opinion. One thing about most poetry is that there are usually some rules attached to the form. This requires a serious understanding of storytelling. If you do not understand storytelling, it can be hard to master it in this form of writing. It stretches your storytelling abilities in ways that may not even seem possible.
NOVELIST
Educational Requirements:
Having a knowledge of basic grammar and storytelling is really all that is needed to write a novel. If the goal is to write and sell a good novel, then you will want to learn a few more things. You’ll want to learn how to make well-developed characters, fully developed plotlines, and more. Learning how to map out your plot line to make sure it all makes sense would be helpful. Being aware of the expectations of publishers and readers can also help in making your novel marketable. Though, I’m of a strong belief that you should just write whatever God puts in you to write more than focusing on marketability 🙂
What Does a Novelist Do:
Novelists write novels. A standard novel is roughly around 50,000 words or so. However, the average differs depending on the genre, if the book is a chapter book, if it is a novella or novelette, etc. All these things play into the anticipated length. In short, a novelist is a longform storyteller who creates creative fiction works for others to read.
How Storytelling Plays a Part in Being a Novelist:
Storytelling is the key part of being a novelist as it is fiction work. The story has to be woven together by the writer in such a way to keep a reader’s attention for a longer amount of time than with say a short story or poem. Honestly, most storytellers that think about being a writer, there first instinct is becoming a novelist as it is inherently one of the most known ways of storytelling.
Here Are Four Interesting Types of Writers
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