Projected Phases of the Ideal Career for a Writer: Are You a Babyboomer or Retiree Who Wants to Write?

Perhaps your dream is to have a career as a writer. Are you wondering how to go about it? Choosing any career is seldom an easy task, as there are times when careers occur by mere happenstance. A writing career may be the result of a desire for self-expression as a writer. Writing can be an innate or natural ability that needs nurturing from childhood onward. There is also the career of a writer that comes about as a deliberate academic pursuit. The ideal career for any writer has to begin somewhere.

Life stages and career development go hand in hand.

Yoursoulatwork.com, in an article entitled “Five steps to a more fulfilling life and career” looks at different stages of adult career development.

Projected phases of the ideal career for a writer may also include the following:

The dream phase:

When becoming a writer is one’s career dream, there is the element of futuristic vision that comes into play. A person can envision himself or herself as becoming a writer, at some time in the future. The potential writer considers the possibility of going beyond the dream phase, in terms of success as a writer. It is still a distant goal that awaits discovery.  

The discovery phase:

In the discovery phase, a person with the dream of being a writer, starts to examine the career choice more realistically and thinks positively in that direction. This is initially an early pro-active stage, beyond mere speculation of a possible dream waiting actualization. The potential writer seeks to discover what he or she can do, linking the deep desire to exploration. He or she may begin to ask questions and seek answers
about writing as a possible career.      

The exploration phase:

During the exploration phase, the potential writer looks at concrete ways to express his or her ability as a writer. He or she explores various possibilities, playing with words, phrases, expressions etc. and finds delight in taking this further into creative writing, articles and stories. Suddenly, he or she realizes that there are no limits to what a writer can write. Pen or keyboard, the words begin to flow. This is an exciting phase for a potential writer. While awkward at first, the true writer surpasses the exploration stage and heads into the realization phase.    

The realization phase:

The realization phase comes about when a potential writer begins to put his or her work into a distinct, written format. This reinforces the reality of having a writing career, though unknown to others. At first, he or she may be hesitant to show his or her written work to anyone. It takes courage to begin to publish projects other people will read. Finally, the inspired writer takes the first step. He or she shows his or her work to others and starts to publish it. A new writer may have to deal with the reality of rejection, not just once, but many times. This can be a rewarding, but a frustrating phase for a writer, as he or she works towards the fulfillment phase.    

The fulfillment phase:

The fulfillment phase of having a career as a writer begins to become a reality. When the writer sees his or her work in its published format, the dream fulfillment takes on a new actuality. As his or her career as a writer is developed further, the writer seeks to learn new, writing skills. He or she looks for feedback from other writers and begins networking with them. A degree of professional development becomes evident.      

Are you looking for your ideal career as a baby boomer or a retiree? Writing may be your niche! Go through the projected phases of the ideal career for a writer and see what happens.