Are some jobs bad for writing?

[michal]

I work as a content writer for the internet. When I finished college and just started doing this I couldn't believe how lucky I was - doing what I liked best in the world (writing) AND getting paid for it. WOW.

Now, three years later, I'm running a team of writers and having second thoughts. I write for 11 hours every day and find that it drains my creative skills. In a way, I think Mr. King was lucky to have jobs he hated while he started writing. It meant he HAD to write to be happy and throw all these unused creative power somewhere.

I feel I was a better story teller when I was working as a minimum wage security personal to pay for my university, than I am now.

Should I quit?

[rose key]

11 Hours seems to be too long to do ANY job or hobby every day. Of course it would drain creativity. The only thing I could see doing for 11 hours strait is something I would do on a vacation from work. You said you're running a team of writers, and still writing 11 hours every day? Maybe you need a few more writers on your team. If you're taking applications for writers, we have a whole slew of them right here!

[more]

11 Hours seems to be too long to do ANY job or hobby every day. Of course it would drain creativity. The only thing I could see doing for 11 hours strait is something I would do on a vacation from work. You said you're running a team of writers, and still writing 11 hours every day? Maybe you need a few more writers on your team. If you're taking applications for writers, we have a whole slew of them right here!

This sounds right on target.
Might I add, I was working 10 hours a days as a butcher (maybe too long also) and I was too tired afterwards to do anything except eat something and take a bath.

[marew1]

Teaching was a lot for me. Not only working in the classroom but the preparation and grading made for long days. Too many hours on a job would definitely impact your creativity.

[SKfan2006]

i get 11 hour days. it helps me think out my stories and how the characters will look. sometimes i'll come up with new story ideas.

[Mr Nobody]

A few years back, I was asked to help out with a small indie publisher. I agreed and ended up working 10-14 hour days regularly (10 was the minimum, 6 days a week), mainly because there was the editor-in-chief, an assistant, and then I jumped on board at a time when the previous editor had already agreed to take on practically everything he was offered (and the 'quality' of some of it damn near broke my heart. I mean, you could almost hear the language screaming in agony).
The best thing about that gig was, there was no pay. I'd get a percentage of profits...and of course most of them never made a profit (though a couple I worked on were shortlisted for (relatively minor) awards).

But, Michal, I don't think you should quit - not unless you have something else already lined up, anyway.
As for SK being 'lucky' in his early career...I don't know, but doubt he'd see it that way. From all I've read and heard in interviews, 99% of people would never have set pen to paper in those same circumstances. They'd just feel too low and probably too miserable to do much more than collapse on the sofa.
I know what you mean in a way, because it could (and probably did) sharpen his focus on writing, knowing that that was his way out...but knowing and doing are two very different things.
For your own situation, though, I think HAVING to write for so many hours per day would have a detrimental effect on its own. If nothing else, you must be heartily sick of the screen and notepads.
(Also, the suggestion of taking on more writers, if you can, is a good one, IMO.)

[Blue Delirium]

I dunno. crappy jobs can be a fertile ground for storytelling.
Of course I've got one book in my desk about a nursing home I once worked at that'll probably never see the light of day, but writing it was refreshing.

[Cowboy]

Don't quit, just find another way to keep your creative juices flowing!

[Damaris]

I'm with Mr. Nobody on this one. I think you're right that a "bad job" can help focus your creativity while a "good job" can all but bleed it dry ... but I don't think you should suddenly quit just because your creative daily word count is down. If you are able to take on others and reduce your workload, it's probably your best option. But if it's getting to the point that you're just looking for a way out, I'd still suggest trying your very best to line up something else first. This isn't a good economy for job insecurity.

On a side-note... I wrote more and better when I was unhappy, uncomfortable, uncertain ... but when I was miserable I wrote next to nothing and very poor nothings at that. There are situations, surroundings, conditions that suffocate our creative urges just as there are those that spur us on. Sometimes it's a matter of carving a good niche out of the bad, however difficult that may be.

Best wishes. Let us know how it goes.

[tcgob]

I work as a content writer for the internet. When I finished college and just started doing this I couldn't believe how lucky I was - doing what I liked best in the world (writing) AND getting paid for it. WOW.

Now, three years later, I'm running a team of writers and having second thoughts. I write for 11 hours every day and find that it drains my creative skills. In a way, I think Mr. King was lucky to have jobs he hated while he started writing. It meant he HAD to write to be happy and throw all these unused creative power somewhere.

I feel I was a better story teller when I was working as a minimum wage security personal to pay for my university, than I am now.

Should I quit?

If you're going to quit, could I have your job? A very wise man once said "If you do what you love, you'll never work a day in your life." Consider yourself lucky to be doing what you went to school for because most of us aren't that lucky.