Technical Writing vs Creative Writing

If you've ever considered pursuing a career in writing, one of the first steps is determining whether your skillset is more conducive to a creative writing career or a technical writing career. While many of the skills necessary to be successful are the same for both disciplines, understanding where your strengths lie will help you choose a more rewarding career path.

Creative Writing Vs. Technical Writing

Creative writing is likely what most people think of when considering a career as a writer. Building a successful career as a creative writer requires drive and foresight. Hitting deadlines and showing follow-through are nearly as important to publishers as developing plots and story arcs. But while reliability is important, creative writers must still possess the innate muse that will allow them to create.

While the haunting prose of Poe and vivid storylines of Hemingway have inspired countless writers to take up the proverbial pen, essayists, poets and novelists make up just a small fraction of the creative writing career opportunities. Creative writers can also work as screenwriters, editors, writing coaches, lyricists, and journalists.

Technical writing draws on many of the same skills, but requires the writer to be more direct. In an ever-changing world being able to express an idea or theme in a clear and concise manner has never been more important. Technical writing careers include content developers, manual writers, policy writers, communication specialists, and editors.

Technical writers are tasked with conveying processes or ideas in the clearest means possible. While there is always a degree of creativity required in any form of writing, technical writing focuses on relaying the organization's message or a product's details. Technical writers need to be able to distill the relevant ideas or processes and present them in a manner that is accessible to the intended audience.

Hone Your Skills from Home

Pursuing a career in either creative or technical writing is easier now than ever before. Courses in CCU Online's Creative Writing program are designed for working adults and are offered 100% online, and with the University's generous transfer credit policy you may actually be closer to earning a degree than you realize.

Colorado Christian University does not guarantee any job placement as a result of earning this or any other degrees offered by the university.