We writers are always told to never quit our day jobs, but day jobs can have a dramatic effect on our creative output.

Sales employees have to put their brightest faces forward, give their firmest handshakes, and work their damnedest to mirror their clients. Reps have to know which way their buyers are leaning before the buyers do. Reps have smile through rejection and nod through micromanagement. When sales reps come home all that time spent aligning with their clients’ concerns has left them emotionally exhausted.

The last thing salespeople want to do is to have to deal with fictitious people’s needs, with their own urgent needs and unresolved conflict. So how do those of us with aspirations beyond our current functions make good on our dreams? How do we find the time to write around our responsibilities? Continue reading How Writers can Trick Themselves into Working After Work →