Thanks for the links, those other threads are also very helpful.
Let me ask you this - is journalism the right path for me? As I said, I'm a factual writer, with a way with words (on occasion lol).
I want to write - is there another path that hasn't occurred to me?
Glad you found them useful.
I definitely think you're asking some of the right questions in deciding if journalism is the best path. Remember, though, that journalism is as much a process as it is the act of writing. A journalist would have to research/investigate a topic, interview people (are you a people person? do you have the social and verbal skills? if the answer the two previous questions is no, that's ok, because verbal skills can be improved upon, but then, would you be enthusiastic or willing to labour through this crucial part of the job even if you hate it?). Another part of the job is networking, which some people hate, or conversely, constantly being alone (for example, if you're based in a rural location).
A lot of people in my degree do this course because they love writing--in all sorts of forms. (As I mentioned before, my degree is broader, so it gives people opportunities to pursue editing, PR, etc.) If you're choosing journalism just because you love formal writing, perhaps you might consider being a proofreader or editor (though I don't imagine there's much writing in that), public relation officer or copywriting (though it's debatable how
formal the writing in those jobs are, since you have to write with a spin or at least persuasively). There's also arts research, which will give you an opportunity to research and write about whichever field you choose. The last one I'm thinking of is to be a critic, which actually is a proper job. (One of the liveliest critics today must be Mark Blankenship, who writes this blog:
http://www.thecriticalcondition.com/. Another favourite is John Mullan who writes for the Guardian newspaper in the UK and also teaches at a university. You can read some of his writings here:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/profile/johnmullan. His philosophy is very much about making literature or "high art" accessible to the common reader. And of course, there's George Steiner -
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Steiner - who's a modern day Renaissance man.) I think people often associate being a critic as being a journalist who just happens to shoot people and their work down in newspapers or magazines, but a critic does have to have pretty specialised training in the arts that perhaps a journalism degree isn't best suited for.
There is one more question, the litmus test if you will. Think about journalism and then answer this question: does the mere thought of it spark some flame of excitement in you? If there's nothing, not even a tiny spark, then it's not for you.
