The best 'day' jobs I ever had were working front of house in theatres in London. Very little physical effort, lots of time spent just sitting around during the show itself (ideal for reading or writing), and the chance to see great actors and great writing on stage as many times as you want. Of course, that means your 'day' job is actually six nights a week, which won't do much for family life, and the pay's not that great. And then there's the real drawback - you have to deal with members of the public...!

I have a brutal working-class job that sucks my soul. However, the good thing is, I can listen to podcasts about writing and films all day. So, by the time I get home, despite being physically drained, I can't wait to write.

I think the best day jobs are actually the ones that don't offer benefits -- which tend to be the ones that demand as little of your soul as possible and have no real pressure to advance.

@ Nick -- I find those to be the best. Really, my favorite jobs are PA jobs. On set jobs. Things that are manual labor, but I get to be onset and see the inner workings of a shoot. My least favorite jobs are manager/agent assistant jobs. They are soul crushing. Next worst are script reader jobs. I find it very hard to work on my own stuff when I have to read a ton of crap. What's worse is the script reading process is very destructive to both writing and imagination. Writing is constructive and creative. Ideally, I think the best jobs for writers (aside from writing) are the jobs that don't follow you home. Too often the assistant jobs tend to feel like your boss owns you and can call you up at anytime and continue to ruin your day and cut into the little "me time" you may get.

While I'm not sure I'd recommend this for everyone, I think I have the BEST dayjob in the world and it's enormously conducive to creativity and writing: stay-at-home Dad to my 5 kids. While the clothes are in spin cycle, write a page. Between loads of dishes, write a page. Change two sets of diapers, write a... well, okay, that one does tend to quell your artistic impulses. But overall, it's a lovely arrangement!

I used to work days and it always left me exhausted and unwilling to write, no matter how badly the drive. I recently moved to overnights and even though the hours suck and clash with my social life, my writing has increased exponentially as a result. I guess just find what works for you. There is no right answer to this question.

i'm with annika. not necessarily on the 'no benefits' thing, but the 'whatever demands the LEAST of you' tip -- leaving all you have left for your writing... your DREAM of becoming a successful screenwriter. whatever frees you up to work on your writing, that's the best. without question. i write for a b2b pub directed toward pay-TV executives and i have access to many programmers. but what's the use if i don't have any juice at the end of the day to work on my own stuff? it's a dilemma, indeed. @jeffrey: i not too long ago abandoned a relationship that was bound for children because i thought fatherhood would permanently disrupt my aspirations of professional screenwriting. i'm a lonely fool because of it and pleased to read that you've managed to maintain productivity during your parental duties. -mc

Seems all the jobs mentioned are low, intermittent, or no pay. Because of my skill set I have a well-paid job - but I'm contract (effectively self-employed) so I move around a lot which means I get to meet lots of different and new people and see many different types of business in operation. The disadvantage is that mostly I spend weekdays away from home, though occasionally I get a contract that allows working from home which is nice. But why is it good? When I am away from home I have distraction-free evenings. And if someone did offer me money for writing I could just stop the contract work, do the writing then go back to the contract work.

(Oh perhaps I ought to say, as well, I actually love what I do. Most of the time anyway.)

One that pays the bills every month and gives you the most time to write. Take my advice, don't be a teacher -- and a coach on top of that. Last year wasn't bad but I did PE with elementary kids. This year I was moved to a math class and coaching two sports. Talk about mentally AND physically exhausting. Not to mention I have to take work home with me grading papers, tests, etc. And don't get me started on traveling to ball games -- yikes. The good news is, is I'm moving to LA in June and will soon need a job that pays the bills but I have time to write -- it'll be interesting find one of those...

Being Halle Berry's slave would work for me...

I completely agree with James about the jobs that don't follow you home. The best job I had was Material Management for a University hospital. It was brain-friendly and left me time during the day to think and write a little. The worst was working as a programmer and tech writer. In fact any other writing job really puts a crimp in my creative writing activities.

To be honest, the best job I've had that also allows time to write, has been in the service industry. I work nights and weekends, but have all day to myself before hand. I like all of my coworkers, so it seems like hanging out with friends more than it does work. I get no benefits, which is the downside, but I make great tips, the upside, which allows me to pay my bills and have time for myself.

Someone can probably find a reference link to this, but I seem to remember William Faulkner as he first took up writing had a job as a night watchman at a foundry. He set up a desk and chair down in the basement, right next to some big humming machine. He would write all the way through the night. As I recall, later on in his life, he would often think about that foundry job with great fondness, wishing he could recreate the simplicity of his writing experience there.

Hi Nick, Which podcasts do you recommend? Cheers!