Thinking of making a career change? Don’t quit your day job just yet—it may provide inspiration for your writing. Neil V. Young, author and technical writer, talks about transitioning from being a technical writer to being a fiction writer. It’s easy for him to connect the two. Technical writing taught him to be observant, to keep track of the small details, and it gave him knowledge of different technologies. He’s worked in a variety of industries, and currently he works for dental technologies. He finds constant inspiration in his day job and it helps him create more realistic stories in his fiction work. His descriptions are also well developed because, after years of working as a technical writer, he thinks and writes in a detail-oriented way. Part of the transition involved finding his voice as a fiction writer as opposed to a technical writer, which was an easy transition for Young because fiction was a chance to cut loose compared to his typical workday. Listen to the clip below to find out some key strengths a technical writer can bring to fiction!