What is the job description for a writer?

Answer 1

A writer is someone who writes. Full stop, period. You may become a published author if you sell your work - or you may just keep calling yourself a writer.

The following is copied from a website, but the person didn't credit it properly, so I'm just leaving the main points -

Generally, there are two kinds of writing: fiction and non-fiction. Fiction writers use their imaginations to create the plots and characters of their stories. Sometimes, they also have to research the subject matter they are writing about. For instance, writers setting a murder mystery in 18th century England will do research into life in England at the time. Novelists, poets, playwrights, and screenwriters all fall into the category of fiction writers.

Non-fiction writers don't imagine or create the events and people they are writing about. These writers relate the facts. Journalists, for example, gather and write news and views from the world around them.

Technical writers are hired by manufacturing companies to write assembly instructions, auto manuals, and other materials that accompany commercial products. Non-fiction writers are also hired by governments and businesses to produce publications such as information brochures, press releases, and newsletters.

Some non-fiction writers are required to be very creative. Copywriters, for example, study companies' products and use creativity to generate advertisements with the emotional impact that will make customers want to buy the products. Travel writers give factual accounts of tourist destinations and holiday resorts. However, they must be creative in getting the information across, so that readers will be enticed to visit the places they are writing about.'