Recently I asked this on LinkedIn: "I'd like to start writing longer articles around one idea or topic, but I'm at a loss on where to start. I'm hoping you can take a moment and suggest in the comments below what you'd like to see covered."

I got a few questions so I made a vow that I'm going to take one question and answer it in a post every Friday for as long as I have questions.

By the way if you have a question, ask away here.

I’m going to take this question by question.

First, what's the balance out there of full-time employment vs. contracts?

This really depends on the studio.

When I worked at Turn 10, they were interested in having a writer on until they hit content complete, which meant my contract ended when there really wasn’t anything for me to do. Turn 10 is not a narrative-heavy studio, so there wasn’t a persistent need for a writer or narrative designer.

But when I was at ArenaNet, it was a full-time role for years because the studio was making not only a massive game that needed a lot of story spread across multiple maps, but there was ambient VO, conversations, item descriptions and UI to write. Plus, ArenaNet was making a game that would have a constant stream of new narrative in the months and years after launch. As a writer/narrative designer, there would always be something to do.

Same with narrative-heavy mobile titles, which typically upside a new chapter of their ongoing story weekly. You’ll always be in some stage of writing, revising, implementing, or testing.

However, even narrative-heavy studios might hire you full-time, but it’s a contract mode where you are evaluated at the end of the year to see if they want to keep you on. I know of one studio that does that, with true full-time status given if you make it to three years.

There’s no set balance out there for the duration of writer roles at studios. Especially given the volatility of the industry right now. Writers will be employed as long as there’s something to write and the investors think story is worth funding. And the sad truth is, writers can be among the first to go when work dies down. The best advice I can give isto look at the studios you want to work at and start searching to find previous writing jobs they have posted to see if they are full-time or contract.

Second, what are the pros and cons to full-time employment vs. contracts? 

Full-time pro – No ambiguity about what you’ll do for work. You have, until the studio shudders or you get laid off, a forever home where you can create, write, and collaborate. You get to put down roots, perhaps rise up in the studio to a senior rank. You will become an expert in the game universe you are working on.

You will have insurance. You might have perks ranging from paid time off to Friday beer o’clock. You get to have regular coworkers. You find comfort in a regular schedule. There is, for now, certainty in your career.

From experience, the moment you know you are full-time, you will feel a giant weight lifted off your shoulders. You'll be surprised how freer you'll be breathing.

Contract pro – You get to work on a variety of projects, at a variety of studios, with a variety of people. You know you have an expiration date, so you won't be surprised when you leave the studio. Depending on how many contracts you get, you will have a lot more games on your resume than if you worked at one studio for years.

If you get big enough, you’ll be sought out. You might land high-profile gigs. There’s a non-zero chance you will be scouted by a studio to be their in-house writer, assuming that’s your end goal. If you are willing to put in the hustle, you can make a name for yourself.

Lastly, you get to choose where you want to go and know that you you'll be leaving. Not every studio is a good place to work. Some studios are toxic or grossly mismanaged. With a contract, you know you’ll be out of there soon. You won't have the psychic stress of facing some office awfulness every day forever.

Full-time con – Given the industry, even being a full-time writer at a studio doesn’t mean you are safe from layoffs. Being hit with a layoff means you’ll have to start over again, and this is where contract writers have the edge as they are always hustling, building connections, and (hopefully) landing work.

Second, there’s a risk for burnout from being at the same studio for years, especially if you are working on the same IP for years. While it sounds safe, you might find yourself stagnating writing another yet fantasy quest or writing another two-dozen variants of “We got incoming!” combat barks.

You could love the the franchise, but writers from my experience get itchy, needing to just do something else... anything else. Writers might write their own stories on their off hours, but between crunch and just being tired at the end of the day, it takes an awful amount to discipline to do this.

Lastly, these days there’s no guarantee your full-time job will be there in a year. Studios are suddenly closing, leaving previous full-timers with a void in their lives and a panic to find something else. Finding full-time writing roles is a hard task these days, so you might be in the jobless desert for a while.

Contract con – Let’s start with the two biggies: you will lack a steady paycheck and (if you are working in America) you won’t have insurance through your work. Contracts can dry up, clients can stiff you out of payments, and you might get terminated on a whim.

Also, if you go a long time between jobs, your resume might look like it's filled with sporadic employment, which can be a red flag to recruiters. List these jobs are contract to prevent a future employer from thinking you are a drama llama who can’t hold a job.

Contracts (or freelancers) can be seen as disposable, so you might have a colder working relationship compared to a full-time writer at the studio. Also there’s little in the way of formal career advancement compared to full-time writers.

Lastly, there’s the “grass is always greener’ trap. Let’s say you are writing for Game A, but you get word that Game B (your favorite franchise) is looking for a contract writer. You might not have the bandwidth to do both (and you’d have to check with both employers if they mind you working on other projects). You could ditch Game A to work on Game B, but now you burned every bridge you had with Game A. You don’t want to risk this. Studios have long memories.

Lastly, am I likely to be chasing short-term gigs for years?”

Near-future answer: Most likely.

Longer-term answer: I wish I knew.

That past two years have been as stable as throwing a gingerbread house into a swimming pool. What was working then isn’t now. Remote isn’t as widespread, and in some cases limited to a country or set of countries. There aren’t as many jobs. You might have to relocate to a different city or a foreign country. And on top of all that, you might lose your job at any moment.

There’s some comfort in this, though. If you are chasing and getting short-term gigs, that’s at least a lifeline. It’s something you can put on your resume. It’s a chance to meet new people and have them get to know you. You never know when someone somewhere might remember you on a project and say, “Hey, I know this writer named Laura. Did great stuff when she worked for us. She’d be perfect for you. Here's her contact info.”

Right now, if you can get short-term gigs, take them. Practice your craft. Build your portfolio. Crudely put, survive until things stabilize and we can chart a path out of this mess and back to stable full-time employment.