Severin Wiggenhorn
severinwiggenhorn.bsky.social
Severin Wiggenhorn
@severinwiggenhorn.bsky.social
Former lawyer and software engineer; currently technical writer. MFA in fiction from Randolph College. Tin House Winter Workshop '25.
Pinned
Thank you so much @pacificalit.bsky.social for publishing a short story I've been working on for a very long time called "The Descendants of Monsters" following a raucous father-daughter road trip to transport 31 baby alligators 🐊 ❤️

www.pacificareview.com/the-descenda...
How do you find a career that doesn't make you feel boxed in? This is something I've struggled with and a major reason I've pivoted so many times.

climbandpivot.substack.com/p/interview-...
November 17, 2025 at 5:31 PM
Thank you so much @pacificalit.bsky.social for publishing a short story I've been working on for a very long time called "The Descendants of Monsters" following a raucous father-daughter road trip to transport 31 baby alligators 🐊 ❤️

www.pacificareview.com/the-descenda...
September 7, 2025 at 6:44 PM
Reposted by Severin Wiggenhorn
Chicago friends! This is tomorrow -- and you're invited. Come hear these seven brilliant writers read, live at our store.

#bookstoreevents
#booksky
ANOTHER NEW EVENT ALERT 😀: On Thursday, August 14 at 6:30 pm CT, please join us at @roscoebooks.bsky.social (2142 W. Roscoe St.) at 6:30 pm CT for our StoryBoard Fellows Reading. Hear each of our esteemed StoryBoard Fellows read work. This is a free event and no need to register.
August 13, 2025 at 9:43 PM
Referrals are so important in this job market, but they are also nuanced. Ask the people you know best for referrals, ideally people who can speak to your work professionally. And always thank them even if you don't get the job! ❤️

climbandpivot.beehiiv.com/p/everything...
July 14, 2025 at 6:45 PM
Dream of leaving the tech world behind to work full time as an artist?

Carolyn's coworkers only found out she’d published a book when one of them asked her about her Good Morning America appearance during a zoom call!

Such a fun and inspiring interview! climbandpivot.beehiiv.com/p/ux-designe...
Google UX designer to novelist - An interview
An inspiring story on quitting tech and following your own north star
climbandpivot.beehiiv.com
July 8, 2025 at 1:45 PM
It feels like summer today and I've never shared the only story I've had published on here so if you need some summer camp nostalgia: xraylitmag.com/summertime-p...

Thank you @xraylitmag.bsky.social for making me a published author!
SUMMERTIME PURSUIT by Severin Wiggenhorn
But there are two kinds of shame: the kind that you cannot speak the words to, even in your head, and the kind you can’t stop talking about. I told the story for years.
xraylitmag.com
May 23, 2025 at 11:16 PM
Private sector resumes are a unique dialect! Especially for federal government employees looking to pivot, make sure you quantify your experience as much as possible.

To read more: climbandpivot.beehiiv.com/p/how-to-for...
May 12, 2025 at 5:22 PM
Several years ago, I pivoted from the federal government to tech private/sector. For folks currently looking to make the same pivot (by choice or necessity) I wanted to share what I learned about translating my skills and experience. #rif

climbandpivot.beehiiv.com/p/how-to-for...
May 4, 2025 at 6:20 PM
I asked Dan Thompson, #recruiter extraordinaire, why should I talk to a recruiter at all, does going through a recruiter cause me to get paid less (spoiler: no!), and why the number of applicants listed on job posting sites might be inflated!

climbandpivot.beehiiv.com/p/dan-thomps...
Dan Thompson on What Recruiters Do and How to Make it Work for You
Ask a recruiter everything you've always wanted to know: What’s the best resume format? Am I underpaid? Are robots auto-rejecting me?
climbandpivot.beehiiv.com
April 21, 2025 at 4:55 PM
Thank you to CRAFT Literary for featuring me as the volunteer of the month. I've learned so much the past year as a fiction reader.

#CraftLiterary
April 5, 2025 at 5:47 PM
I got 3 lit mag rejections today and don’t think any of them will be like “haha April Fools!” later 😩
April 2, 2025 at 4:50 AM
Some newsletter recs I love!

@vanessamicale.bsky.social - Happen to notice? Bite-sized prompts for awareness, connection, and ease. Like soft pants for your mind. poderosa-voz.kit.com/ce6976f868
Happen to notice? ​A micro-newsletter on somatics and creativity.
poderosa-voz.kit.com
March 31, 2025 at 2:49 AM
AWP: The most exhausting 3 days of your life. Every year.

#awp
March 30, 2025 at 6:32 AM
Reposted by Severin Wiggenhorn
hear hear
March 29, 2025 at 4:13 AM
A hard realization as a former collegiate debater is those formative-to-me economists and political theorists had no idea what they were talking about. There're only a few voices I trust to describe our current moment with sufficient care and wisdom: @mirajacob.bsky.social @kavehakbar.bsky.social
What Will You Do?
What’s your “I am Spartacus” move to protect the more vulnerable, the targeted, the invisibled, the next-on-the-list?
www.thenation.com
March 30, 2025 at 5:33 AM
Reposted by Severin Wiggenhorn
Every group chat has the friend who sends too many memes, the friend who only contributes with heart reacts, the friend who accidentally adds a journalist when you’re talking about top secret military plans, and the journalist who’s not supposed to be there
March 24, 2025 at 9:35 PM
A well paid writing job where you interview super smart people and readers are desperate to read your work?

I pivoted into technical writing 3 years ago and it's the best job I've ever had.

climbandpivot.beehiiv.com/p/what-is-te...

#technicalwriting #career
What is technical writing? The underrated tech career path you've never heard of
Discover technical writing: the hidden gem career that bridges technology and communication, offering high pay, high novelty, low stress, and the power to help people by crafting clear, task-oriented ...
climbandpivot.beehiiv.com
March 24, 2025 at 5:09 PM
Are you tracking the right data for your job search? Which stage of the interview process are you getting stuck at most often? What focused changes can you make in response? climbandpivot.beehiiv.com/p/how-to-dia...
How to diagnose where your job search is failing
And ideas for improving your results at every stage of the process
climbandpivot.beehiiv.com
March 24, 2025 at 1:55 AM
Job searches are overwhelming and exhausting. Here's a framework for how to focus your time and energy on the right step in the process for your current search:

climbandpivot.beehiiv.com/p/how-to-dia...
How to diagnose where your job search is failing
And ideas for improving your results at every stage of the process
climbandpivot.beehiiv.com
March 2, 2025 at 11:13 PM
Reposted by Severin Wiggenhorn
So much talent bursting out of these two sets for this Thursday March 27th event. Get your early bird tix now with promo code EARLYGLITTER to be part of Holding Court with moonbeams, stardust, and glitterati. Bit.ly/holdingcourt27
March 1, 2025 at 6:17 PM
Reposted by Severin Wiggenhorn
We dreamers chase that perfect line of dialogue, open or close doors, and fall down rabbit holes to be the storytellers we aspire to be. Thanks Tin House @tinhouse.bsky.social for giving us an excuse to find each other in the Los Angeles area to create new writer community. #gratitude #amwriting
February 17, 2025 at 4:27 AM
Congrats @writesloud.bsky.social! Can’t wait to read!
For the night crowd:

Hannah Grieco's enthralling debut story collection, First Kicking, Then Not, is now available for pre-order.

www.stanchionzine.com/product-page...

@writesloud.bsky.social
February 15, 2025 at 6:24 PM
I get asked a lot about career pivots, how did I go from law to software or software to technical writing, or how to get a job in a certain industry, and the answer is always roughly the same—talk to people, or in corporate jargon, informational interviews.

climbandpivot.beehiiv.com/p/the-two-bi...
The two biggest networking mistakes when job searching
climbandpivot.beehiiv.com
February 14, 2025 at 10:37 PM
Shira Erlichman lectured about fictive poems at @tinhouse.bsky.social. I got curious about one of the books mentioned and now it's been living rent free in my brain since Saturday...
February 13, 2025 at 4:26 AM
Working an intensely corporate job while trying to sustain an artistic alter ego makes these moments of stepping into my writer identity all the more meaningful 💖
Tin House Winter Workshop friends in Los Angeles Area gathering as a satellite group. Please tag yourselves here!
February 10, 2025 at 6:43 AM