Editing Chuck Palahniuk (section)

===Early career===
Palahniuk wrote for his local newspaper for a short while but then began working for [[Freightliner Trucks]] as a diesel mechanic, continuing until his writing career took off. During that time, he wrote manuals on fixing trucks and had a stint as a journalist, a job to which he did not return until after he became a successful novelist. After casually attending a seminar by [[Landmark Education]], Palahniuk quit his job as a journalist in 1988.<ref>{{cite news| url= http://observer.guardian.co.uk/magazine/story/0,11913,1477930,00.html | title= Fright club| work= [[The Observer]]| first= Sean| last= O'Hagan| date= May 7, 2005| access-date= July 8, 2018}}</ref> He performed volunteer work for a [[homeless shelter]] and volunteered at a [[hospice]] as an escort, providing transportation for terminally ill people, taking them to [[support group]] meetings. He ceased volunteering upon the death of a patient to whom he had grown attached.<ref>{{cite book| last= Palahniuk| first= Chuck| title= [[Stranger than Fiction: True Stories]]| location= Garden City| publisher= [[Doubleday (publisher)|Doubleday]]| year= 2004| pages= [https://archive.org/details/strangerthanfict00pala/page/195 195–199]| isbn= 0-385-50448-9}}</ref>

Palahniuk began writing fiction in his early 30s. By his account, he started writing while attending workshops for writers that were hosted by [[Tom Spanbauer]], which he attended to meet new friends. Spanbauer largely inspired Palahniuk's minimalistic writing style.<ref>{{cite book| last= Palahniuk| first= Chuck| title= [[Stranger than Fiction: True Stories]] Fact and Fiction: an Introduction| location= Garden City| publisher= [[Doubleday (publisher)|Doubleday]]| year= 2004| isbn= 0-385-50448-9}}</ref>