Showing posts with label writing. Show all posts
Showing posts with label writing. Show all posts

Monday, September 13, 2010

Make Money Writing: Turn Your Passion Into Cash

By Angela Booth

With living expenses always on the rise, wouldn't it be nice to be able to make money doing something you really love, such as writing? It's possible, and this article will show you how. You can make money writing in more ways than you probably think.

One simple way to start is by writing articles for websites. Site owners always need content, and often buy articles from freelance writers. With a small stable of regular clients, you and earn a great part-time income working just a couple of hours a day.

Choose a subject you know a little bit about, and for which you've found some ads online. As an example if you have kids, enter "parenting" into a search engine.

Next, go to a handful of the sites in the results, and notice any advertisers on them. If there are ads, you can bet they are making money. And if there are ads, there must be writers to write them. Get the names of the advertisers, and go to their websites.

Next, write at least three articles, of about 500 words each, on a subject within the parenting niche. Choose toddlers, infants, or even pregnancy -- whatever you want. You'll use these articles as samples, and will show them to prospective clients. These articles may take a while to write, simply because you're new to writing. But as you write more, you'll get faster. Before long you'll be finishing articles in thirty minutes, maybe less.

You can sell your articles in various ways. The easiest way is just to sell them to one of the many sites which advertise for "content." Now, although this is easy, you won't make much money this way.

To make a steady part-time income, you need to be proactive. Approach some of the sites you've studied in the topic area you chose and introduce yourself as an article writer. Remember, if there are advertisers, money is being made, so unless these sites have staff (some do, most don't) they buy articles.

Like any business, you will probably need to contact several websites before you get your first client. Don't worry about it -- that's normal. When you've got your first client, contact more sites.

Before long, you'll have a collection of sites for which you write and will be happily turning your writing passion into cash. You can make money writing -- start today.

About the Author:

Sunday, October 14, 2007

Basic Concepts to Help You Improve Your Writing Skills

This article is by Mike Lawson, a great writer and a published author. Just thought I'd throw in a different writer's point of view once in a while.


This article is directed at writers seeking publication in magazines, e-zines, newsletters and various other forums. Topics such as vocabulary, grammar and style as well as content, research and editing will be discussed. But before we get that far along, we want to touch on some of the basic skills and characteristics that good writers have and editors seek.

Writers can be classified into four basic categories:

1. Bad writers
2. Competent writers
3. Good writers
4. Great writers

Bad writers: These are the hacks that either can not or will not use the fundamental skills of the written language. Their misspelled efforts are grammatically inconsistent, eaten alive with adverbs and lack continuity in content. Albeit poor examples to emulate, they too have a purpose we will discuss later.

Competent writers: These are writers that possess the fundamental skills of language, can put together a cohesive work and convey the intended message. But their abilities end there. They simply lack luster. If they do get published, it will probably be in the middle of mediocrity.

Good writers: This is the kill zone! This is where you desire to position yourself as a writer. These writers produce excellent content that is fundamentally sound, stylish, entertaining and informational. They have mastered fundamental skills and have a collection of specialized skills that allow them to tweak every word and phase to their advantage. These are writers that readers hate to put down as opposed to pick up. While it is impossible to turn a bad writer into a competent one, it is possible with hard work, for a competent writer to become a good one.

Great writers: The Grand Masters, the literary legends: Shakespeare, Hugo, Steinbeck, etc. The rules here are simple enough. You either are one or you are not. It is not a learned skill or acquired trait. You cannot make a master out of a really good writer any more than you can make a bass fiddle out of a drum.

Keep this hierarchy in mind. Do an honest assessment of yourself. Where are you on the writer's scale?

If you are a bad writer, then I am sorry. There is not much help to offer that will bring you along. Are you a competent writer? Are you content with that? If you are, then you may as well go on your way, too. You will be able to find a niche writing somewhere that will afford you a level of mediocre success.

Are you a competent writer that is motivated to put forth the effort to become a good writer? Or the good writer that has a desire to be even better? Good then! You are the target audience of this series of articles.

Writing is a complex system comprised of many simple parts. The stronger the foundation of the fundamental elements, the more stability in the structure that rests on it. The cornerstone to success in anything that you do is to have a set of obtainable goals laid out before you with an end in sight; a road map, if you will. If you don't know where you are going, how will you know when you get there?

You have already assessed where you are now and where you want be. Once you know this, you can make a plan that takes you there. Develop a mission statement of what kind of writer you will be.

A mission statement forms the constitution that governs the implementation of your plan. Shy away from weak words and phrases: "I will try to, as best I can," etc. They predict failure. Instead use powerful words and phrases! Your mission statement should be full of will statements. "I will master the grammatical aspect of the craft," or "I will continuously improve my editing skills." Make these commitments to yourself and stick to them!

Before you ever pick up a pen or type the first word of a project, you should have a mission statement committed to making you a better writer. It doesn't have to be a long, drawn out, complicated matter. Maybe just a paragraph or so that lays out your personal creed as a writer.

Mike Lawson is a freelance writer and entrepreneur running many Internet ventures. Learn more about writing successful content for your articles or website at Appalachian Writer's Forum or contact Mike at Bluegrass Solutions.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Mike_Lawson

Wednesday, September 26, 2007

5 Easy Ways To Get Your Creative Juices Going

Writing an article doesn’t just mean putting down thoughts into
words then typing and writing it. You have to capture the
interest of your readers and get them to keep on reading. To send
your message across you have to get the attention of the reader
and have a firm grasp of their interest and pique their
curiosity.

The main ingredient in baking up an article is a large dose of
creativity. While creativity may come natural to many people,
some just gets into a block or something to that effect that can
drive someone crazy. Many writers have literally torn their hair
out when they get writers block and just can’t seem to get their
creative juices flowing.

Putting words into images in the readers mind is an art. A clear
and crisp depiction requires a certain flair that only creativity
can provide. Similes and metaphors help a lot, but the way an
article gets entwined word for word, sentence by sentence then
paragraph by paragraph into a whole article develops the essence
of the article.

So just what do you have to do when nothing comes to mind? There
is no surefire ways to get the perfect ideas but there are easy
ways to get your creative juices flowing. No one can guarantee
you of having the perfect mindset but many methods may aid you in
achieving that state of mind. Here are five easy ways for that.

1) Keep a diary or a journal with you always. Ideas can be
triggered by anything you may hear, see, or smell. Your senses
are your radar in finding great ideas. Write all of them into a
journal and keep it with you for future reference. You may also
write down anything that you have read or heard, someone’s ideas
could be used to develop your own ideas and this is not stealing.
Remember that ideas and creativity can come from anywhere; it’s
the development of the idea that makes it unique.

2) Relax and take time to sort things out. A jumbled mind cannot
create any space for new ideas. Everyone must have a clear mind
if one wishes to have their creativity in full speed. Get rid of
all obstacles that can be a hindrance to your creativity. If you
are bothered by something, you cannot force your mind to stay
focused.

Try to relax every time that you can and think about your
experiences and interactions with others. Your experiences are
what shape your mindset and your opinions which could be
reflected on your writings. Try to discover yourself, find out
what triggers your emotions. Discover what inspires you and what
ticks you off. You can use these emotions to help you in
expressing yourself and your ideas, with this you can grow
creatively.

3) Create a working place that can inspire your creativeness.
Your working place can be quite a hindrance if it doesn’t make
you feel happy or relaxed. Creativity comes from being in a good
state of mind and a messed up workplace that causes distraction
won’t be conducive in firing up your creative flow.

Surround your working place with objects that makes you happy and
relaxed. You may put up pictures, or scents, objects that
inspire, or anything that can get your creativeness cranking. A
clean and well organized workplace also rids of distractions and
unwanted hindrances. With a good working place, you can work in
peace and never notice the time pass by.

4) Set the mood. Setting the mood requires you to just go with
the moment or to induce your self to feeling what makes your mind
works best. Finding out what makes you tick could help you find
ways to get your creative juices flowing. Set the pace and tempo
for your mood and everything else will follow.

There are many ways to set the mood. Some writers have been known
to use alcohol, a little sip of wine to stir up the imagination.
Some would like some mood music while others let the lighting of
the environment create the mood.

5) Go on a getaway and just do something unlike crazy. Letting
yourself go and have fun produces adrenaline that can make your
imagination go wild. Take an adventure or a solemn hike. Whatever
it is that is unusual from your daily routine can take the rut
out of your schedule. In no time at all, your creativeness will
make use of that experience and get your imagination to go on
overdrive.