The World Wide Web as we know it today is huge, the opportunity for earning extra money on the internet is abundant. Every minute of everyday, people all over the world are logging in, online. The one basic ingredient they all share is the thirst for information. As a writer you have the skills and the knowledge to fill this void. Your earnings can only increase dramatically.

They say that there is a book inside all of us, but few people ever attempt to put pen to paper or in today’s modern world, finger to keyboard. Many budding writers dream of publishing that best-selling novel which in turn is sold to Hollywood for a blockbuster movie deal. In reality of course this seldom happens. However a steady income can easily be earned from writing, whether chosen as a career or to write in your spare time for extra money.

The market for writing today is vast. Not only is there the traditional route, writing novels fiction or non-fiction, stories short or long for publications. But there is also a large opportunity for writers to earn money using the internet.

You will discover online companies that publish articles where payment to the writer is dependant on readers clicking on the sponsors advertisements within the article’s pages. Another way to increase your income is to write reviews for consumer sites, some pay for submission, again some pay per click.

Personal blogs have grown immensely over the past few years; with revenue paying ad’s accompanying the bloggers content. The experience of writing regularly to your blog is immeasurable. If you maintain this posting over a period of time, there are companies who will pay you to blog for other blogsites.

A word of caution though, there are plenty of scams around. Job opportunities, disguised as writing positions. Beware of sites that offer you the chance to ‘work in your pajama’s’ earning thousands overnight ‘while you sleep’. Basically these companies charge you a fee, supposedly backed up by a refundable guarantee. Do not believe this hype; check out the forums that are full of warnings about these so called ‘companies’. They take your money, tell you to write an advertisement placing your affiliate code at the bottom and hey presto you are rich! Only you are not, not a cent. As for the guarantee, not worth the time you spent reading it. Good luck trying to claim a refund. No respectable company is going to charge you any money to work for them.

How to sites and guides form valuable services to the budding writer. There are as shown above pitfalls to avoid. Today no-one has to go it alone, communication with others is one of the most successful aspects of the internet. Any site with a help page always contains a ‘contact us’ point, use it, when it comes to the writing profession you will always find a friendly answer to anything you wish to say.

For more information please visit me at:http://www.lucymaywriter.com/


- Lucy May

Creative writing is considered to be one of the most perplexing forms of articulating thoughts and ideas on paper. It turns out to be a hard nut to crack because it requires the ability to think freely, giving thoughts a modicum of leeway, and express ideas and experienced feelings sincerely and openly.

That’s why putting wind in the sails with creative writing is not within every writer’s grasp. It means that a person, who succeeded in process writing approach that is all about planning, revising, re-arranging, and deleting text, re-reading, and producing multiple drafts before producing finished documents, will have the same good results in creative writing.

Surely, it doesn’t imply that creative writing process doesn’t need proper planning and preparation, it means that creative writing permits the author to deviate from the specific writing styles and not to be consistent with all the standards of this style. In a word, creative writing gives the author leeway in terms of presentation and development of a piece of writing.

Since creative writing is not simply a matter of sitting down, putting pen to paper, following smart instructions of emeritus pundits, commence at the beginning and write through to the end. Creative approach treats all writing as a creative act that requires time, positive feedback, and inspiration to be done well. People who engage in creative writing do not merely think freely; they view the world from free-thinking perspective.

Without a doubt, creative writing is not only about inspiration and gift of the writer, and it is far from coming easy to the writer, it also needs a lot of elbow grease in order to produce a piece of writing worth the attention of the readers.

The key to success in creative writing lies in the author’s ability to be frank with his readers and honest with himself. Don’t be afraid to step aside from the established standards of the particular writing style, and open the door of your brain to the new ideas that cross the threshold of your imagination and knock around your mind.

Remember that process and explorations are the keystones in creative writing, rather than the finished product. Let yourself release your inner genius and vent on paper the most bizarre ideas that amassed in your mind. The source of ideas for your creative writing can be various kinds of resources of creativity such as oral tradition, dreams, childhood memories, sense perceptions and intuition.

Katrina Crosbie, a tutor of creative writing in Edinburgh University’s Open Studies programme, asserts that getting in touch with subconscious mind is the key to original and creative writing. She also claims that every writer can harness three simple techniques to enhance his creative writing abilities, they are mental focusing techniques, harnessing the power of your dreams and journal writing. Harnessing these techniques takes hard work; so, if you are ready, roll up your sleeves and follow these simple strategies.

I. Mental focusing techniques

Mental focusing techniques involve focusing on the positive outcome. It implies that you should concentrate and regulate your mental activity in order to enter a quiet state of your mind. The key point in mental focusing is to get rid of all the stray thoughts and replace it with one thought; this process should gradually induce a calm sensation. The procedure is very simple, you make yourself comfortable in a cozy armchair, and in all possible ways try to awake creativity inside of you.

You should say something like “I’m getting in touch with my creativity source”, and imagine physically how the stream of creativity comes into your mind. Remember the sensation of clear, cool water on your face, or a stream of fresh breeze, which is blowing in your face. Then imagine yourself sitting at your word processor, typing fluently, and writing avidly. After several minutes open your eyes and commence writing.

II. Harness the power of your dreams

Dreams have tremendous power. The subconscious memory can be the direct cause of the certain dreams. “When the mind is centered on certain things, the sleeper goes over his life again and again in phantom fashion. He lives over the experiences of his daily life.”

Overall, your daydreams can be important, just write them down after waking up in the morning. Perhaps, later on, re-reading the notes of your dreams will prompt you some interesting ideas for your creative works.”These can be triggers for an especially imaginative piece of work. American writer Joyce Carol Oates has said that her novel Bellefleur was inspired by a dream of a walled garden which haunted her for years ’till she felt she had to write about it.”

III. Keep the writing journal

This technique of enhancing your creativity is very simple and at the same time highly productive. Buy yourself a notebook, so that you can always have it at hand and write some brief narratives in it on a daily basis.

Don’t focus on the style, mistakes, and, in general, in the way you write. Just write down the first things that occur in your mind, even if you think that this is junk. The main idea is to keep your hand moving and to feel a growing sense of inspiration and confidence. In the course of time, you will become a practiced hand in writing. Surely, you’ll find your journal notes a rich source of inspiration and ideas.

If you really want to enhance you creative writing abilities, give a try to these simple techniques, and bring your craft as a writer into play!


- Linda

I can’t think of anything to write when i put pen to paper.

Help!
- Killing Spree

The phrase is well worn, ‘Everyone has one book in them.’ Countless New Year resolutions fail because aspiring novelists fail to put pen to paper and too many conversations that start, “How’s that book you’ve been planning to write,” end in, “I haven’t got round to it yet.”

For many wannabe writers, the reasons for not putting pen to paper and at least starting the novel are legitimate. Time, inspiration, insufficient knowledge and lack of confidence are justifiable grounds for a lack of story – at least more often than not.

For the sizeable minority of less than exemplary reasons not to pen a new bestseller, I offer the following advice – don’t write.

That’s not the sort of advice you hear every day, but it’s quite legitimate. Writers tend to write because they either have a drive to get a story down on paper or for the love of the craft.

In any other aspect of life, people who make excuses don’t want to get their hands dirty. So why should writing be any different? Books on the subject come up with 1001 tips on how to overcome the inertia that so many would be authors suffer from. So let’s consider 1002 in some more detail.

Writing for the newcomer should be pleasurable. That’s regardless of how many pages have been committed to paper already. I expect there are a significant number of ’started but discarded’ manuscripts out there to add to the ‘yet to be written’ stories. If you can’t find the time or the inclination to write, then my advice is – don’t. It’s quite simple really.

Consider the person who knows they should go to the gym, but has a list of excuses why they can’t go today. The simple truth is that they would prefer to watch TV or read the paper than to exercise. They know that they ought to work out, but the desire not to is stronger.

And so it is with the aspiring writer. They may have a great idea but something is stopping them from switching on the laptop and starting to type. Again it might be TV or reading, but the bottom line is that these pastimes are more engaging than writing.

I could give you 1001 tips on how to overcome the obstacles to writing, but the reticent writer could think of 1002 reasons why it won’t work for them.

What I’m not saying is that these unforthcoming authors ought not to write. Nor am I saying they will never write. What I am saying is that, at this moment in time, they should listen to what their inner voice that is trying to tell them, in so many ways, that now is not a good time.

And if now is not a good time, then that’s OK. If later turns out to be the right time, they can write then. And if later isn’t right, then writing a novel just wasn’t to be.

The entire writing process can be hard work – even for seasoned writers. Many find editing a chore but carry on for the love of the craft. They couldn’t imagine doing anything other than writing. Until you find that point in your life, don’t waste any more New Year’s resolutions.

How will you know when the moment is right? As they say on all the best martial arts movies – you’ll just know. In simple terms, the desire to write will outweigh the reasons not to.


- Mark Walton