Writers - Stimulate Your Muse and Stay Focused

Okay, so you've jumped off the deep end and quit your job to stay home and write. You researched all the possibilities, you know that it sometimes takes up to two years for freelance writers to make a significant amount of income, and you're prepared. Your office is set up; you have an ergonomic keyboard and comfortable chair, plenty of office supplies and an empty filing cabinet. What now? Where do you start? How do you find enough writing projects to begin earning that income? Better yet, how do you know what to write and where to submit?

Here are a few tips and ideas:

Read. This should go without saying, but if you're interested in writing for publications like the 'True' magazines, Guideposts and Angels on Earth or even Chicken Soup, then read those publications.

Research. Another given when it comes to freelance writing. Visit different writing sites and newsletters and check out their "current needs" section, you can often get your articles/essays accepted easily because what you're writing is exactly what they are looking for. Checking out the current needs of a publication will stimulate your muse should you be in a slump.

Blogging has become not only a fun thing to do, but informative and for some, lucrative. Sites like Blogitive and PayPerPost are just a few places, but a web search on "get paid to blog" revealed over 39,000,000 links. The freedom you have in blogging is another way to get your creative juices flowing. **TIP** Once you sign up at one or more blog sites, check out their "high dollar words" and use these words to create your niche and build your readership.

Freelance Sites offer numerous opportunities to write. Some like Freelance Writing.Com, Freelance Work Exchange, Guru.com, and Elance have programs where you can bid on jobs, but there are hundreds maybe thousands of other sites out there. Most of these sites offer a free newsletter that keeps you informed of the latest jobs available.

Newsletters like Writers Gazette, Funds for Writers, Scribe & Quill and others are FREE and always include writing opportunities.