Thanks again!

Are people willing to hire people with very little experience if they provide unpublished writing samples?

One more question, are writing workshops worth the time? I’m sure it varies - some are, some aren’t, but what is your experience with workshops or do you have a post you can refer me to?

Thanks for your time!

Dave

I must admit, I only write at my best when the mood strikes. Luckily though, I’ve worked out when that is. The advantage I have, I guess, is that this is my full time job, so I’m free to choose a schedule to fit in with the way I write (I have to be disciplined though - and that’s not easy for me, as I am pretty unorganised at times…)

Looks like you have worked out what suits you best too, but it’s fitting it in with your job. Not easy, I should imagine!

Yes, it is important to have a schedule, but one which suits you.

The first thing you need to sort out is what you want to write about, and who you want to write for (I’m not saying you will always be able to choose who you write for - you won’t by any means - but it will give you an idea of the type of markets you want to approach).

Blogging on blogger is a start in the right direction for testing out your writing skills (and it allows you to try out new writing ideas - perhaps on different blogs), and it will give you the experience of writing for an audience, but eventually you will need to get some hosting and a domain name, to put yourself out there as a serious writer. But that’s in the future.

In the meantime, I would be looking at the market for writers. You can find these in Freelance Writing Forums on the net (just google it - there’s loads), plus you can network with other writers, which is pretty important and useful. You should also be looking at offline publishers. I live in Spain (and some of the time in the UK), here I can access info on publishers at my local library. I don’t know if that’s the same in Canada.

I also scan the small print of magazines and even advertising copy, to see if there are addresses of publishers I can approach with ideas. But for that, you need a writing portfolio.

So, the best thing to do first of all is to get writing, when you can and wherever you can and then fix that schedule once you have worked it out.

I’m actually going to write a post here in a day or two about organising your writing work (it is for offline publication only, but it may help).

You’ve just jogged my memory that I need to get writing here myself.
Thanks!

I suppose I’m most full of energy when I feel inspired to write. And usually all I need to be inspired to write is something to write about.

I suppose if I want to get more serious I would need to develop some sort of schedule.

How important would you say it is to have a writing schedule?

I work a lot like you do. Structure is difficult for me with four children until school starts. Untile then I just keep doing the best I can I suppose.