At this event, we will discuss how to write what we like and still get paid.
Writing is a lot easier than you might think. Chances are that if you can read, you can write. You can write a blog, or you can write short stories, or you can write a webcomic, a screenplay, or funny Youtube videos. Whatever you decide to write, there’s really only one rule to follow, and here it is:

Write What You Like

People say to write what you know, but if everyone did that, then it would get pretty boring pretty fast. Just because you’ve worked in a fast food restaurant doesn’t mean you want to write about it, or that anyone wants to read about it. Don’t write what you know, write what you like.

If you read a lot of fantasy novels, try putting your own spin on the genre. If you read a lot of fashion blogs, try putting your own opinion out there. If you love watching movies more than anything, start a screenplay and see where it takes you.

Advice from the Legends

Quentin Tarantino

Love him or hate him, is nevertheless one of the most influential and known writers alive today in any realm of the craft, and his advice on the process comes down to this: think back to when you were a kid and your favorite television show went off the air. Before long you were making up your own episodes with your friends and coming up with new adventures for the characters to get into, and after awhile, those episodes you made up in your head were even better than the ones that were aired. That’s the approach to take when you write. Take something you love and make it even better.

Stephen King

Offers another piece of advice for fiction writers: let your characters tell you what they want to do. You may have a clever plot in mind, but you ultimately have to listen to your characters or that big twist you have at the end isn’t going to ring true anyways.

Kurt Vonnegut

recommends simplicity above all, pointing out that Shakespeare and James Joyce both wrote short, simple sentences rather than flowing, flowery passages.

Here’s the only real advice you’re going to need though: take what tips and thoughts and philosophies you can from writers you admire, but at the end of the day, you need to use the ideas that work for you. You need to find a working routine that makes you productive, beliefs and ideas that produce work that you enjoy, and a subject that really gets you excited.

Finding Work as a Writer

If you want to write for a living, then it’s something that you can do by the end of today. You may not be making five or six figures a year on writing by December 31st, but you can at least earn supplemental income starting right now if you start a blog, if you submit your work to article directories, or if you find a content mill to work at, where you can write ad copy and blog posts for other people at a few cents a word.

If you are having trouble getting started writing a novel or essay, you can get essay help.

It may not seem like the life you always dreamed of when you first decided to become a writer, but in fact, doing this sort of work can actually be a great way to hone your craft for that novel, screenplay or non-fiction masterpiece you have in mind. Just keep at it until you get where you want to be as a writer.