How can you get into freelance writing? Obviously I know what it is, but how would I go about...?

Question

getting work published?

And finding stories to write about?

Answer 1

Well, like you, I would like someone to give us the answer!

I hope they do.

As for finding stories to write about, well, I believe that one has to train oneself to be an avid observer of life and of all that surrounds you.

If you wish to write about people and their lives I am sure you could find your inspiration in those living around you.

Also life seen through your own eyes is always something unique.

There are no two people seeing the world in the same way.

Yes, your own vision is absolutely unique and, as I see it, that is what people would like to read.

After all reading someone else´s discoveries, feelings and emotions is to take a voyage of discovery into that person´s own persnal world, thus making it  a part of our own.

What you write helps to open the reader´s understanding of the world we all share,  by seeing it from your own unique point of view.

It helps to break down the limits of the walls we build invisibly around ourselves in order to protect ourselves from what we have come to accept as dangers that threaten us, such as perhaps another´s ideas or beliefs.

This is why , for those who wish to control society, a book is such a dangerous item, and is one of the first things to prohibit or destroy!

Perhpas in the future it will be Internet which will be the first to go, if we are threatened by some despot world leader who wishes to control the world . and with it our freedom of thought and expression.

Therefore please write and tell us how you see the world.

I´m sure we shall find it most interesting and you will soon be recognised as a great writer!

Good Luck.

These could be

Answer 2

Are you in UK?  

Is it journalism you're interested in? - if so, look at the NUJ (National Union of Journalists) site - they have courses that might be of interest.  

If fiction, there are creative writing courses run by your local authority (again, presuming you're in UK).  Google your own local authority adult education courses.

If you are in progress with novel or short stories, check out Arvon Foundation Courses - see link - founded by poet Ted Hughes, supported by Arts Council, grants available.

For ideas of where to send work - get copy of Writers' and Artists' Year Book from library or any good bookshop.

Answer 3

As for the last question--finding stories to write about--sorry but you don't find them, you make them.  You need to polish your own writing talents, and the only way to do that is by writing.  But not just willy-nilly; you need to study some creative writing textbooks, maybe take a class or a workshop or three, and concentrate on the craft of writing.  The good writers also find other writers who they share work with and get advice and encouragement, so look around your city (maybe ask at your local library or a college English department) to find the writers' clubs.

Getting work published, at first, means that you need to market it yourself.  Most of the big-time publishers will not accept submissions from individuals, they only work through agents, and you can't afford an agent yet.  So you might look for niche markets (depending on your skills, Cat Fancier magazine or Dragon magazine or American Recorder magazine, or your local weekly free newspapers) or for the minor literary magazines.

There are periodicals that assess the writers' market, and probably websites (tho' I haven't tried marketing any writing in a handful of years, so I'm a bit out of it).  Look up those periodicals with the help of a librarian and you'll have an idea.

You don't get to be a professional writer until you've received enough rejection letters to wallpaper a room :-)