The Online Content Writer's Handbook - Isolation, Quarantine, and Advice for Budding Writers

That time I gave up.

Hi Guys!

I am just as stuck inside (and going slowly mad) as everyone else is. The bonus for me is that I was already stuck inside working from home. I've been busy though and I absolutely advise all of you to do the same.

Now is the time. For a revolution? If you like. Just stay 6 feet apart. No, now is the time to write that thing that you always wanted to write - but never had the time to do. Now is the time to start writing every day... To pick up the pen and paper and create.

Writing is like magic! You are conjuring something out of nothing. You have the power to make someone laugh or cry using words that already exist. Give it a go. It doesn't matter if it is rubbish - do you think Shakespeare knew how to write perfect Iambic Pentameter from his first play? Hell - it wasn't even written down! You don't get better by looking at a blank page.

With that in mind... I refer you back to this earlier blog post about writing a novel. There is good stuff in there about idea generating. Read it, generate some random ideas and start writing your own story. Once done, type "Short story competitions and submissions for (your genre)" into Google. Find somewhere to submit it and follow their instructions.

I don't know if I have told you this before but you can find an industry standard short story format template courtesy of William Shunn. Honestly? That's all there is to it. All the publishing houses are bored stiff right now. Send them something. The worst that could happen is that they say no.

If they do say no, send your story somewhere else.

Now...if you are interested in making the full time career switch to writing for a living, you need to go a step farther. After you have had a published short story is when you will start to get the itch. Step two is fairly easy as well. Get yourself on a site like Fiverr, put up an add with links to your past work, and wait...

Then there is formatting. Online content writing is a little like novel writing in that it is all about how you format it. You also get to be creative enough that you can give firms really excellent 'About Us' pages or blog posts. You learn loads about random subjects and as your knowledge grows, so does your client base.

Easy, right? I can offer you more cheats to working from home as an online content writer inside my new book. I've had this in the works since October last year and really, really wanted to have a book release party. Unfortunately Coronavirus means social distancing and I am reduced to digital advertising.

So if you're a budding writer that wants to learn how to do what I do, then here is the link to The Online Content Writer's Handbook. If you don't want to do it for a living, but still want to write your first short story, then pick up a pen or sit at your keyboard. A half hour a day adds up to quarantine entertainment with something wonderful to show for it in the end... your own little piece of magic.

And you never know who has been waiting for you to tell your story.