If you haven’t written anything significant before you may have difficulty finding the time to sit down and write. What with the kids, the day (or night) job. Perhaps you are thinking about further education or completing your degree.

Lets face it, you are already busy so when you get home at night you are tired. Your brain just isn’t functioning well enough to do much more than surf the net, veg in front of the TV and dream about being a fabulously well paid writer. I certainly used to.

Here is a simple process to get you started writing which doesn’t take a lot of time and can get you paid for your efforts. There is a downside, you may write quite a lot of material before you start getting paid but if you match the article type with the publication then this is far less likely to happen.

The type of writing I am talking about is short manuscripts also known as fillers. These can be anything from a two or three line news snippet, to a 1/2 page information piece. Almost all of the magazines need filler material and they need a lot of it. One magazine editor has been quoted as saying “One of the best ways to break in is to write fillers.” she went on to say that it allows her to develop a relationship with the freelancers and that over half of her current group of freelancers started as filler writers.

It is true that most publications publish more freelance fillers than they do freelance article writers. Fillers are the one thing they never have enough of because they get 100 times more articles than fillers. Does that sound like opportunity banging on your door?

Another advantage is that fillers rely on information not writer reputation or qualifications. You don’t have to sell yourself to get a filler published, the filler will do that for you.

The smart way to write fillers is to keep a notebook and a camera with you at all times. Jot down notes of conversations you overhear, particularly kids interacting with each other or adults. There are far more brilliant one-liners used daily than ever get into a comedians routine, collect them. When you see funny signs due to location or wording take a photograph. When you see something screwed up in the media take a note. All of this material is potential filler material.

How good is it that you can get paid for something stupid your boss said at work? Nearly makes it worthwhile going to meetings and actually listening.

Fillers are short so you can write a lot of them, you don’t need an introduction to the editor to submit your fillers, just follow the guidelines printed in every magazine. You could have hundreds of these submitted in a very short time. If they’re any good you could have them published and a cheque in the mail in weeks because they are almost always published fast. Feature articles on the other hand can take years to be published.

That’s another reason fillers can be so good for your career. You could have dozens of clips in your portfolio very quickly and that then gives you more options.

When you do start doing feature articles don’t neglect the fillers, they can be used within your articles as breakout boxes or as stand alone filler material for additional cash flow while you are researching the main article.