Writing jobs are highly searched for positions amongst full time and part time writers. For the full time writer looking for a steady gig or the freelancer building her portfolio, there are many opportunities to be found online and offline. The key to securing ongoing business lies with how creative you can be. Are you looking in the same places hundreds of other writers are looking? Or are you creating your own opportunities and looking under rocks most people don't consider? Depending on what you are looking for, you can land a writing job in one week. How, do you ask? You can do so, by contacting or searching for people who need writers, are not writers themselves and are not usually contacted by writers. Consider these three sources for writing jobs:

• Local businesses - Contact local businesses and offer to create marketing materials for the company in exchange for monetary compensation or the products they offer.

• Online opinions - There are hundreds if not thousands of sites where you can get paid for your opinions, expertise and advice.

• Technology Forums - Many techies are just that. Technical individuals that usually shy away from writing and could use the assistance of a professional or at least competent writer.

Local businesses are in need of good writers who can produce marketing materials, sales letters, internal communications and additional written correspondence. This is not just a great way to build up your portfolio; it is a great way to land a full time job. Have you heard of internal communications consultants? These are writers who create letters and other documents for employees within an organization. If you are not pursing the nine to five, then consider building your portfolio by offering this service to several different businesses in your local area. Once you've built up a clientele and a good reputation for producing quality work, you will then start receiving referrals and watching your business grow. Yes, I said your business.

Online opinion or article sites offer numerous ways for you get paid as a writer. There are websites that will pay you based on the number of views your articles receive. There are also sites that allow you to post reviews and share feedback for products that you have used. There are even websites that will pay you to answer questions posted by their readers and you will be paid if your answer is satisfactory. Many of these sites will pay you via a mailed check, Paypal or a third party account. You can make anywhere from $10 - $100+ depending on the time you dedicate to each site.

Technology forums or any forums that cater to the technically inclined usually offer a service that will connect their forum members to writers who can offer unique content for their websites. If you are remotely familiar with SEO (search engine optimization) and the power of keywords, then you can do very well writing website content. I personally have received from $50 to over $100 for writing text for websites. I love researching and reading information online. I probably spend far too much time on my laptop but I also learn a great deal. That is just one example of how writers can collaborate with webmasters or the technically inclined and make money online.