The steps to a writing career?

[Thund]

Hi,

My family will be staying in Singapore for quite some time and I intend to get a job here while staying.
Now, I would like to ask if anyone here knows what kind of course I need to take up in order to get a job as a freelance writer or those columnist/writer kind of jobs?(like writing for magazines, newspapers, etc.)

Of course, the course has to be officially recognized by the Singapore government.

Thanks!

[Strong Eagle]

You want my opinion? I am sure I will get an "authority" response for this, but here goes anyway.

If you intend to write in English, then you need to take courses in English literature... from the Greek classics through the contemporary. You need to build inside yourself a a basket of ideas and concepts that have been developed over the centuries. It will serve you well as you formulate your own ideas and try to decide how to best respond to issues of the day.

If you intend to write in an Eastern language or at least for an Eastern audience... aka Oriental... then you need to do the same thing... only this time the focus is on the Oriental culture.

You need to take lots of writing courses with good instructors that will honestly critique your work... that will make you better.

And if you are really a writer, you will simply start to write... freelance writers get published because their articles are of interest to the magazine you publish in. I've written an article on boating safety for a runabout magazine (I like boats), and I've written articles for tech magazines.

End game: Choose a topic you'd like to write about. Select the magazines that would publish relevant content. Ask them about a submission. They are always hungry for new material. As a new author you don't get paid squat but you do get your name in print.