This issue completes the third year of Writing Lab News. In this issue, I discuss using Twitter for inspiration and highlight some tools that will make your writing life easier. There's a new cartoon, as well as a preview of some of my plans for the coming months. Next edition: April 10.

In this issue:

• Finding Inspiration Through Twitter
• Becoming An Unlimited Freelancer
• Five Free Keyword Research Tools For Bloggers
• Two Useful Tools For Writers
• Writing Talk: Sick Days 
• Diary Of A Working Writer March 2009

Finding Inspiration Through Twitter

by Sharon Hurley Hall

I've been using Twitter for quite a while, and I believe it can be a great source of inspiration for writers. In case you didn't know, Twitter is a microblogging service, which means that you post updates in 140 characters or less. Telling you that, though, doesn't do justice to its possibilities. As a writer, I am always on the lookout for new ideas. When you work in an office, you can find your brain awakening just by tapping into the conversation around the water cooler or the coffee machine. Someone says something that sparks an idea and you end up with a new creative product. Twitter is one way of replicating that online. I have used it to:

• ask questions about issues that might lead to post or article ideas
• get feedback on stuff I have published
• share interesting ideas that I have found

I've also used it successfully to get technical support on blogging issues and it's a great way to connect with representatives of some companies. The other day when reviewing a service I mentioned a problem on Twitter. Within a couple of minutes I had a direct message from a company rep and a couple minutes later it was sorted. The possibilities for connecting with others are endless.

There's also a more practical way that you can use Twitter tools to get an endless parade of inspiring ideas. My favourite at the moment is Tweetgrid, which works in a browser window and allows me to have multiple twitter search panels open (up to 10), tracking tweets on the keywords of my choice. So I can see what people are saying about freelancing, writing, travel or anything else I happen to be writing about. In the last month, I have written at least three posts on the travel blog that were inspired by things I saw on Twitter. That's enough to make Twitter worthwhile for me.

Becoming An Unlimited Freelancer

Last month, I promised you a review of the new book by Mason Hipp and James Chartrand. Here's an excerpt.

Many of the ebooks I read about freelancing tell me stuff I already know. Not so with the Unlimited Freelancer. This is not so much a book about skills as about the art of freelancing, less about the mechanics of writing than about the choices freelancers face when creating a viable writing business. The examples and takeaways throughout the book help readers to focus on key issues.

Inside The Unlimited Freelancer

If you have been freelancing for a while, you may recognise yourself in Chapter 1 - you have achieved some success in your business, but have so much work that ironically you may be less efficient than before.  This chapter gives an overview of the benefits of becoming an unlimited freelancer and provides a preview of the issues covered in more detail in the following four chapters.

Chapter 2 covers systems, software and automation. It includes advice on four key areas you can automate, with suggestions on how to do this. One of the most useful things in this chapter - and the subsequent ones - is the list of resources that follow each suggestion. The authors say what they like, give some other well regarded options, as well as a list of alternatives so you can do your own research and find out what suits you best. I found myself wanting more detail on some of the key resources, because I definitely need help with accounting. That’s only a minor niggle, though.

Read the rest of Becoming An Unlimited Freelancer

Five Free Keyword Research Tools For Bloggers

by Sharon Hurley Hall

I've recently started writing for PiggyBankPie again. One of my recent posts can help writers who need to do keyword research. Here's an excerpt:

Even if you have an existing blog, it’s never too late to do some keyword research - and it doesn’t have to cost you a dime. Here are five keyword research tools you can use for free.

SEOBook Keyword Suggestion Tool

This tool has rapidly become my favorite keyword research tool. Powered by Wordtracker’s API, it offers related keywords and daily search volumes for the three main search engines. It also links to results from Keyword Discovery, Adwords Keyword Tool, Google Trends, Yahoo Suggest and other keyword tools. I see this one as a one stop shop and use it as my starting point for keyword research. After you have done a few searches you will have to answer a captcha question to continue searching.

Find out about the other free keyword research tools.

Two Useful Tools For Writers

by Sharon Hurley Hall

One of the things I enjoy about my job is the chance to review new websites and tools. In the last month, I reviewed two tools that could really help writers. The first is a tool I've known about for a while, called Syncplicity, which provides instant online backup of your files. If you are not backing up your work regularly, then you should be. Syncplicity makes backing up painless - in fact you don't have to think about it at all once you have set up the application. Read the full review here.

When you start out in freelancing, one of the things you don't have are invoice and agreement templates to get you up and running. Free online invoicing site FastDue addresses both of these. I tried out the invoicing tool and think that it provides a great way to keep track of invoices, though it won't do your accounts. In addition, the wide range of legal forms and contracts can be useful, so it's worth checking out. Find out more about FastDue here.

Writing Talk - Sick Days

Do freelancers get sick days? Not often, which was the inspiration for this strip. The others are here.

Diary Of A Working Writer - March 2009

Nothing ever goes quite according to plan, and this month was no exception. I certainly didn't count on losing a week's work through illness, and that also delayed this month's newsletter. However, I won't dwell on the negative, but instead look at what went right.

Once again it was a busy month, with a new article marketing contract coming on stream and the first posts from my new Piggybankpie run published. Two recent posts for that site are Four Ways To Beat Bloggers' Block and The No-Frills Guide To Web Analytics. Meanwhile, on the travel blog, I looked at Nine Places To Plan Your Next Trip and The Best Iphone Apps For Travelers. And I spent some time getting to know my readers on Get Paid To Write Online.

Looking ahead to this month, I have some interesting things planned, including working on a new info product with a friend, reviewing some more resources on Get Paid To Write Online, and working on some multimedia for the site. (Yes, it's about time!) Have a great month.