FIVE MINUTES ... Is All You Need ........to phone a friend ..... peel potatoes for dinner ..... pick kids up from school ..... or write a few words that could earn you anything from a plastic pinny or ballpoint pen, to a dream house in sun, a top-of-the-range sports car, or huge sums of money in cash and luxury goods!

Even if just a few minutes a day is all you can spare, you can still be a well-respected, regularly published writer.

No special skills are required, you definitely don't need a computer or word processor, a telephone or desk. And you certainly do not need lots of spare time ..... because you are about to enter fascinating world of .....

THE FIVE MINUTE WRITER!

Short written pieces are in great demand all over world, by editors and publishers, alongside other high-paying clients, both to fill space where a feature falls short of published page, hence ‘filler', and to lighten otherwise staid publications, such as medical journals and import/export bulletins.

Five minute writing covers far more enjoyable and profitable projects than most people appreciate ..... taking just minutes to produce ..... and covering everything from readers' letters and fillers, to mini-articles, puzzles and quizzes, recipes and household hints, photographs and cartoons, to greetings card verses, competition slogans, and much, much more besides.

That's why five minute writing is considered very best way to begin and develop a successful writing career, and why many established and very well-paid writers stay with this profitable medium, plus:

Before you run away from opportunities offered by many legitimate writing contests, read following eleven tips on choosing, winning and benefitting from writing contests.

1. Visit websites listed below under resources. Many offer comments on writing contests which can help you decide which ones are for you, and which ones are to avoid. Do an internet search on publication, business or person running contest. While not answering all your questions, this type of search can help you cross off questionable contests.

2. If a contest is free to enter, you have nothing to lose, but still read fine print. There are contests that claim rights to any winning stories, or even all submissions. For contests with an entry fee, decide if prize money justifies fee. For example, would you pay $15 entry fee for a poetry contest where winner received $35 as prize? Would you pay a fee if prize was publication, or a book?

3. Still unsure about a publication or business that is running an writing contest? E-mail publisher or owner and ask for references. Visit contest's website and track down former winners. Again, this is not a guarantee of anything, but if a former winner says he lost all rights to his story and was never paid, or on other hand, if winner raves about cash prizes and personal note from literary agent/contest judge, you have a better idea of how you are likely to be treated in each case.

4. Read rules carefully to make sure that a prize will be awarded no matter how many entries are received. If there is a minimum amount of entries (say editor just wants to bring in entry fees equal to cash awarded), make sure that contest's rules state fees will be refunded if competition cannot be completed.

5. Want to increase your odds of winning? Find a relatively new publication or contest. Each year a contest is held builds on previous year's publicity. The second annual contest of a fiction magazine will likely draw less entries than one that's been publicized for ten years.

6. Another way to hedge your bets is to follow contest's rules. Know word limit, way to submit, how to pay entry fee and when winners will be announced. Do not think your story will be so special that judges will overlook your sloppy formatting, lack of fee or 4000 extra words.