Writing.Com General Discussion

Ok so I am in a position now in life where I feel writing for profit is a job for me. I have been unable to work in a traditional sense for a few years due to an illness. I used to be a chef but due to on going medical concerns/treatments I am not capable of maintaining a normal work schedule and I am limited to what I do for a living. I had a stem cell transplant 6 months ago and I must limit my contact with people and certain environmental hazards, for the next year or so. As a young man (36) this is pretty frustrating and I do not like being idle so I am going to do something to keep me financed (just a little extra money) and busy. I have been writing here and there leisurely but I am now thinking about writing for profit. I am currently setting up a writing spot in my living room and wiping an old PC to install Linux onto for writing. I prefer Linux as a work platform as opposed to windows. I enjoy the processes of writing I think. Mostly the research part. I like learning new things and if a job requires me to dive into research then I am all for it. The actual writing part is where I need practice so I am going to write a bit before I apply for work.

I have been lurking on various freelance writing sites but most require a writing sample or few. I do not have any sufficient samples. I was hoping someone in the community here could suggest a couple of serious topics for me to write about. I would go about researching and writing the paper as if it were an actual job. I would then send it back to you completed for an honest opinion. I know most writers who do freelance writing have a focus and only take certain types of jobs. I have not decided upon that yet. I am not a strong enough writer to narrow myself down to a selected few styles or concentrations.

I feel that having someone set job parameters like there might be in a real scenario would be more value to me than if I were to just pluck a few ideas out of my head. I haven't really thought about what types of sites I would like to write for either. I would appreciate any tips that experienced members of this community might have.