The story about my fat fluffy cat, Shadow, will eventually become either a short story, an essay, or maybe even a non-fiction article - perhaps all three. Let’s look at turning it into a non-fiction article. First of all, ask yourself if there is a need for such an article. To decide this, answer a few questions: How many other people have lost their beloved pets in this fashion? How many have given up hope (as I nearly did), and how many had

Recently, Shadow disappeared for three days. Both my husband and I went out day and night looking for him, to no avail.

Now, it needs to be said that Shadow is not the kind of cat who just disappears. No, this is a cat who loves his food and comes running with the slighted hint of food appearing. I had visions of him either being hit by a car or some unscrupulous person ‘catnapping’ him. (Why anyone would want a foodaholic cat I’ll never know!)

After three days of checking animal shelters and searching the streets, and still no Shadow, I decided to door-knock the neighbours. The third house I called at had heard ‘ghostly’ meows at all hours, and a ‘ghost cat’ walking the house. Hmmm, that sounded like my Shadow.

After four hours of trying to pinpoint exactly where in the neighbour’s house he was, the husband neighbour remembered that the day Shadow disappeared, their roof had been repaired. I went home to get my son and my hubby’s ladder (heights are not my forte) only to get back out on the street to find my neighbour waiting. “We’ve found your cat,” he told me. “He’s looking down at us from the manhole.”

Yes, he was, but it took twenty minutes to coax him down, poor darling. And he’s been following me around, and making up for his loss of food ever since. (Incidentally, we called him Shadow because he follows me everywhere.)

Why, you ask, is this crazy woman telling me about her cat?

Whether it be fiction or non-fiction (or both), as writers, we need to be forever on the lookout for ideas. This used to be a major drawback for me. Not so these days. Learning to find ideas does not necessarily come naturally – it’s something that, with practice, will get easier with habit.

The story about my fat fluffy cat, Shadow, will eventually become either a short story, an essay, or maybe even a non-fiction article - perhaps all three. Let’s look at turning it into a non-fiction article. First of all, ask yourself if there is a need for such an article. To decide this, answer a few questions: How many other people have lost their beloved pets in this fashion? How many have given up hope (as I nearly did), and how many had

After three days of checking animal shelters and searching the streets, and still no Shadow, I decided to door-knock the neighbours. The third house I called at had heard ‘ghostly’ meows at all hours, and a ‘ghost cat’ walking the house. Hmmm, that sounded like my Shadow.

After four hours of trying to pinpoint exactly where in the neighbour’s house he was, the husband neighbour remembered that the day Shadow disappeared, their roof had been repaired. I went home to get my son and my hubby’s ladder (heights are not my forte) only to get back out on the street to find my neighbour waiting. “We’ve found your cat,” he told me. “He’s looking down at us from the manhole.”

Yes, he was, but it took twenty minutes to coax him down, poor darling. And he’s been following me around, and making up for his loss of food ever since. (Incidentally, we called him Shadow because he follows me everywhere.)

Why, you ask, is this crazy woman telling me about her cat?

Whether it be fiction or non-fiction (or both), as writers, we need to be forever on the lookout for ideas. This used to be a major drawback for me. Not so these days. Learning to find ideas does not necessarily come naturally – it’s something that, with practice, will get easier with habit.

The story about my fat fluffy cat, Shadow, will eventually become either a short story, an essay, or maybe even a non-fiction article - perhaps all three. Let’s look at turning it into a non-fiction article. First of all, ask yourself if there is a need for such an article. To decide this, answer a few questions: How many other people have lost their beloved pets in this fashion? How many have given up hope (as I nearly did), and how many had

Yes, he was, but it took twenty minutes to coax him down, poor darling. And he’s been following me around, and making up for his loss of food ever since. (Incidentally, we called him Shadow because he follows me everywhere.)

Why, you ask, is this crazy woman telling me about her cat?

Whether it be fiction or non-fiction (or both), as writers, we need to be forever on the lookout for ideas. This used to be a major drawback for me. Not so these days. Learning to find ideas does not necessarily come naturally – it’s something that, with practice, will get easier with habit.

The story about my fat fluffy cat, Shadow, will eventually become either a short story, an essay, or maybe even a non-fiction article - perhaps all three. Let’s look at turning it into a non-fiction article. First of all, ask yourself if there is a need for such an article. To decide this, answer a few questions: How many other people have lost their beloved pets in this fashion? How many have given up hope (as I nearly did), and how many had

Why, you ask, is this crazy woman telling me about her cat?

Whether it be fiction or non-fiction (or both), as writers, we need to be forever on the lookout for ideas. This used to be a major drawback for me. Not so these days. Learning to find ideas does not necessarily come naturally – it’s something that, with practice, will get easier with habit.

The story about my fat fluffy cat, Shadow, will eventually become either a short story, an essay, or maybe even a non-fiction article - perhaps all three. Let’s look at turning it into a non-fiction article. First of all, ask yourself if there is a need for such an article. To decide this, answer a few questions: How many other people have lost their beloved pets in this fashion? How many have given up hope (as I nearly did), and how many had

The story about my fat fluffy cat, Shadow, will eventually become either a short story, an essay, or maybe even a non-fiction article - perhaps all three. Let’s look at turning it into a non-fiction article. First of all, ask yourself if there is a need for such an article. To decide this, answer a few questions: How many other people have lost their beloved pets in this fashion? How many have given up hope (as I nearly did), and how many had no idea where to start? Assuming, as I have, that there is a need for the information, and therefore, an article, you would then need to work out the sort of content you would want to use. Think of some questions that need to be addressed. I find brainstorming is the best technique to work out my content. In this instance (for this particular subject) I could ask:

When a pet goes missing, where should you start looking? How long is average for a pet to be found? Can animal shelters help? Is it beneficial to have your pet micro-chipped? Will animal shelters contact you if your pet is micro-chipped or wears a tag? Is this definite? Is it better to check in person or can you rely on the shelter contacting you? What is the procedure used by shelters and pounds? How does an animal catcher/ranger determine if a pet is a stray? Quotes from animal catcher/ranger/council/shire regarding missing pets. Facts and figures (statistics)?

The above list took me just a few minutes to develop, but as you can see, I have the basis for an article. And so, with some research, photos and planting bottom firmly on seat, I have my non-fiction article. With a little extra work, I could re-write and sell the article to more than one market, generating additional income. (It is much easier to sell articles that come complete with photographs, so give this some serious consideration.)

Anthologies are a major business these days, and their editors are constantly looking for content. No matter which publication, ezine or website, the majority carry market information. More often than not, there will be at least one listing at any given time, for anthology submissions that are required. Some of these may not suit your current needs, but some, such as the Chicken Soup series, A Cup of Comfort series etc, have ongoing needs for stories. Some have a newsl