ALLISON A - July 22, 2010 writes:

I'm about to start on Assignment 2 and I'm trying to decide on what magazine to go for and what kind of article I can write. What magazines did you all choose? I just need a few fresh ideas to help me decide. Thanks.

Louise L - July 22, 2010 replied:

I guess the best place to start would be with magazines you are interested in. Having some background knowledge of the subjects they cover would also help. For example, I am more likely to write for a spiritual or history based magazine than a computer one.

Ravi J - July 29, 2010 replied:

i bought a few magazines and found that they mainly cover news and people.mostly they are weekly magazines.pronto next week arrives and these become old.i am in same quandry.

ALLISON A - July 29, 2010 replied:

It was hopeless but in the end I decided on a magazine centered around my hobby of cross stitch. The articles they have in there are usually from readers about their hobby of cross stitch and I thought that I could write about my life of cross stitch.

E S - August 2, 2010 replied:

I'm struggling with this essay too, have been for quite some time! As it says in the assignment it would be best to write about something you are interested in. However i'm finding difficult to find a magazine in publication that writes about things i'm interested in and therefore have some knowledge of. Any ideas people?

Patricia T - August 3, 2010 replied:

How about pinpointing your main interest in life and write about that from a different angle, that way you could send your article to a whole number of magazines including the Sunday supplements. Perhaps if you live in a city, or the country, or are disabled, or single, or let's say you enjoy playing the trumpet. You could write about the costs involved, or time restrictions for practice. The history of the instrument. I hope this helps and feeds your imagination. PaTrisha-Anne

E S - August 3, 2010 replied:

I've had a brain wave of sorts (Hold on!) this morning. I'm quite interested in Sleep Disorders, but i'm no expert. I thought maybe i could do some digging and cross referencing to learn a few more facts and figures and send it to one of the Ladies Magazines like Bella? I think that would be a good start because snoring is a problem for a lot of men and it ticks off their wives and girlfriends so it may be of an interest to them? This 'different angle' taken on board from you PaTrisha-Anne so thank you very much! :)

Patricia T - August 3, 2010 replied:

Good news then ES, don't know your name. Glad my input helped. Now for me to walk my own talk and tackle Assignment N2 myself. I'm passionate about personal development and concerned about the credit crunch, so my theme will be how someone in 2010 can overcome their concerns about money, debt and credit. Good luck to everyone with their assignments. PaTrisha-Anne

E S - August 3, 2010 replied:

Best of luck with it, it sounds very interesting PaTrisha-Anne! Thanks again, Dibz.

Marilyn M - August 23, 2010 replied:

I am having similar problems. I loved doing assingment 1 but then have hit a brick wall with the article for assignment 2. All the magazines I like don't accept unsolicited articles. As I live in Spain I don't have the opportunity to go to a newsagents and leaf through a load of other titles to see who will take unsolicited work. I am trying to do it via the internet but access is limited, and to subsribe to a load of different titles to research what they print over various months is prohibitive. Sorry to moan everyone but I am feeling very frustrated as I don't want to lose the momentum and enthusiasm at this early stage. Marilyn M.

Candie W - September 22, 2010 replied:

Marilyn M: Oh dear... but don't worry, I live in Sweden and have struck upon similar issues and found a way out. Some magazines that accepts unsolicited material, can also be read online. Such as The Lady, The Telegraph, Kent Life and the Traveller Magazine. Why not go to the Traveller ( http://www.wexas.com/travel/traveller/ ) and write an article about a destination in Spain that you love and adore more than anything, or write about the food at a Spanish festival? I know they accept that. Who in Britain (or the rest of the world) doesn't love visiting and reading about Spain after all? =) Good luck! Now for me.... I wrote Assignment 1 with flying colours but as soon as I got to assignment 2 I hit rock bottom. Anything I tried gave me a dead end. This is 2 years ago!! I still haven't solved this!! However, I've had many brilliant ideas for assignment 2, I just can't write them so they fit to the mag I've chosen, I make mistake after mistake, after... Since I started I've been stuck on everything I can think of! =( I think that the issue is that writing a 450 word long article right at the beginning is just too much for a perfectionist as me. Atm I'm considering doing a suggestion that was made in the beginning of Modular 1 (yes I am going BACK from the start, cause I start to think I must've missed something!. It suggest writing of anything I see during an ordinary day, write an article about that in 150 words. So from there I thought, why don't I write an article about anything that concerns me, include facts etc and present a 150 word long article of the quality of 450 article I cannot write? And then just work myself up from there... =) I truly wish I wasn't so hard on myself. :(

Natalie C - September 24, 2010 replied:

I am EXACTLY in the same boat Candie W. Very irritated with myself. Started the course in 2005/6 and a million 'life issues' got in the way. Initially I used them as excuses as they were fairly valid (moved countries twice, got married, miscarried, etc.). Now I have no more excuses (even my happy 6 weeks pregnant news can't stop me). I've recently finished working a day job and I'm in the very fortunate position of being able to focus on my course full time now. I've been terrified of assignment 2 since I started the course and when I last tried to tackle it (September 2007) with an article on home schooling for Reader's Digest (very optimistic I know), I purchased the November issue only to discover they published an article on home schooling!! It completely deflated me and I hate to say I gave up for a while after that. I must say however that the knowledge that I want to finish this course and get published is always in the back of my mind and I'm extremely grateful for the indefinite time frame the course offers. About 2 weeks ago I finally set up a daily study (and writing) schedule and started going over the modules I'd previously studied so I could catch up. It's taking a bit of getting used to but I'm proud that I'm finally back on track. If anyone else is reading this and feeling despondent, please know that you're not alone. We were called to be writers for a reason and that reason is we have something to offer and we WILL get there eventually.

Patricia T - September 24, 2010 replied:

Hi to Marilyn and Candie, I agree with Natalie about being called to be writers and with application all of us will get there...how about imagining that you will be paid a huge amount of money for the article and just write it, do it for the first magazine you find that does accept un-solicitored articles. Good luck to all of us. PaTrisha-Anne

Marilyn M - September 27, 2010 replied:

Thanks to everyone who has taken the trouble to reply. Special thanks to Candie - I an subscribing to individual issues of The Lady online to try to get the flow of their style of article and am now going to follow the link you gave me to the travel magazine. I never expected any replies and the idea that there is a worldwide network of us all rooting for each other is amazing! Marilyn M.

Annette B - October 14, 2010 replied:

this thread was wonderful to read as I'm in the same position as everyone else and I resent having payed money I'm not using. I am stuck on mags that accept unsolicited articles, not chat mags but more serious like gardening. Any ideas? I'll try your suggestions Candie, Thank you.

Candie W - February 7, 2011 replied:

Now I've changed around completely on which mag to write for. I've decided to write for a newspaper, a sunday's one! And why not? Cause a newspaper often accept many different styles and areas into just their one newspaper. I wanted to write a factual, humourus personal opinionated article in 800-900 words. Turned out The Lady wouldn't go for the article I (in the end) decided to write, and I felt that m,y writing for a travel magazine had to wait till another day. So I looked to American children's and online magazines. I found plenty!! But changed my mind again regarding what type of article I wanted to produce.... Then looking through the Writer's Yearbook like a complete maniac for the maybe my hundred time, I discovered the newspaper area, and FINALLY I HAVE A FINNISHED ARTICLE! :D I cannot tell how over joyed I am! I just hope my tutor reply back and say the N2 assignment needs to be for a mag! lol *rollseyes*

Candie W - February 7, 2011 replied:

Annette B - my best, and by far most simple (therefore slightly boring) answer would be to buy the Writer's Yearbook. It lists every mag that accepts unsolicited material and which areas a magazine cover. In truth, I wouldn't been able to finnish my article without it but it took me a few non-usages to figure that out. lol Another idea is to go onto one of the following: www.amazon.com, www.magazines.com or www.magazinesubscription.co.uk and find magazines which covers the area which you wish to write in. If you can't find a website to them, find it mentioned on their website that they accept unsolicited material or can't order in a copy of their mag to your local news agents, then just send in a simple question to the mags e-mail address/or irl address (remember to include with the your inquery an envelope with your address on and with a fully paid postage). A question of this kind is quick, simple and not overwhelming therefore even I dared to email one to an American mag. :D Best of luck!

PADMAPRIYAH A - February 17, 2011 replied:

Hi all,

I have been stuck with N2 for sometime.I feel better after reading this thread and feel more positive now.I will revive the writer in me to complete N2!

Thanks a heap for sharing so much of information!!

Candie W - February 17, 2011 replied:

I JUST FINISHED THE N2 ASSIGNMENT!!!! yay :) I lowered the expectations of having it published to 0, and went for an article I had begun writing for this specific assignment 2 years ago. I honestly don't know if it'd sell but never the less I am over the moon with it being finished :D

Found on Page 22 in Book 1, Module 2, what I needed to hear from the tutors: "Most Writers settle down to their own rhythm and a speed at which they can write comfortably. Setting a target too high and trying to reach it daily can lead to unsaleable work. SET YOURSELF A TARGET WHICH YOU KNOW YOU CAN COMFORTABLY REACH. You will then feel happy with your writing output at the end of the day and what you have created will be of publishable standard."

Can recommend the whole section of the Module 2 in Book 1 to aid you in overcoming assignment N2. I thought that I only needed to remember Book 2 to accomplish assignment N2, but I needed to browse up on my memory on both Book 1 AND 2!

My sincerest thanks to everyones brilliant ideas in this thread - you provided the kick I surely needed!