By Gurmeet Mattu  » Can you make money as a writer? Well, if you're screenwriter, William Goldman, or novelist, Dan Brown, earning millions, there's no doubt about it. But be warned, not everybody can achieve those dizzy heights, and the writer's life can be a precarious one. But the ability to write a school essay, or a letter to your mother, doesn't make you a writer. It is a craft, like any other, and must be learned.

But the aim of this article is not to put you off a literary career, but to look at the many options that are available to those who have the skill.

Most people think that writing a novel is the pinnacle of a writer's ambition, yet this is far from the truth. Everyone may have a novel in them, but it is only one of the outlets available to the creative spirit.

Let's have a look at the opportunities which are available.

Print - Comic books, magazines, newspapers, books, short stories, poetry

Stage - Plays, stand-up comedy

Radio - Documentaries, news, dramas, comedy (sketch & sit-com)

TV - Documentaries, news, dramas, comedy (sketch & sit-com)

Cinema - Documentary, feature, short

Internet - Blogs, website content

If you can't find space for yourself somewhere in that lot, there's something far wrong with you and if you can stretch yourself to cover more than one of these outlets you're on the way to success.

But success with writing doesn't come easy There's only one answer, write a lot, and if you can't, you're in the wrong game. This really is a case of more is better. Not only will writing a lot and submitting it for publication increase your chances of being picked up, it will also help develop your writing skills.

So, where to start? Let's imagine a special anniversary of the Battle of Kursk is coming up. You go to your local library, head for the history section, and take out a couple of books on WWII. Poring through them, you find that there's some basic information on the great tank battle, but not a lot of specific detail. Nevertheless you take notes. So, you fire up your computer and do a search for information and find some surprising facts you didn't know. You note those too.

You now take your facts and write an article based on them. This is not plagiarism, this is doing valid research. Try to have an idea of who your target audience is likely to be and pitch it at their reading level. Having completed it you can submit it to magazines and websites that specialise in 20th century history.

Bingo, you're a journalist, a writer!

But, let's take this a step further. Is there anything in the great clash of Nazi and Soviet armour that would make a short story? A novel? A stage, radio or TV play? A feature film? Some special act of heroism or perhaps kindness which turns the horrors of war into a comment on the human condition?

This is the state of mind you have to develop. The ability to look beyond what is directly in front of you, in terms of facts, and see the potential which lies there. Every situation has within it the necessary ingredients to be turned into a drama. All you have to do is find them and mould them into a work of literary art.

This ability to be both journalist and creative writer at the same time is very useful in maximising the eventual returns you receive from a short afternoon of research. A journalistic article may earn you a few dollars, but getting a screenplay contract could turn your world round.

This is why you should be reading and writing constantly, both to maximise your earnings and in search of that nugget which may just turn out to be pure gold.

•Gurmeet Mattu is an award-winning writer and trained journalist with a track record in print, stage, radio and television, as well as being a qualified trainer. He is currently operating Scriptschool from which he offers various writers' services, including articles on writing, a critique service and his free Creative Writing Course.