Letters to the Editor
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Copy
I've been making my living (and a damned good on) as a freelance writer for more than 13 years, and though I now earn 95% of my income ghostwriting and co-writing nonfiction books, I started as an ad copywriter. That's a great place to get some experience. Even if you have no background in advertising, you can go to local businesses and offer to write their ads, brochures, websites or direct mail pieces. Offer to do the first one for free to prove you have the chops, then write the shit out of it. Then ask for a decent rate for subsequent work.
Once you have some work in your portfolio, get a job at an ad agency, design shop or web shop and spend a couple of years writing goal-oriented stuff on tight deadlines. You'll learn brevity, how to create actionable copy, and sometimes get a chance to be creative. You'll also make great contacts. That will also give you an income so you can write what you love in your off-time.
One more piece of advice: beware of writer's workshops. Most of them are circle jerks for wannabes who would rather talk about writing than write. The only groups I ever got anything out of were the ones where everyone had to produce a new piece of work every week. Writers learn by writing. Write something every day.
And for God's sake, start your own blog. It's free and simple and you can go off on any subject you like. What could be better than that?