You want to be a writer. But what do you want to write about?

I research and write for a living, at a regular, 9-to-5, government job, so I have security, a pension, health care, paid vacation, union benefits, the works. The downside is that I'm not getting rich doing it, but I make enough, and I'm writing about something I love--old buildings. Who'd a thunk the government needed people to do that? Turns out it does.

I didn't go into college thinking, "I want to be a writer." But I did a lot of writing there, discovered I was decent at it, and graduated with a liberal arts degree which put me on the path to nothing specific but gave me a sense of what I was interested in. I spent the next four years writing for a trade magazine, which wasn't really what I wanted to do, but it was regular, kept me sharp, and gave me a chance to figure out what it was that I really liked and wanted to devote my life to. That ended up being historic architecture, so I went to grad school to study it, and it was the best thing I ever did. Now I'm happy as a clam, not only because I'm writing, but because I spend every day learning about a topic that never gets old for me, and working to interpret fairly complicated stuff for the general public, which gives me a lot of satisfaction.

People write about everything, of course. You're still young; spend some time working to discover what in the world you really love, what you could spend the rest of your life studying and learning about. The environment? TV shows? Politics? Food? Then do whatever you have to do to get a toehold in that field. (Often, that means grad school and a string of internships.) Once you're there, you'll find that a lot of the people around you can't write to save their lives, and that you'll be in demand, because explaining things clearly is harder than it looks, and people who can do it are always in demand.

Good luck!

As a newspaper editor, I can honestly say that published clippings aren't important to me - good writing samples are.

If you feel you want clippings, there are always zines and blogs and web sites and local publications that are desperate for writers. You can build up a repertoire that way. I did that back in the day, so have most writers I know.

Also, if you look to small town newspapers, you will find a transitory world where first time writers are sought after. Usually the way it works is that a 23 year old gets hired, spends a year, year and a half figuring out how to work on assignment and deadline, and then gets a better job at a slightly bigger paper. I see it happen again and again and again. Go to journalismjobs.com, look around.

Also, if you see ads for freelance work - it happens - write anything. I got my first paying gigs writing about sports. I knew nothing about sports, but I ended up doing it for over a year and next thing I knew I was doing regular work for the Boston Globe . . . writing about weddings. I knew nothing about wedding planning, but the pay was good, so I figured it out quick. Doing anything and thinking quick is the best plan to working as a writer.

Oh, and prepare to starve until you get to the point where you are only sort of starving. When it comes to newspapers, unless you're at a certain level, you'll starve with a full time job.

In addition...

-Your college newspaper is a fine source of samples. Your blog is a fine source of samples. Newsweek actually went into several months ago. Might have been the issue that dealt with college porn? But it doesn't hurt to diversify your creative sources of samples (and as a sidenote to Cary's remarks on working freelance, if someone pays you to write something - doesn't matter what it is - you're legitimately freelance).

-Things in America are weird right now. I don't know as much about writing as I do about music, but the businesses/industries parallel each other. Like Cary said, there aren't that many jobs out there (partly because of things like your blog - the P2P networks of journalism, as far as I can tell). But, you might not be happier at writing jobs than you are at your administrative assistant job. Probably make less money, too. Might be worth it to skip checking the MyFace and The Craiglist or looking at the Daily Puppy, writing something you think puts Dostoevsky to shame, and sending it to whatever publications you think you can sleaze your way into. A lot of them (including this one, and The New Yorker, and I'm sure many others) accept e-mail submissions. Takes 30 seconds to send it. Might get yourself into trouble, have some adventures. Take that secretary paycheck and pay for it (the adventure). Maybe you'll end up getting something published and will get $25 towards the next one (the next adventure).

On that note, don't get on a high horse, but don't let people humiliate you/take you for granted, either. No "Dream Job" (what a joke) is worth that. Maybe Broadsheet will do (or has done a piece) on how The Casting Couch is alive-and-well and just manifests itself as a high divorce rate and a "I wonder what life would have been like..." mentality in women in what may be your position.

If they do, I expect Cary Tennis to give me that '92 Celica he has sitting on concrete blocks in his front-yard.

That she has actually interviewed someone?

Is it necessary to be paid to do so? I think not. I'm not a writer--tho I fancied myself one in my younger days. But I can, off the top of my head, think of 10 or 15 subjects that would be absolutely compelling to write about/read about, and would demonstrate the truth of her high opinion of her talents.

If you want to write--write. Go down to the nearest intersection at lunch from your assistant job and ask the first 25 people you talk to what effect, if any the housing crunch is having on them.

Go to the nearest mall on Saturday and ask 25 teenagers how the drop in the economy, coupled with the continuing rise in the cost of a college education, is affecting their choices for after high school.

Nike said it, but it's still true: just do it.