If you're an aspiring writer and are trying to get something published, you have figured out pretty early on that this is a killer business to break into. The competition is fierce and the talent pool is, well, talented to say the least. Sometimes just being good isn't good enough. Sometimes you have to go the extra mile to break into the business. This is where internships can be a great thing.

For those who don't know exactly what an internship is, it's not like being an intern at a hospital when you're a doctor. You do get paid for that. We're talking about the kinds of internships where you do them simply for the chance to break into whatever field of writing you want to break into.

For example, if you're an aspiring songwriter, you may want to volunteer your services at a publishing company. Many times these companies hire staff writers for the purpose of writing filler material for a star's up and coming CD. The "hit" they hope to find through an outside writer out of the millions of submissions that they receive. This is the song they are going to pay a portion of the royalties for, but the staff written songs are owned by the company itself so no royalties are paid. This is an opportunity to volunteer to be part of this team even for no pay, just for the chance to write. In many cases this offer will be well received and you'll be given the chance to contribute material to the team. The benefit of this is that if you write enough material that they like you may be given a shot down the road to either join the staff writing team for pay or even get a chance to write a potential hit song.

In another example, let's say you are trying to get a job writing for a newspaper. Many papers are always looking for articles or stories to fill up the less important sections of the paper. There are only so many major stories to go around. If you are knowledgeable in a certain area, say sports, they may hire you as an intern to write some sports related articles for them to appear at the back of the sports section. You won't get paid for this but it will be good experience and if your work is good enough there is always a chance that the paper will hire you.

For those who want to make it as screenplay writers or playwrights, there is always the local workshops where you can go down and offer your services. Many of these small theaters are looking for new material because a new play will always attract some curiosity from critics and agents. This is a good way for them to get their actors noticed and for you to get your material noticed at the same time. Obviously the quality of the performance won't be like a Broadway show, and this will detract somewhat from your written words, but a good critic or agent will be able to spot good material, even if the acting isn't up to par.

For each field there will be different things that you will be able to do. But the key word is volunteer. Make it perfectly clear that you are not looking for payment, just the chance to have you work seen.