Sometimes the hardest part of being an aspiring writer is coming up with a practical excuse for actually sitting down and writing an article.

Contests to the rescue! Server-Side Magazine is holding a contest for new articles. What better excuse to start writing than the chance of winning a $200 Amazon gift card, just in time to do some Christmas shopping? At the same time, you'll be getting a bit of practice and feedback, and exposure with fellow developers.

You'd better hurry though - you'll need to craft a 1000-word-article about any PHP, Ruby or ASP.Net topic before November 27th, 2008!