paid to write articles

It depends whether you want $1+ for your work immediately or over time. If you want residual income (a few cents every month for years), you can post articles on the directories (AC, Helium, Triond, Bukisa, Squidoo, HubPages, etc.). If you want payment as soon as the work's done, you'll need to find employers willing to pay. That usually means checking out job posting sites (the big four freelancing sites and other writing job locales around the web). Two thoughts: (1) don't pay for membership anywhere (they should be paying you) and (2) have a look at my (free) Beginner's Guide for a bunch of info about writing - there's too much to put in a single response here!