Diana Burrell

I’ll be offering my popular “Developing Story Ideas That Sell” workshop through The Renegade Writer this summer, starting on Monday, June 8 with a second session starting on Monday, July 6. I won’t be offering the class in August due to travel/vacation — the next workshop will be offered in September.

If you’re “idea challenged” when it comes to pitching editors, or you’re just sick and tired of writing about the same old subjects, this workshop can be the kickstart you need to put your career in high gear. You’ll learn:

* How to find stories that can earn you thousands of dollars in magazine commissions, even while you’re running errands, caring for young children, or surfing the Web;

* How to train yourself to come up with salable ideas effortlessly;

* Why your stockpile of story ideas makes you more valuable to editors;

* How to build an idea inventory that can take you through months, even years, of pitching.

So sign up today! Any questions? E-mail me at dianaburrell [at] gmail [dot] com.

In the midst of a creative lull? Want to ramp up your income 2009? I’ll be running my three-week Story Idea Workshop this spring with start dates on March 2 and April 6. Sign up through my classes page.

I really loved teaching my freelance writing classes locally for the past few years. But with my shift to food writing and a kid who has a more vibrant social life than I, teaching was one thing I had to cut out in the last year.

However, I’ve figured out a way to teach online. I think this is going to be great because I can reach beyond Boston. Now it doesn’t matter where you are — you can take my fun 3-week workshop! The other thing I did differently was focus on my favorite part of freelancing — generating salable story ideas for editors. It’s the part of my in-person class I found the most exciting. Everyone, and I mean EVERYONE, has a story to tell sell and I get a kick out of showing my students they have dozens of ideas right in front of them. They just need to learn how to see them.

This workshop came about when, maybe a year ago I was talking to my writer friend Sandra, sharing with her some of my idea-generating tips and she said, “You should really teach a course in this.” It took me awhile to gather my thoughts, tips, and ideas, but finally this week I finished the three-week workshop. And now I’m really excited to share this with the world.

So check out my class page. If you have any questions about the workshop, send an e-mail to diana at ninetofive dot com and I’ll be happy to answer them.

For some reason I get gazillions of hits for people looking for Clean Eating recipes, so hey — if you’re so inclined, come check out my food blog. I’ve been food blogging for awhile, but recently I did a site revamp of DianaCooks. It’s basically a place to write the things that I want to write vs. what editors want me to write. Do come check it out — and grab the feed! I’ll be doing more recipes than what you find in the archives.

My, how the winter has flown by. I’m weeks away from my India trip and in the midst of getting all my immunizations updated. This a.m. I finished my typhoid series, and tomorrow I head back to the doctor for my next round of rabies and hepatitis a/b shots. I’m starting to feel a little like the family dog! Then there are all the prescription meds I have to take along with me. My husband took one look at the immunization and prescription list and said, “You won’t catch me visiting a country where I need shots to get through immigration.” Haa! To be honest, I’m most worried about mosquitoes when we’re cruising the Kerala backwaters. It’s not malaria season in south India, but mosquitoes seem to think my blood is sweet and tasty. I’ve stocked up on repellents with the highest amount of DEET allowed.

I’ve also just purchased a new Nikon digital SLR camera. Once the current slew of assignments are off my desk, I hope to get out and play with it, as I need to take magazine-worthy photos for an assignment when I’m in south Asia.

Nothing much going on except that I’m swamped with work, which is, of course, a good thing. I recently got named as a contributing editor at Clean Eating magazine. When I picked up the premiere issue on the newsstand a month or so ago, I literally gasped when I thumbed through the pages. It’s a stunning magazine, filled with such gorgeous pictures of food — and I was so proud that I’d developed many of the recipes, including the main recipe feature. In the January/February issue of fresh, which you can pick up at Hannaford markets in the northeast, you’ll find my recipes for a romantic Valentine’s Day dinner.

Right now, I’m working on some stories for an inflight magazine, as well as some recipe development projects for fresh and Clean Eating. Oh, and finishing up two long-overdue-to-my-agent book proposals. Tomorrow I’m speaking to a food writing class at Boston University about how to write a great pitch letter. My Boston Globe editor is teaching the class, so I’m pretty flattered she asked me to speak!

Till next time! [db]

Check out my week-long food blog at eGullet. I’ll be blogging until Sunday, January 20.

It was a busy summer! As I try to keep up with the glut of tomatoes and chili peppers from my garden, I can’t believe the season’s over. I wrote quite a few pieces for the Boston Globe food section — see my clips page for links — and have another story coming out on 9/26/07 about goats, my new obsession. One story I’m quite proud of … it was about a Concord couple who raises pasture-fed chickens for meat and eggs. The story led hundreds of people to call or write to them about buying their birds … they ended up selling all their chickens for this year and have a waitlist for people who want birds in 2008! I also wrote many food/recipe features for fall magazines, some of which are hitting the stands this month. I did a Thanksgiving dinner story for Oxygen’s November issue, and ended up having to test the recipes during one of the hottest weeks this summer.

But it’s not all work … I spent Labor Day weekend in LA visiting a dear friend I haven’t seen in awhile, and we went to my husband’s family reunion in Iowa in August. It was held at his great-grandfather’s homestead, which is still in the family — moreover, the reunion has been held every summer since 1918. I thought that was pretty cool! Now we’re off on a family vacation to Munich for a couple weeks, then it’s back to Boston to start planning my November March 2008 trip to India.

In January, my co-author and I are starting a series of e-courses taught through our Renegade Writer website. We are so thrilled with the instructors who are teaching them — they’re tops! Check out our blog as well, which we update fairly frequently.

This month’s Oxygen magazine features my story on healthy grilling, along with three recipes I developed. The food stylist did a fabulous job making my dishes look yummy. (I never get photogenic grill marks on my chicken breasts, let me tell you.)

Later this fall, a new magazine called Clean Eating will hit the stands, and I’ve been commissioned to develop 13 recipes for the first quarterly issue.

I’ve got a couple pieces scheduled for the Boston Globe food section this month, a short piece running in the “short orders” section on June 6, and another longer piece scheduled for June 13, along with two recipes I developed. I’m also reporting on a couple other pieces for them this month: details and links TK.

The Renegade Writer’s Query Letters That Rock is doing well — in fact, we just got a royalty statement and we’re pretty close to earning out our advance. Yay royalty checks!

That’s all for now, folks.

I just got back from a whirlwind trip to NYC. Whew! We packed a lot in in three days, including a lunch with one of my editors.

But the big trip news: I’m going to India in November! It looks like I’ll be there for about two weeks, give or take a few days, and yes, I’m going for work. I’ve got some really cool stories I’m working up (including one that will make my friends and family gasp with its daring), but if you’ve got travel tips to share, I’m all ears. I’ll probably be in Mumbai, maybe Delhi, and I hope there’ll be time for a trip to Goa or Kerala (that’s where my favorite Indian food can be found).

Right now, my new favorite book is Lonely Planet India. Can’t wait!

I have a short piece in this month’s issue of Parenting about why babies like to twirl their hair. (My son is five and he still does this, right before he falls asleep or when he’s waking up. Funny the stuff these kids do!)

Oxygen magazine continues to run its nutrition/food series called “Build a Better …” for which I developed the recipes. This month it’s a salmon stir fry, and it’s styled beautifully.

I’m working on a lot of projects this month — just finished teaching a class locally, a full schedule of article assignments, plus I have a NYC trip scheduled in a few weeks. And then there are those book proposals I wanted finished last fall. Tap, tap, tap.

My new book, The Renegade Writer’s Query Letters That Rock is doing well, according to our publisher. I attended a writing conference this weekend and several writers told me how much it had helped them with their queries. (One of my editors even held it up during her presentation and exhorted the audience to read it. And no, I didn’t have to beg her to do that — what an honor!) My co-author and I run a popular writing blog built around our books, so do check it out — and if our books sound interesting, we’d be ever so grateful if you purchase them.

Till next time …