Spring schedule for Become an Idea Machine

by dianaburrell on December 12, 2011

Ready to start 2012 with a bang? I’m offering my popular 3-week online workshop Become an Idea Machine again and the next session starts on Monday, January 16 Monday, February 13, 2012.

Whether you’ve been feeling ho-hum about the ideas you’re pitching to editors or you’re a new writer who’s floundering in a sea of insecurity about the quality of your stories, this workshop can help. For $149, you’ll get access to a weekly web-based workshop, complete with idea-generating exercises, that will help you build up the quantity and develop the quality of your story ideas. In addition, you have three weeks of e-mail support where I’ll answer your questions, help you shape ideas, suggest possible markets for your stories, and give you the confidence to go forth and conquer your fears about querying.

Who does best in this workshop? The dividing line isn’t between those who have previous freelancing experience and those who have zero or few clips. The students who shine are those who are extremely self motivated, who aren’t afraid to push through the hard work of the first week. Moreover, my successful students are the ones who ask the most questions and who aren’t shy about participating. You know that saying, “You get what you put into it?” That’s definitely true for my workshop, because no matter how much I reach out to you, you’re not going to walk away with an arsenal of ideas if you don’t put forth the effort required. And I’m not kidding you — it’s hard work.

But the hard work is worth it. The students I’ve worked with who’ve given the workshop their all have gone on to sell stories they developed in this class to outlets like Women’s Day, Parenting, Saveur, New Scientist, Yankee, Health, the Washington Post, the Boston Globe, and the New York Times (actually three of my students have sold to the NYT!). And while some of my students were established freelancers, several were not. They were highly motivated students with good writing skills who, despite their fears and insecurities, made the leap from unpublished to published by pushing themselves harder than they thought they could and by following my advice.

Want to learn more? Download my FAQ, and if you’re ready to take your freelancing career to a new level in 2012, sign up here. If you need some extra hand-holding, I also offer this class with phone support. For an additional $150, you get three :30 minute phone sessions that you can spread out over three weeks so we can talk through your ideas over the phone.

Look forward to having you join me for a stellar 2012!!!

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NEW! Become an Idea Machine Class with Mentoring

by dianaburrell on June 30, 2011

On Monday, July 11, I kickoff a new component to my three-week Become an Idea Machine class. I’ll be offering three spots with telephone mentoring! ETA: Three new spots are opening up for the October 10, 2011 class!

How it works: You sign up, get your weekly workshop, and get all the e-mail support that the premium-level gives you. However, you also get three 1/2-hour telephone mentoring sessions — a half-hour of personalized, kick-butt advice each week to help you get your hot story ideas into the hands of editors. We can brainstorm ideas, as well as talk about freelancing issues that don’t directly pertain to the class. All for $150 plus the cost of the workshop ($299 total).

So sign up today!

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Become an Idea Machine workshop starts May 2 (FULL!)

April 18, 2011

ETA: The May class is sold out. I’ve been limiting my Become an Idea Machine workshops to five participants each month, but I’ve decided to open it up to 10 starting with the May 2, 2011 session. I’ve got six students now with four more open spots. Sign up today!

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Spring “Become an Idea Machine” schedule

February 14, 2011

Mark your calendars … on Monday, May 2, 2011, I’ll be starting a new session of Become an Idea Machine workshop. I’ve been limiting registration to five students each session; the last three sessions have sold out so if you want a space, register now. Read more about the workshop here, as well as download [...]

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Become an Idea Machine workshop in February 2011

December 29, 2010

Over the last couple months, freelancers have been writing to me, asking whether I’d be offering my Become an Idea Machine workshop again. I had to put the class on hiatus because of a shift in my career (read: I was working 40+ hours a week offsite). So good news … I’m finishing up some [...]

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Become an Idea Machine class starts July 12 July 19

July 2, 2010

I’ve decided to run my Become an Idea Machine class through the Renegade Writer site again this summer, starting on Monday, July 12 July 19.  You can sign up here, or through The Renegade Writer site. In this class: You’ll learn how to generate dozens, even hundreds of possible story ideas, starting on the very [...]

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Announcing new class: Become an Idea Machine

April 29, 2010

I’ve gotten a lot of e-mails over the past couple months from writers who wanted to take my Story Ideas That Sell workshop. I had a lot going on in my life, so I pulled the workshop down. It was just too much for me at the time, plus some of my students wanted me [...]

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Spring 2010 News

January 15, 2010

Greetings! Some updates on my schedule. Unfortunately, I’m no longer offering my Story Ideas That Sell workshop. Last fall I had a long think about what direction to take my career, which meant ruling out projects that pull me away from my goals. Teaching was one of them. Sorry folks! But I’ll continue posting at [...]

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Summer Schedule for Story Ideas That Sell Workshop

May 22, 2009

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” [...]

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Spring 2009 schedule for Story Idea Workshop

February 3, 2009

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.

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