Want to learn how to inject more “you” into your writing? Are you in a blogging rut? Do you need some inspiration to help further your freelance writing career? Are you in a creative field and need to practice your writing skills so you can get better at selling your work or getting new clients? Jump-Start Your Creative Spark can help.
I’m not going to go into too many of the workshop details in this post. Instead I want to focus on why I created this course and what you can get out of it.
A long time ago before I had a blog and a kid, before Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, or iPhones existed, I used to write in cozy Seattle cafés. I didn’t even bring my laptop. I wrote in notebooks with a pen. My dream back then was to write essays for magazines, publish short stories, and write novels. If you’d told me that instead I’d be moving to L.A., optioning a screenplay, and marketing movies I would have laughed in your face. If you told me that later I’d have a blog that would ultimately lead me to launch my own business, the laughter would probably turn into me questioning your sanity. If you’d told me I’d also have a different husband and a three-year-old son, I would have called the police.
These days much of our writing, especially those of us who are involved in the online world (which is almost all of us in some small way), is tied to 140 characters, little bits of our days shared through various social media platforms, and photo captions underneath perfectly square snippets of our lives. A lot of us have blogs. We think about Google when choosing the words that we use, and spend time creating and sourcing pinnable images to go along with them.
Before all of this online stuff, I was completely focused on writing my story. And I know that there are lots of other bloggers, writers, and creatives who are looking to get out of the social media mindset, build their storytelling skills, and regularly access the part of their brain that allows ideas to flow into authentic, creative, unique stories.
That’s why I’ve created an affordable six-week email workshop where you can learn how to write without trying to condense it down, pin it, or tweet it. This course focuses on writing stories, which is something that we all need to know how to do in today’s content-driven and easily-distracted world. You get all of the lessons in email format, so you’ll always be able to refer back to them and you can finish them at your own pace. You’ll also have the option of joining our private Facebook group to interact with present and past classmates, talk about the assignments, and get feedback on your work.
Last time I ran this workshop, I had a chance to chat with the lovely Anna from Crafting Fingers. She got a lot out of Jump-Start Your Creative Spark, including the motivation to share a piece of her work that led to her dream job! Here’s her take on the course.
“Melanie is a star. Her humour and down-to-earth advice makes you feel like you’re working with a good friend. The way I see my writing has changed. F OR E V E R. Her lessons gave me the courage I needed to show more personality in my writing. At first, I noticed the difference in my inbox. My emails were getting quicker, warmer replies.
My blog readers started engaging more, and over two months doubled in number. To top it all off, the confidence to share my ideas has launched me into my dream career.
The best part? Knowing Melanie follows her own advice.”
Registration closes on Saturday night, September 14th at 11:59 PM PDT and you’ll get your first lesson on Monday, September 16th.
Looking forward to seeing you in class and getting to know you and your work. xoxo