It's about to be that time again; it's almost time to blog like crazy!

Last year I challenged the women of See Jane Write and some of my other blogger buddies to "blog like crazy." The challenge was simple: for the month of November post new content to your blog every day. That's a new blog post every day for the 30 days. Sure, it sounds simple, but if you're a blogger you know that posting every day is a lot easier said than done.

But many ladies of See Jane Write gladly stepped up to the challenge, posting daily and sharing their posts in the See Jane Write Birmingham Facebook group and on Twitter using the hashtag #bloglikecrazy.

Starting Nov. 1 we're going to #bloglikecrazy again this year. I hope you'll join us. You don't have to be a member of See Jane Write or live in Birmingham to participate. You just need a blog and willingness to write.

You may be wondering why you should bother blogging every day. Some people believe that writing daily can kill your creativity or result in sub-par content. While I believe there is some truth in those statements I also believe in the power of practice. Natalie Goldberg, author of Writing Down the Bones explained this notion best:

This is the practice school of writing. Like running, the more you do it, the better you get at it. Some days you don't want to run and you resist every step of the three miles, but you do it anyway. You practice whether you want to or not. You don't wait around for inspiration and deep desire to run. It'll never happen, especially if you're out of shape or have been avoiding it. But if you run regularly, you train your mind to cut through or ignore your resistance. You just do it. And in the middle of the run, you love it. When you come to the end, you never want to stop. And you stop, hungry for the next time.

This summer I exercised every day for 30 days as I was working to complete Jillian Michael's 30 Day Shred workout plan. This meant that one night, after a very busy day and an evening spent at a friend's birthday dinner, I had to exercise at 10:30 p.m. with a belly full of Indian food. But I was determined not to skip a day. That month I likened exercise to brushing my teeth and in November I'll do the same with blogging. You don't skip brushing your teeth because you're too tired or too busy, do you? (I sure hope not.)

I believe that choosing not to write simply because you don't feel like will, in the long run, hurt your craft because you won't learn the discipline and dedication necessary to succeed at writing.

You may be thinking, "But what if I have nothing to write about?"

Don't worry. I have you covered. Head to See Jane Write Magazine for prompts for each day of #bloglikecrazy. Now, you don't have to follow these prompts to participate. But these suggestions are here in case you find yourself experiencing blogger's block and staring at a blank computer screen.

If you plan to participate, visit the See Jane Write Magazine announcement of #bloglikecrazy and leave your name, blog URL, and Twitter handle in the comments section of that post.

Let's get ready to #bloglikecrazy!

"When you bring everything you have to every situation, that's when the magic happens." 

-- Jillian Michaels

The words above are the words that motivate me to press on during circuit one of week one of Jillian Michael's Ripped in 30 fitness DVD. Those are the words that push me to keep going even though I feel like I'm going to vomit or faint or vomit and faint, landing face first in my own puke. 

And those words are a great example of how Jillian Michaels makes me a better writer. 

I started Ripped in 30 on Aug. 1 and spent June working through Michaels' wildly popular 30-Day Shred DVD. If you know me outside of the blogosphere, you know I talk about Jillian Michaels all the time. I call myself a true believer, a Jillian Michaels disciple. When at a birthday party this past weekend and someone mentioned that she was having trouble getting motivated to work out I saw this as a prime time to be a witness. I started encouraging her to try one of Michaels' videos. 



My husband, who was also at the party, sighed and said, "You couldn't wait to preach the Jillian Michaels gospel."

Hallelujah! 

My love for Jillian Michaels, however, surprisingly has more to do with my writing than my weight. 

Michaels has a way of not only making you feel like you can accomplish fantastic fitness feats, but that you can accomplish anything you want in any other part of your life too. As I wrote last month in an article for See Jane Write Magazine: 

In level two of 30-Day Shred, Jillian says, “When you see how strong you are physically, it’s going to transcend into every other facet of your life.” 

I didn’t pay much attention to this statement at first. It’s hard to concentrate on words of encouragement when you feel like you’re going to vomit up your heart. But one day when the moves started to get a tiny bit easier and my arms started to feel a tiny bit stronger, I realized she was right. 

When you complete a challenging workout, when you lift more weight than you ever thought you could, when you run your first marathon, something inside you changes, and not just your cholesterol. You stare at that exercise DVD, or those weights, or that finisher’s medal and you think, “If I can do that, I can do anything.” 

If you can finish that marathon, you can finish writing that book. If you can stick with that Insanity DVD for 60 days, you can stick with your blog. If you can bench press all that weight, you can press send on that pitch letter to your favorite magazine. 

You can do it. 

Jillian Michaels said so.

What are you fitness plans for August? 

I think I have a new girl crush. 

This week's writeous woman of the week of Sarah Delia of WBHM 90.3 FM. Delia has served as host for "All Things Considered" and producer of local stories for Birmingham's NPR station since June. 

Sarah Delia

Delia has a great love for storytelling and in college hosted a feminist radio talk show -- two qualities that definitely make her a writeous woman. 

Delia is featured on SeeJaneWriteMagazine.com this week. 

During our interview I asked Delia what advice she would give to other female journalists. She said: “It’s important for you to not be afraid to be yourself and to be a woman. For a while I was so focused on wanting to be taken seriously as a journalist that I tried to put my gender aside. But our gender is who we are. I think we should embrace it."

Read more about Delia here. 

Other new stories on See Jane Write Magazine this week:

Sweet Blog Alabama

The Simple Booth is simply awesome at the See Jane Write Magazine launch party

Finding a Niche for Your Blog

Thursday night was amazing.

I plan to say more about the See Jane Write Magazine Launch Party presented by Hamer Law Group on Monday on SeeJaneMagazine.com and SeeJaneWriteBham.com. 

But for now I'll just let these pictures do the talking...

Susan Schorn
Photo Credit: Karin Dreyer Photography

Women writers must learn to say "no," for the sake of our sanity and for the sake of our art. We won't have time to say "yes" to writing if we say "yes" to everyone and everything else.

Susan Schorn is the Writeous Woman of the Week and someone with an amazing story on the art of saying no, which she learned in a self-defense class. This week she shares that story on the See Jane Write Magazine website. 

Susan Schorn holds black belts in Kyokushin and Seido karate and is currently working toward self-defense instructor certification. She writes for McSweeney's and The Rumpus and lives in Austin, Texas.

Her essay "Saying No" is an excerpt from her book Smile at Strangers: And Other Lessons in the Art of Living Fearlessly, published this year by  Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.

You can read her essay here. 

Other stories on the See Jane Write Magazine website this week:

Women writers react to recent George Zimmerman verdict
Five Mistakes You May Be Making on Social Media
Time Management Tips for the Busy Professional Blogger
Liza Elliott of Red Camel Press
Man of the Hour: Wade Kwon, director of the Y'all Connect corporate storytelling conference
How to Take Awesome Photos with a Not-So-Awesome Camera
See Jane Eat: Summer Panzanella 

ABC 33/40 - Birmingham News, Weather, Sports

Tuesday morning I had the honor and privilege to be a guest on a local ABC daytime talk show called Talk of Alabama. The show focuses on entertainment news and features local events, organizations and various businesses in and around the state. I was on discussing See Jane Write Magazine and our upcoming launch party. 

If you think I got this opportunity because I'm pals with one of the hosts or I have connections at the station you're wrong. I got this opportunity simply because I asked for it. 

Yes, of course, having connections will help you get the publicity you need or the writing gig you want. But don't forget about the value of a good pitch. 

For weeks I sat around trying to think of someone I knew connected to Talk of Alabama and came up with no one. So last week I threw caution to the wind and just typed up a brief email about See Jane Write Magazine. I sent it to the hosts of the show and got a reply within a couple of hours essentially saying, "How about next week?"

The takeaway is this: if you have an idea, just pitch it! Don't talk yourself out of it by saying the person to whom you're writing will never listen to you because you aren't in some special inner circle. Just polish your idea and then pitch it. And even if you don't get the answer you were hoping for, it's still better than doing nothing and forever wondering "what if?" 

Cheri Leavy and Whitney Long

Move over Mark Zuckerberg! There's a new social network on the scene.

St. Simons Island, Ga., residents Cheri Leavy and Whitney Long are the women behind the  Southern Coterie, better known as the Southern C. 

Leavy and Long say The Southern C is the social network of the South, "a virtual front porch for Southerners and all those who love the South." 

Through the site users can share blog posts, photographs, videos, recipes and more about Southern culture. 


This year Leavy and Long decided to take the fun offline with The Southern C Summit, a series of conferences for Southern bloggers, brands, and businesses.

“The Summit Series is a live event designed to offer attendees an opportunity to network and develop business relationships, while engaging in meaningful conversations in an intimate setting,” Leavy says. “It is a great opportunity for writers, bloggers and journalists to learn new media marketing to promote their efforts and the seventh largest magazine in the nation, Southern Living, has editors participating and networking in a casual atmosphere.”

Learn more about Leavy, Long, The Southern C, and The Southern C Summit series at See Jane Write Magazine. 

This week on the See Jane Write Magazine website you'll also find:
a Q&A with Ava Jae from the blog Writability 
tips on how to create a home gym on a writer's budget
out new column for all the geeky gals

the importance of sharing your story, even your fitness story

a chat with a Birmingham blawger 

I am only one, but still I am one. I cannot do everything, but still I can do something; and because I cannot do everything, I will not refuse to do something that I can do.

-- Helen Keller

On Tuesday morning I'll be a guest on the morning lifestyles show known as Talk of Alabama. I'm excited and nervous and I've tried on about 10 outfits trying to figure out what to wear. I'll be on the show discussing See Jane Write Magazine and our upcoming launch party. 

I'm sure during the interview I'll tell the story of how See Jane Write Birmingham began. 

What I probably won't have time to talk about is the fact that when I started See Jane Write Birmingham in 2011 I had no plans for it to grow into what it has become. Back then I was instead focused on becoming a blogging superstar. I spent hours each day blogging and doing research on blogging.

I wanted my personal blog to be my ticket to all the conferences and festivals I longed to attend but couldn't afford. I wanted to win blogging awards and be featured in best blogs and "Bloggers You Should Know" lists. I wanted my blog to help me land a book deal.

But none of that happened. 

So I decided that I'd just take all the things I'd learned from all those years of writing, reading, and studying blogs and pass them on to other women. Though I continued to blog I decided to stop worrying about my blog's success. I decided instead to focus on helping other women create and expand their blogs. 

That's when See Jane Write started to get media attention. That's when I started to get invitations to speak at conferences. That's when people started to introduce me as "Blogging Superstar Javacia Harris Bowser." 

I'm still far from a true blogging star, but I can say with confidence that See Jane Write has been a successful venture thus far and it's been successful because I didn't make it about me. See Jane Write is all about serving others. 

We may have been told that the key to success is to "look out for number one" but I disagree. The key to success is to have a servant's heart.

To whom much is given, much is required. 

We are blessed so that we can be a blessing. 

It was all a dream/I used to read Essence magazine...
(Only Notorious B.I.G. fans will get that reference)

I'm not one to cry tears of joy. I didn't even cry at my wedding because I was determined not to ruin my makeup.

But on Monday, the day of the launch of See Jane Write Magazine, I cried tears of joy. I didn't, however, because starting a magazine is a dream I've had since the days I pored over the pages of Essence magazine as a teen.  I didn't cry because I was exhausted from staying up all night working on the website.

I cried because of all the loving support and encouragement I received from family, friends, and folks who read my blogs.

On Monday morning several people shared links to the website via Facebook and Twitter before I did! I received texts, emails, tweets, and Facebook messages from so many people telling me that the site looked amazing and that they were enjoying the content. People I've never met were commenting on the site -- more proof that my friends were sharing the news with their friends.

I was overwhelmed. I couldn't believe you all were just as excited about the launch of See Jane Write Magazine as I was.

And so I cried. And it was all your fault.

Thank you.

Sherri Graves Smith

Each Monday Writeous Woman of the Week will briefly highlight one woman writer being featured in See Jane Write Magazine. 

I'm kicking off this feature with Sherri Graves Smith. Despite her battle with cancer,  Smith is determined to help others and make a difference in the world. And she's doing so with words. 

Smith writes children's books that feature college mascots and strive teach children how to win and lose with grace and how to be a team player. Smith says, “While there is still life in me, I want to use it for a good purpose. That’s what really keeps me going.’’

Read more of Smith's story at See Jane Write Magazine. 

This week on the See Jane Write Magazine website you'll also find:

a Q&A with one of my favorite fashion bloggers

an essay on how Jillian Michaels makes me a better writer

a profile on my pro crush

a peek into Carol Marks' writing nook 

an essay inspired by Notorious B.I.G. lyrics

tips on guest blogging

And much, much more!

I really hope you all enjoy my new magazine!

My life verse

When you hang around Christians one thing that may come up frequently is the concept of having a life verse. A life verse is a piece of Scripture that you commit to memory and share with others. A life verse is one that has some significant meaning for you and helps guide you many life situations.

For years I never had a life verse. In college, when someone would ask me mine I'd just say "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me, Philippians 4:13." But I only picked that verse because it was the only one I knew by heart.

These days, though, things have changed. I have a life verse (and a very long story as to why it was chosen as such). My life verse is: "Consecrate yourselves, for tomorrow the Lord will do amazing things among you," which is Joshua 3:5.

Perhaps this verse has never meant more to me than it does today on the eve of the launch of my new online magazine.

But how shall I consecrate myself? What does that even mean?

To consecrate something is to set it apart, to dedicate it to a particular service or goal. So today, on the eve of what I pray will be an amazing thing, I dedicate myself to God's service. My prayer is that this new website and all the projects related to it will somehow help others because we serve God by serving people.

I also want this blog to help even more people which is why instead of posting less after the magazine launches, I'll be posting more.

You can check my new editorial calendar here.

Let's enjoy the amazing blessings of God together.

Hey! Guess what...

SCHOOL'S OUT FOR SUMMER!!!

This means it's time to set a few goals for the summer months. But first, let''s see how I did with my May Intentions.

Once again I failed to exercise daily, but I did exercise a lot. And I can't exactly say I remained completely calm during end-of-the-school-year chaos, but I didn't go completely crazy either. And hubs and I still need to get better about spending more quality time together.

I was successful with my goal of cleaning and reorganizing my apartment while my husband was out of town. When  he returned and saw all my hard work he said our bedroom and our home office were nearly "unrecognizable." Ha!

And I have made morning devotions a daily habit, so that's another accomplishment for the month of May.

My aspirations for summer are lofty ones, but I am confident I can accomplish them all.

1. Launch See Jane Write Magazine. My new online magazine is set to launch July 1, with a launch party scheduled for July 18. I'm still seeking sponsors for our debut issue and launch party, so be sure to contact me if you're interested.

2. Love God, love people. I plan to continue my daily morning devotions and I hope to have deeper worship experiences at church. Additionally, I really want to make time to serve other people and to show my family and friends how much they mean to me.

3. Be my husband's girlfriend. I've mentioned hubs and I need to spend more quality time together, but this summer I really want to take our relationship to a higher evel. I want him to fall in love with me all over again. I want us to be as giddy for each other as we were when we were dating. I want my husband to be my boyfriend.

4. Lose 20 pounds, maybe. I went to the doctor last week and nearly fainted when I saw the numbers staring back at me. But I'm actually not talking about my weight. The number that caused me heart palpitations was my body fat percentage. So this summer I'm going to change my diet and step up my workout plan in hopes of losing weight, but my true focus is reducing my body fat percentage. For the month of June I'll be doing Jillian Michaels' 30 Day Shred daily, spinning once or twice a week, and running three days a week.

And I leave you with this:

 

Even though it was quite horrifying to see my big head taking up a whole page of a magazine, I am extremely honored to be featured in B-Metro's women's issue this month. The article is about my wrote with See Jane Write and you can read it here.

Last week was an exciting one for See Jane Write.

Birmingham-based authors Irene Latham, Kathryn C. Lang, and T.K. Thorne

On Tuesday we hosted a panel discussion on publishing. With more than 50 people in attendance, the event was a huge success. Click here to read a recap of the great information our panelists (pictured above) had to offer.

And on Thursday I hosted a See Jane Write planning session and the first See Jane Write Magazine staff meeting.

Big things are certainly in store!

Image by Ralph Daily via Flickr

As I write this I am sitting in Church Street Coffee & Books where I just finished up a photo shoot. 

As a former full-time journalist I have been part of dozens, maybe hundreds, of photo shoots. But I was always there to be the assistant to the photographer who had been assigned to a story I'd written. But for this photo shoot I was actually in front of the camera. One of my favorite magazines is planning to publish a story about me and the work I do for See Jane Write. 

This feels surreal. Honestly, I've been a bit overwhelmed by all the amazing things that have been happening to me lately because of See Jane Write. 

Last Sunday, for example, Wade Kwon showed up at See Jane Write's Bloggers Who Brunch. At the end of the brunch he gave away two free passes to the social media and corporate storytelling conference Y'all Connect. One pass went to a lucky Jane whose name was randomly pulled. The other pass went to me to congratulate me on the success See Jane Write has experienced during its two years of existence. I was as excited as a kid on Christmas Eve. 

Katie of Hems for Her and I showing off our Y'all Connect passes!

And, of course, the magazine I've wanted to start since I was 15 years old is finally going to happen this summer.  Just as See Jane Write Birmingham seeks to inspire and empower women in my city, See Jane Write Magazine will seek to inspire and empower women writers all over the world.

I look back at the third paragraph of this post and notice that I wrote that these things are happening to me because of See Jane Write, and that is partially true. But I am a woman of faith and thus I believe these things are happening to me because God has blessed me with so many great opportunities. So today, I'm counting my blessings and today I am filled with optimism that this is just the beginning. 

And I leave you with a piece of Scripture that I call my life verse and that seems quite apropos as I'm on the brink of seeing my dreams come to fruition:

 “Consecrate yourselves, for tomorrow the Lord will do amazing things among you.”

- Joshua 3:5

I hope that today you believe amazing things are in store for you too. 

Image by Kirsty Hall via Flickr/Creative Commons

Yesterday I had a meeting with the awesome artist who is designing the logo for my new magazine. Before our meeting she gave me a homework assignment. She wanted me to find 5 logos I like, 5 logos I don't like, and she wanted me to write a list of 7 words I want my logo to convey.

It was the most fun I've ever had doing homework! And I think the 7 words exercise is a valuable one for bloggers whether we're talking logos or content.

What seven words do you want to come to readers' minds when they think about your blog? How can you design your header and layout and develop your content in a way that will help convey those words?

And in case you're wondering, here are the seven words I chose:

women
writing
feminist
smart
fun
welcoming
inspiring

Your turn!

This month I'm participating in a blogging challenge with my friend Carol at GirlGadabout.com. Today's prompt: introduce yourself. Do an interview of why you started blogging or have another blogger interview you for this post.

Image by Filipe Ferreira via Flickr/Creative Commons

Even though I haven't published a new blog post in over a week, the past several days have been an exciting time for me on the Interwebz. The Twitter account for See Jane Write Magazine has garnered more than 160 followers in less than two weeks and, speaking of that little magazine idea of mine, Magic City Post recently interviewed me about See Jane Write and the upcoming launch of the magazine. Click here to check out the article. 

Through all my excitement about this project I have had one worry -- will I still be able to blog?
Finding time to sleep is already a problem as I juggle freelancing, See Jane Write, church, family, fitness, and friends with my full time teaching gig. Add running a magazine to that and I'm not sure how I'm going to find time to shower. So how on earth am I going to also continue to maintain this blog?

This all has led to some soul searching as I try to figure out what I want this blog to become. I asked myself: Why did I ever start blogging in the first place? The answer came to me quickly. I wanted to empower women and I wanted to do something that would fill that void in my soul caused by the fact that I'd given up on my dream of starting a magazine. But I am starting a magazine and that magazine is going to (I hope) empower women. So now what?

Should I now use this blog to celebrate Birmingham? Should I use this blog to cover feminist issues more frequently? Or should I just use this blog as a place to post updates on my writing career? 

I have no idea. 

But for now, I know I will continue to write regularly in this space even if only for myself. Maybe it's time to go old school and just make this an online journal -- which is all blogs were back in the day. I still believe in the value of journaling as it is a way to practice writing. And I'm motivated to keep this blog going, even if only for myself, by these words:

“The habit of writing thus for my own eye only is good practice. It loosens the ligaments.” 

- Virginia Woolf

You may have noticed I haven't been blogging much lately.

You may think I've been quiet because I'm facing writer's block, but that couldn't be farther from the truth. In fact, I've filled several pages of the notebook pictured above with ideas. But I'm saving them.

Remember when I said I was going to pursue my dream of starting a magazine? Well, I meant it. I challenged myself to come up with enough ideas for three months worth of posts for my online magazine, which I plan to launch this summer. I got a bit carried away and I have a list of nearly 200 article topics.

Now you're probably thinking to yourself, "That's so cool that Javacia is finally going to try to start an online magazine. How could I help her?"

Well, I'm so glad you asked! Today I am starting a Twitter campaign in an effort to build anticipation for See Jane Write Magazine. My hope is that my 'zine will garner 1,000 Twitter followers even before it launches! A lofty goal, I know, but with your help I think I can do it.

So please follow @seejanewritemag and spread the word to other women writers, bloggers, and journalists. In return for your support you can expect @seejanewritemag to tweet inspirational and informational articles to help you in your writing and blogging careers, in addition to links related to feminism and women's empowerment.

Also, if you are a woman writer, blogger, or journalist and you would like to be featured in a future See Jane Write Magazine article, please let me know. While my organization See Jane Write is for women in Birmingham, this magazine is for women worldwide. So please reach out to me regardless of where you live.

Let's do this!