On January 24, 2020 I was diagnosed with breast cancer.

No, I hadn’t found a lump in my breast because I hadn’t been looking for one. In my mind, breast cancer wasn’t something I needed to worry about until I turned 40. And besides, I already had lupus. There was no way God would let me have two life-threatening illnesses, right?

Wrong.

Let us be writeous. 

Let us be writeous babes. 

Let us be women who write and live lives worth writing about. 

Let us be the authors of our own lives. Let us write well and edit often. 

Let us be writeous babes. 

Photos by Brendon Pinola via StyleBlueprint Birmingham

1. God is Love and Love is Life. When it comes to faith, I have more questions than answers. Though I identify as Christian because I love Jesus, organized religion confuses me to no end. It always has. It probably always will. But I am sure that God is Love and Love is Life. My life should center on loving others and loving myself. I believe this is how we worship. This is why I consider my marriage a ministry and my feminism a divine calling. When I serve my husband, when I join hands with the women of my tribe to help them make their dreams come true, these are holy acts. When I share pillow talk with my husband, when my friends and I share secrets over a bottle wine (or two), this is communion.

Why did you begin?

Why did you start your blog?

Why did you write the first line of what you hope will be your first book?

Why did you send out that first pitch to write for your favorite magazine?

All the gurus say we should "Start with why" so I'm doing just that and challenging you to do the same.

I started this blog almost five years because I needed my own little piece of cyberspace. I needed a virtual "room of my own." At the time I was blogging for my job and blogging with my husband and I needed a space entirely my own where I could be free, where I could be myself and where I could write myself back together again when needed.

I have returned to this blog this week for that same reason. I am broken. And the blog I maintain for my business is doing absolutely nothing about it.

So I'm back. For now at least.

I can't promise I will stay. I can't declare I'll now blog here five or even three days a week.

I am hopelessly unfaithful to myself.

I wake
And I want to wrap my wounds with words
And rest
And heal.

But I must return to the battlefield
To fight
To kill.

Image via B-Metro.com

Sometimes I feel as if I’m caught in a love triangle—writing and teaching both tugging at my heart. I was born to teach, but I didn’t realize this until after working in education for seven years. When I was a girl, I named all my dolls and other toys, arranged them in nice, neat rows in alphabetical order, and then launched into a lecture on whatever struck my fancy at the time. The classroom called me early in life, but I didn’t know it.

But I was also born to write. This I’ve known since the day I wrote my first poem. I was only 7 or 8 years old, so it was terrible, and I’m sure it included the line “Roses are red, violets are blue.” But it was the beginning of a lifelong love affair with the written word. And it was this love that led me to study journalism. I had dreams of working for Essence magazine and one day starting a print magazine of my own.

But a career in education was still whispering in my ear, flirting with my future plans. In graduate school at UC Berkeley, I was a graduate student instructor, or GSI, and taught a communications class for undergraduate students. I was charged with breaking down the complicated concepts and theories the professor discussed in her lectures. I did such a good job that students assigned to other GSIs would ask to come to my class, willing to sit on the floor or stand in the back if there weren’t enough desks.

I applied for Teach for America. I was accepted by Teach for America. I turned down Teach for America. I had also been offered a job as a features reporter in a city that I loved with the man whom I love. Writing won my heart again...

Read the entire article at B-Metro.com. 

Image by thestoryscape via Blavity

I'm a girl obsessed with goals. I write yearly goals, monthly goals, and even goals for the week.

But so often these goals get lost in my litany of daily tasks. When my daily to-do lists and my lofty aspirations go head to head in battle, the to-do list wins -- always.

Then I think of Octavia Butler, the black woman warrior writer who, as Kiara Collins so perfectly stated in a recent article for Blavity, "literally wrote her life into existence."

Within her personal journals, Butler boldly declared that her novels would be a success, that she would be "a bestselling writer," that her books would be "read by millions of people" and that she would help "poor black youngsters" by broadening their horizons.

What would you do if you weren't afraid to fail?

Last Thursday I walked into the Clubhouse on Highland and was greeted with handshakes, hugs, and a hot pink sash. "Inspirational" it read. I draped it across my body noting the nice contrast with my grey dress. I smiled as my proud husband took my photo for the obligatory Facebook and Instagram posts.

But I felt like a fraud.

On July 1, 2015 I decided to abandon this blog and begin posting regularly at my portfolio site Javacia.com.

But now I'm back.

Do you dream of seeing your byline in your favorite publications?

Do you have an idea for a blog or business, but you're not quite sure where to start?

Maybe you already have a blog or brand, but it's not getting the attention you feel it deserves.

Or perhaps you've written a book but you just can't seem to sell it.

If any of these sound familiar, I'd like to help you get unstuck and soar. Let's take flight together!

As founder of See Jane Write, a Birmingham-based organization for female writers, bloggers, and entrepreneurs, I used very simple but very powerful strategies to grow a small writing group into a network of hundreds of women. And this network has helped me start an award-winning business and land the paid writing opportunities I once only dreamed about. You can use these same strategies to build buzz for your blog, book, brand, or business. 

I want to share these strategies with you and answer any other questions you may have about writing, blogging, or business

For the next seven days I will be taking appointments for 11 one-on-one coaching sessions.

I'm calling this my 7/11 special. No, you can't come to me and fill a pot with your favorite flavor of Slurpee, but I can fill your mind with what you need to take your next step.

If you live in the Birmingham area and would like to meet face-to-face for more hands-on help, you can get a one-hour session for only $99 (usually $125).

If you live outside the Birmingham area or simply just need to chat, we will meet on Skype and your one-hour session will only cost $75 (usually $100).

This offer ends April April 18. 

Here's what one of my clients had to say after we spent an hour chatting at her favorite Starbucks:

My one-on-one session with Javacia was more than I expected. She not only listened to my goals and aspirations, she provided me with practical next steps to help me accomplish each. She was friendly, yet very professional. I left with an ambitious to do list which is now my roadmap. She followed up, as promised, with websites, worksheets, and tons of information to help advance my dreams to write, get published, and speak professionally. I now consider her my writing mentor.

-- TiJuana W.

You see, after we meet I'm not going to check your name off my to-do list and forget about you. I'm going to follow up with information and inspiration to keep moving your closer and closer to achieving your goals. 

If you know you need guidance, but you're not sure this is right for you, simply email me at javacia@writeousbabe.com with any questions you may have.

If you're ready to fly click here for a face-to-face session or here for a Skype chat and then email me at javacia@writeousbabe.com for next steps.

Let's do this!

I exercised every day for 365 days. And now I shall rest.

"10! 9! 8! 7! 6! 5! 4! 3! 2! 1!"

With that Jillian Michaels counted down the last ten seconds of level 2 of her 6-Week Six-Pack DVD and counted down the seconds to me completing a fantastic feat.

At the start of this year I announced that I planned to exercise every single day in 2014. I even made the declaration on WBHM 90.3 FM and all across social media. And guess what...

I DID IT!!!

I exercised for at least 30 minutes every day for 365 days!

As I've stated before, I wasn't challenging myself to do this so I could lose weight. 2014 was also about me learning to see my body as, to borrow the words of Caroline Heldman, an amazing vehicle for moving through the world, not a project to be constantly improved.

Thus, I didn't care about my weight this year. Numbers I did care about, however, were my cholesterol, blood pressure, and waist-to-height ratio -- all of which I was told were perfect at my physical last month.

But achieving this fitness goal also taught me a lot about writing, blogging, and business.

To achieve your writing and business goals you need support at home. My biggest supporter this year as I worked to exercise daily was been my husband Edward. Because of my crazy schedule hubster's biggest fear was that I would one day simply forget to exercise. So he made sure to remind me every day. One night he forgot to ask me if I'd exercised that day and the next morning he panicked and sent me frantic text message to see if I had. Fortunately, I had indeed exercised that day before he got home from work. But this anecdote shows just how supportive he was of this quest.  He was as committed to this goal as I was. And just as he's always waiting for me at the finish line when I run half-marathons, he stood by listening to Jillian's countdown and ran into the living room to congratulate me when my final workout of the year was complete.

Each time a run a half-marathon my hubs is waiting for me at the finish line -- with flowers!

My husband is just as supportive of my writing, blogging and career goals. At most See Jane Write events you'll see him right there helping me carry in refreshments, taking pictures, and tweeting out highlights of the event.  It's important for any woman in a relationship to have the support of her partner -- even if this simply means your significant other is willing to pick up more household chores so you have more time to work on your writing.

To achieve your writing and business goals you need a community of like-minded gal pals. Along with the support I had at home, I also had the support of faithful friends. Going for walks, running road races, and attending group exercise classes with friends was a great way to stay on track. Accountability is important, too. I've had attempted 365 days of fitness in the past and failed. But making the declaration to so many people motivated me to stick with it.

Fitness is more fun with friends...

...and when covered in brightly colored paint! 

It's important for female writers, bloggers, and entrepreneurs to have community, too. You need someone who understands why you bother blogging in the first place, someone who doesn't think you're crazy for quitting your day job to try out your small business idea, and someone who will encourage you to write that novel or send that pitch.

To achieve your writing and business goals you need to keep things interesting. If I working out daily only meant spending 30 minutes on a elliptical 7 days a week I probably wouldn't have made it through January. But I made fitness fun! My workouts included: running, spinning, walking with friends, dance classes, the fitness mode of the Wii game Just Dance, Pure Barre, yoga, boxing, Jillian Michaels DVDs, Shaun T DVDs, weight lifting, and more.

Likewise, you have to make sure you keep things interesting as you work on your craft as a writer. If you're bored with your blog, your readers probably are too. So keep things fresh! Try a new topic, introduce a new feature, or revamp the look of your site.

To achieve your writing and business goals you must challenge yourself. Another way I warded off boredom throughout the year was by occasionally giving myself a more specific fitness challenge. For example, in June I challenged myself to walk/run 100 miles and I did! Inspired by that feat, I've decided that my fitness goal for 2015 is to walk/run 1200 miles -- that's 100 miles a month for 12 months.

100 miles in June!

Don't be afraid to challenge yourself in your writing career or business either. Perhaps you'll strive to publish a new blog post every day for a month, self-publish your first book, see your byline in your favorite national magazine or earn $100,000 in your business.

To achieve your writing and business goals you must stop telling yourself that you don't have the time to go after your dreams. The biggest lesson I learned from my year of everyday fitness is that I do have the time to exercise. Always. And if I have the time to exercise every day I also have the time to blog, write, pitch, network, plan, market and do whatever else I need to do to achieve my writing and business goals.

If you're thinking you don't have the time to exercise or chase your dreams, I ask you to consider signing up for my time management e-course, How To Write and Have a Life, which will launch tomorrow. Sign up for my new newsletter for more details.

What great thing did you accomplish this year?

Currently is a feature Dani Hampton of Sometimes Sweet and several other bloggers I follow occasionally post on their sites. Currently is essentially a list of what you're into at the moment and is a great way for your readers to get to know you better. Earlier this year I decided to start doing Currently posts with a twist -- Currently:The Writer's Edition. 

Freelancing for Birmingham Magazine. Be sure to check out this month's issue which includes a profile I wrote on Shella Sylla, the founder of SisterGolf. SisterGolf is an amazing program that teaches women how to play golf and how to use golf to network and enhance their business relationships.  

Brainstorming ideas for business. I haven't been doing much personal blogging lately because much because most of my attention has been growing See Jane Write. I even have a business coach now. That sounds so fancy! I'm working hard to build See Jane Write into a profitable, but meaningful business that truly empowers women who write. 

Pitching to WBHM. Each month I'm pitching story ideas to my city's NPR affiliate. Each month you can find a new blog post by yours truly on WBHM.org. And on the last Friday of each month you can catch me on the air at 90.3 FM (or on the website if you don't live in Birmingham) discussing my latest post. Last month I wrote about how despite the fact that I'm 33, the women who inspire me most are under the age of 21. For this piece I interviewed one of my former students who recently launched her own magazine. Color me proud!

And speaking of being proud, I must say that out of all my writing endeavors the one that makes me most proud right now is my column for B-Metro magazine -- Write Like a Girl. Each month I write a personal essay on women's empowerment and through this column I feel I've produced some of my best work. In this month's column I examine the intersection of feminism and faith.

Blogging about #bloglikecrazy.  Every year I challenge the ladies of See Jane Write to publish a new blog post every day for 30 days in November. I call this challenge #bloglikecrazy. This year, for the first time, I'll be publishing my #bloglikecrazy posts at the See Jane Write blog and I'm hosting a #bloglikecrazy kick-off workshop on November 1. To learn more visit the #bloglikecrazy page at SeeJaneWriteBham.com.

What's going on in your writing life? 

Nail Color: Play Date by Essie

How ironic that the nail color I've been wearing most of the month is called Play Date. My feminist fingertips have been hard at work. Play dates have been few and far between.

This month for my B-Metro column I wrote about why natural hair is my feminist fashion statement.

I blogged for Birmingham Restaurant Week 2014.

School started back but declared on this blog that I wouldn't let that stop me from pursuing my writing dreams or spending quality time with family and friend.

At school I organized an hosted a TEDTalk-inspired professional development day for my colleagues. One of my co-workers gave a talk on Sam Seidel's Hip Hop Genius: Remixing High School Education. I was so inspired that I wrote my August column for WBHM on the topic and revamped some of my lesson plans.

And one of the things I am most excited to report is that this month I revamped the See Jane Write website. Check it out and let me know what you think.

What have your feminist fingertips been up to this month? 

Image by David Schiersner via Flickr/Creative Commons

It's a good thing I've been exercising every day for the past seven months.

Birmingham Restaurant Week is coming up August 15-24 and I've been asked by the event organizers to visit and write about some of the participating restaurants. This is great news for my taste buds, but not-so-good news for my waistline. But I suppose I will have to make this sacrifice for my blog, right?

Birmingham Restaurant Week is a ten-day event that features some of Birmingham's best locally-owned and operated restaurants, offering prix fixe menus and drink specials. Last night the Birmingham Art Museum played host to the Birmingham Restaurant Week Preview Party. I had a fabulous night with friends at this sold out event sampling dishes from The J. Clyde, Silvertron Cafe, Maki Fresh, Rusty's Bar-B-Q, Dixie Fish Co., Davenport's Pizza, Oscar's at the Museum, and other participating restaurants.

We're smiling because we'd just had the bread pudding from Silvertron Cafe. 

Birmingham Restaurant Week is a great chance to try new restaurants or visit old favorites and blog about your experiences. But when you're penning your posts you want to have something more interesting and insightful to say than, "This dish was yummy!"

So I turned to food writer Jason Horn for help. Horn is a senior editor at Liquor.com and is the co-founder of FoodBlogSouth, the food blogging conference held annually in Birmingham. He's also worked for CHOW.com, Cottage Living, Cooking Light, and VisitSouth.com, and his food writing has appeared in B-Metro, Birmingham magazine, and on MagicCityPost.com.

Jason Horn

If you're planning to write about a restaurant, what should you order when you visit? 

"In order to a review a restaurant well you have to try a lot of different things," Horn says. "When The New York Times reviews a restaurant the reviewer goes 2, 3, or 4 times with other people so they get to try pretty much the whole menu."

If you’re trying to review a place based on one visit, Horn suggests that you at least bring a date and try anything your date orders.

If the restaurant is famous for one dish, order that dish, but also try other things on the menu. 

"If it’s famous for one dish there’s going to be a lot of coverage out there about that one dish and you want to do something that will be different," Horn says. 

Ordering the special of the day can be hit or miss, but if the special is a new dish that may be added to the menu later, you should definitely try that, Horn recommends. 

All in all, just order as you would normally,  but bring along a friend who doesn't mind sharing so you can try his or her food, too.

Mark your calendars! Birmingham Restaurant Week 2014 is Aug. 15-24. 

What kinds of questions should a writer ask her waiter or waitress? 

It depends on the restaurant, Horn says. For example, don't expect your server at a casual neighborhood grill to recommend a good wine, but feel free to ask about his or her favorite dish. 

Horn says it's best to be as specific as possible when asking questions of the staff. So instead of asking "What's good?" give your server an idea of what you're in the mood for. If you're torn between two dishes, ask which one he or she likes better. Instead of asking what wine goes well with your dish say something more detailed like, "I'd like a red and something in this price range and I don't like Cabernet," Horn suggests. 

"How well informed the servers are can be the line between a good and a great restaurant," Horn says. "If the chef is doing wonderful things but the servers don’t know anything about them or don’t have an opinion or can’t help you pick the right dish, that’s a big problem."

Can you give some tips on how to effectively describe the taste of food? 

If a dish has an unexpected flavor combination, talk about that and if it works or not, Horn says. "Compare it to other things if it’s similar to something you’ve had before but some important aspect has changed."

For example, let's say you're writing about a cocktail and the restaurant offers a Manhantan but the bartender uses gin. You can talk about that difference and if it worked for you or not. 

"Or if you have a burger -- what about that burger is different and is that good or bad?" Horn says. "It’s all about being specific. Talk about aspects of the dish that you liked or didn’t like. Talk about combinations of things that worked or didn’t work. You can even say I wish there was more whatever in this. Or I wish this was sweeter or I wish this was less sweet."

When reviewing a restaurant, comment on the layout, setup and atmosphere, in addition to discussing the food.
Image by Edinburgh Blog via Flickr/Creative Commons

When writing a restaurant review what else should a writer comment on in addition to the food?

"Service is always important and that should be an aspect of the review," Horn says. Notice how the staff deals with rude people. If someone is a jerk and the staff handles that person exceptionally well, "that's definitely worth mentioning," Horn says. 

Horn admits, though, that for him the food is still most important. "For me good food can redeem bad service, but good service can't redeem bad food." 

Pay attention to the set up, layout and atmosphere. "Does what the restaurant sell itself as match up with the restaurant that you get?" Horn says. "A lot of restaurants are pretty loud. If you’re in a barbecue joint and it’s loud and raucous, that’s fine. It’s supposed to be that way. If you go to an expensive date spot and it’s like that, that’s not.  If you go into what’s supposed to be a romantic restaurant and you can’t hear your date that’s a problem."

Writing about a restaurant for your blog is quite different than writing for a major publication. On a blog you can talk more about your personal tastes. So if you hate green beans and a dish has green beans it's OK to have a little fun and talk about that a bit. 

But be sure to take your personal tastes into consideration when assessing the food. "If there is something you didn't like step back and consider if there was a flaw in the dish or if it was your personal taste," Horn says. 

But also just have fun. 

"What it comes down to it it’s all about whether it appeals to you or not.  There’s no universal thing that’s delicious to everybody. If there was there would only be one restaurant and it would only serve that dish."

For more information on Birmingham Restaurant Week 2014 visit BhamRestaurantWeek.com. 

Have you ever thought about writing a book? 

About every other week someone asks me this question. My answer is always the same: "Yeah, I've thought about it, but I simply don't have the time."

And I've also feared that I don't have the skill or the expertise. And I doubt I have the platform to really push sales. These are the voices in my head convincing me to ditch my dreams of authorship.

But now I have a a new voice in my head. At BlogHer'14 I met an awesome blogger named Ariane who blogs at The Force Expansive. When discussing self-doubt in her BlogHer recap post she gave fellow writers a charge to "Shut that noise down!"

I've decided to do just that and I've decided to write an e-book.

Here are three reasons you should too.

1. You have ideas worth spreading. You're an expert at something whether you realize it or not. You may feel you're not qualified to write about a particular topic because you don't have a degree to back up your knowledge. But sometimes passion can make up for that piece of paper. I often feel that way about blogging. I may have a two journalism degrees but I don't have an award-winning, highly profitable blog so why should anyone listen to my social media tips, I'll think. Then I'll attend a blogging workshop or a seminar on Twitter and realize I already know everything being taught. Sometimes I even know more than the presenter!

2. You have a story worth telling. As I shared yesterday, my main takeaway from this year's BlogHer conference was to write like my life depends on it. Sometimes I'm hesitant to write about feminism because I don't have a degree in women's studies. But every time I write an essay or blog post sharing my experiences as a southern fried feminist, I receive email after email from women thanking me. Women tell me they didn't know they were a feminist until they read my writing. Women tell me they weren't sure if they could be a good feminist and a good wife but after reading my work they know they can.

3. You have a blog or business worth promoting. An e-book could be what you need to take your blog or business to the next level. While blog posts are quickly pushed to your archives, an e-book can have a much longer lifespan. Simply add a graphic promoting your e-book to your website's sidebar or promote your book at speaking engagements. You can choose to give away your e-book for free as an incentive for joining your email list or simply as a way to get your name out and expand your influence and reach.  An e-book can, however, generate extra revenue, too. You could sell your e-book on Amazon, iBooks, or with a company like Shebooks, which publishes short e-books by and for women.  Shebooks is a curated collection of short fiction, memoir, essays, and long-form journalism, available by subscription or one by one. (Between now and July 30, 2014 you can get a free Shebook simply by using the promo code FREEBOOK at checkout at Shebooks.net.)

If lately you've been feeling like a writer who doesn't write, working on an e-book may be just what you need to get out of your rut.

Happy writing!

Photo by Sherri Ross Walters

Just as I do at the end of every year, this past December I wrote down a list of goals for 2014. This time, though, I did things a bit differently. This time I wrote my goals as declarations not aspirations. So instead of writing "I want to land my own column in a local print publication," I wrote "I will land my own column in a local print publication." And by January 31 I had done exactly that.

I am now a columnist for B-Metro magazine. My first piece ran in this month's issue and addresses the issue of whether or not there is a feminist aesthetic. In other words, can you tell a person is a feminist by looking at her?

My column, called Write Like a Girl, will tackle everyday feminism and women's issues each month. You can read my debut piece "This Is What a Feminist Looks Like" here. 

When I wrote down my declaration last year I also determined that once I did snag this column opportunity I would write a post about how I did it. In the post I would examine the anatomy of the perfect pitch. But I didn't write the perfect pitch. In fact, I didn't write any pitch. I was actually offered this opportunity before I had the chance to ask for it. 

Nonetheless, I do have a few tips to offer.

Believe in your goals. I'm a woman of faith. If you're not, this tip might sound a bit weird, but it's similar to concepts explored in books like The Secret. I truly think that one reason I got this opportunity is because I believed I would. I had faith, faith that I displayed by writing out this goal as a declaration and not simply as an aspiration.

Share your goals. I also believe in the power of simply saying your dreams out loud. You have to be careful with this. You can't share your dreams with everyone. Some people are haters and will discourage you from going after your goals. But I am fortunate enough to have a group of women in my life who support me, women I met through See Jane Write. One evening at a coffee shop in Homewood I shared my dream with my pal Tanya Sylvan. The glow in her eyes showed she believed I could achieve this as much as I did and that gave me the confidence boost I needed to enter the new year with boldness. Furthermore, sharing your dreams can help in a practical sense as your friends can let you know when they learn of opportunities that may help you with your goals.

Support the goals of others. I have this mantra about blogging that I often preach: Focus on people, not page views. Some may think that the editors of B-Metro approached me about writing a column because I have a wildly popular blog that gets millions of page views each month. I do not. But this little blog you're reading right now is part of a bigger project. For the past three years I've been offering panel discussions, workshops, and networking events for local female writers and bloggers through the See Jane Write organization and I've made name for myself among local editors in the process. I landed my freelance gigs with UAB Magazine and WBHM 90.3 FM because of See Jane Write. By striving to help people make their dreams come true I began to realize my dreams as well.

Have you landed a column with a local or national publication? How did you do it?

This post originally appeared at SeeJaneWriteBham.com. 

At the Vitalogy Wellness Center Open House Party and having too much fun on the job with my pal Tanya.

Currently is a feature Dani Hampton of Sometimes Sweet and several other bloggers I follow occasionally post on their sites. Currently is essentially a list of what you're into at the moment and is a great way for your readers to get to know you better. Today I decided to do a Currently post with a twist. And so I present Currently -- The Writer's Edition. 

Freelancing for UAB Magazine, along with several other local media outlets. Because I am a teacher, my piece State of Education: UAB Alumni Serve at Alabama's Top Teachers means a lot to me. This piece for UAB Magazine was one of the first opportunities I've had to marry my interest in education with my journalistic work. 

Brainstorming ideas for short stories and poems. This is something I haven't done since college, but lately I've been thinking a lot about getting back into writing fiction and poetry. Perhaps it's because I'm so inspired by my students in our school's creative writing department. Or perhaps it's because of all wonderful literature read by the women who participated in Phenomenal Woman, the African-American read-in See Jane Write hosted last month. The powerful prose and poetry read that night reminded me of why I fell in love with writing in the first place. It wasn't see my name in magazines or on the cover of books. It wasn't for blog page views either. I wrote because I loved to do so. Last month's See Jane Write event made me want to write like a girl again. I want to sit in my room for hours writing not because I need to meet a deadline but because I just can't help myself.

Pitching to WBHM. Each month I'm pitching story ideas to my city's NPR affiliate. Each month you can find a new blog post by yours truly on WBHM.org. And on the last Friday of each month you can catch me on the air at 90.3 FM (or on the website if you don't live in Birmingham) discussing my latest post. Last month I explored the meaning of feminism and womanism in a post called In Search of My Womanist Self. You can hear an excerpt of my radio segment here. 

Blogging about wellness. Not only am I'm writing about my fitness adventures as I attempt to exercise daily, but on March 6 I had the opportunity to cover the Vitalogy Wellness Center Open House Party as part of B-Metro magazine's Blog Team. While I was there I even had my first Ashiatsu massage. That's right; I let somebody walk on my back for the sake of a blog post. It was worth it. 

What's going on in your writing life? 

Image by Crystal via Flickr/CreativeCommons

Here we are at the end of #bloglikecrazy. 

My hope was that my post for November 30 would clearly explain what's next for me in my blogging life. But the truth is I'm still not sure. I want to do so much, too much. I want to blog about journalism. I want to blog about feminism. I want to blog about Birmingham. I want to blog about my faith. I want to blog about my life! 

And while I believe we women can do it all, I don't think we (or anyone) can do it all at once. 

So I did what I always do: I made a list. I made a list of my writing goals:

• I want to be a journalist on my own terms. 
• I want to be a well-known feminist blogger.
• I want to write a book about feminism. 
• I want to be a successful, award-winning blogger.
• I want to write and publish an e-book about blogging. 
• I want to inspire and empower other women writers. 
• I want to use my writing to serve God. 
• I want to do more public speaking (and get paid for it). 
• I want to land my own column in a local publication.
• I want to land my own column in a national publication. 
• I want to see my byline in all my favorite magazines. 

My intention was to then rank these goals, put them in some sort of order and go about attacking them one by one. The goal I ranked first would dictate the topic of my new or revamped blog. But suddenly I realized all my goals were somehow related, that each goal - when accomplished - would just bring me a step closer to bringing another dream to fruition. 

They are all related because they all define me. 

Then I remembered something writer Jeff Goins once said, something I even quoted in a post this month but somehow failed to heed the very advice I was trying to share. Goins says: 

Writing isn’t about picking the right topic; it’s about finding the right voice.

So what's next? Finding my voice. Truly. 

In December you can expect this blog to be a bit quiet. I'm going to spend the next 30 days focusing on finding my authentic writing voice, planning for 2014, and preparing for the next chapter in my writing life. 

You can expect a fun announcement on Dec. 31, New Year's Eve, my favorite holiday of them all. 

I hope you will join me on the journey that's ahead. 

Photo Credit: sboneham (Flickr/Creative Commons)

"Write down your NOs!"

That's the message that was delivered to me last night in a dream.

It was a strange dream. I was sick from stress and from eating food that was bad for me (which I always do when I'm stressed). I was really, really sick. As I was puking my guts out some guy (that I obviously knew in the dream, but that doesn't exist in real life) was holding back my hair and telling me, "You have to write down your NOs!"

When I woke up, I was confused. I had no idea what this meant. I still don't. But as I lay in bed this morning mulling this over I was reminded of something a woman said at a blogging conference I attended last month. She said: You have to say "No" to make room for the "Hell yes!"

The #bloglikecrazy challenge has help me realized that the "Hell yes" I no longer have room for is my own writing! I've really enjoyed blogging on a daily basis, but the only reason I've stuck with it is to encourage the other women participating. I'm not doing this because I enjoy it -- even though I do.

Over the past two and a half years as I've been building See Jane Write I've been neglecting writing for myself. I've been so busy encouraging other women to go after their writing goals, I haven't been going after mine. Sure, launching See Jane Write Magazine was a huge accomplishment, but I have no time to promote that project and there's so much more I want to do.

But I still don't know what it means to write down my NOs. And I'm certainly not going to ditch See Jane Write.

I have realized that, other than exercise, there is nothing in my life that I do for myself. And since I don't have children I'm not sure how in the world this happened!

My blog, See Jane Write and See Jane Write Magazine are all for the women writers I hope to encourage. My full-time job as a teacher, of course, is all about helping my students. Even my freelance gigs are no longer for me as I have to use the extra cash to help out family members in need.

But starting today I'm going to make my writing goals and writing for myself more of a priority and say "No" to anything that gets in the way of that.

This may come off as selfish, but if my life is so out of balance that I'm dreaming about stress-induced vomiting something's got to give.


Do you make your writing a priority in your life? Do you spend time writing for yourself? 

Image by Abhi Sharma via Flickr/Creative Commons

Because of my work with See Jane Write, at least once a month I am asked about "my book." Some people want to know if I'm working on a book. Others simply assume I am and ask what my book is about. While some people assume I already have a book on the shelves of their local Barnes & Noble or that they can order it from Amazon.com.

All these people are sadly mistaken.

I have not published a book, nor is this a goal I'm even striving toward right now.

This may be surprising, and perhaps even seem hypocritical. Here I am working day and night to encourage women to write and share their stories, but I have no plans to pursue publishing a book!

I could say I have no interest in writing a book, but that would be a lie. I've thought about writing a book. A lot.

The truth is, I'm afraid to write a book. Here's why:

I'm afraid I'm too indecisive. Before I write a book I would need to actually decide on a topic. I have three book ideas I've been kicking around for years, but I can't settle on one. So I simply choose to not make a choice and push those publication pursuits to the back burner.

I'm afraid I'll get bored. I have commitment issues. I get bored with things (and people) very easily. I will stop watching a favorite television show mid-season if I'm disappointed by too many episodes. When I was younger, I didn't even have plans to get married because I feared I'd wake up one morning utterly bored with my husband. Writing a book is a long, arduous process that takes serious dedication. I'm afraid that if I get started on a book I'll eventually get bored with the project and dump it for a shiny new idea.

I'm afraid I'll have to abandon my other goals. Writing a book -- a good book -- takes a lot of work. It's like a second job. And since I essentially already have four jobs (teaching, freelancing, See Jane Write Birmingham, and See Jane Write Magazine) taking on a fifth would mean I would have to completely give up exercising, showering, and sleeping -- or I'd have to give up teaching, freelancing or See Jane Write. Right now, that would be like asking me to choose and give up my least favorite child.

I'm afraid I'm not smart or talented enough. Two of the three book ideas I have center on feminism, which I'm sure is no surprise if you've known me for longer than 5 minutes. But I don't have a degree in women's studies and for that reason I don't feel I have the knowledge necessary to write a solid book on feminism. And what if I don't have what it takes to write a solid book on anything? Sure, I can write blog posts and news articles, but can I really write a entire book?

But then I started reading Sexy Feminism: A Girl's Guide to Love, Success, and Style. This book is by Jennifer Keishin Armstrong and Heather Wood Rudulph, the authors of the blog SexyFeminist.com. Armstrong and Rudolph don't have PhDs in women's studies. Like me they are journalists, bloggers, and imperfect feminists looking for ways to practice feminist activism through their writing and through the decisions they make in their everyday lives.

Armstrong and Rudulph empower me to believe that I can write a book about feminism.

Yet, I'm still faced with the issue of when on earth will I find the time to write it.



I've heard fiction writers talk about characters speaking to them and poets speak of verse chasing them through space and time. Perhaps the non-fiction book I carry inside me will tell me when it's ready to be born and one day I'll just wake up and know it's time.