The Freedom of Focus

This girl is focused in February! // Photo by Kristen Stringer

February 1st is here. We’re an entire month into 2017 and, unfortunately, I spent most of January feeling completely overwhelmed. And it was all my own fault!

My 2017 goals, the same goals that in December filled me with anticipation and excitement, in January started to fill me with apprehension and trepidation instead. I made a list of all the tasks I needed to complete to accomplish my January goals but the list was about as long as I am tall! And I knew exactly why. I wasn’t following my own advice, the very advice that I gave the ladies who took my e-course, The #GoalDigger Project.  I wasn’t staying focused.

(more…)

What See Jane Write Members Wrote This Month

Tyece Wilkins of Twenties Unscripted once said, “Your core relies on your outer tribe and your inner scribe.”

And y’all know I live by the Danielle LaPorte mantra, “Find your tribe. Love them hard.”

My tribe keeps me going in part because they keep going — and keep wrting. I try to set aside time at least once a week to scroll through the See Jane Write Facebook group and read the blog posts, articles and poems See Jane Write members are writing.

Here’s a look at some of my favorite pieces my Janes published this month:

(more…)

Can Writers Be Entrepreneurs and Activists?

After the shooting death of Alton Sterling this summer I started carrying around this picture in my phone to remind myself that neutrality is not an option. // Image via Instagram

I often stand atop my soapbox to declare that writers need to be entrepreneurs because we need to learn how to market ourselves and build our personal brands. But once you are an entrepreneur can you also be an activist?

Most of the scribes in my tribe don’t simply want to use their words to make money; they also want to make a difference. But once you use your platform to speak up about the issues you care about, you, of course, run the risk of losing customers. That’s why many marketing gurus say entrepreneurs should never talk politics or broach any controversial topics. But in today’s political climate, it may feel impossible to stay silent.

So don’t.

(more…)

Why I March

As a writer I feel obligated to post some thought-provoking and heartfelt prose about what it meant to participate in the Women’s March of Alabama in Birmingham yesterday. But I’m honestly at a loss for words.

(more…)

Join Me at the Alabama Women’s March

On Saturday, January 21 thousands of women from across the country will gather for the Women’s March on Washington. News reports indicate that at least 1,200 buses have applied for permits to park at RFK Stadium in Washington, DC., on the day of the march. If you’re in the Birmingham area and unable to make it to Washington, D.C., you can stand in solidarity at the Alabama Women’s March scheduled for 2 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 21 at Kelly Ingram Park.

(more…)