5 Women Writers You Should Follow On Instagram

Many of the women writers I know say Instagram is not their jam. They think it’s only useful for fashion bloggers or for people who want to pretend their lives are more fabulous than they actually are. But Instagram can be a great place for writers to share ideas, show off their work, collaborate with other writers, and get inspiration. So go on and start that Instagram account, and here are five women writers you should follow on Instagram once you’ve joined the party.

@ggreneewrites

G.G. Renee is the writer behind the blog All the Many Layers. In addition to her own writing she also creates books and courses to help other women “embrace their layers + writer from the heart.” Her Instagram account shows snippets of her writing and her many layers.

ggreneewrites

 

@nikkiwoods

Nikki Woods is a senior producer for the Tom Joyner Morning Show, a best selling author, and a coach for writers and entrepreneurs. Her Instagram account often offers writing and publishing tips, advice on how to get attention from the media, and inspiration to get you through the day.

nikkiwoods

@tyunscripted

Tyece Wilkins is the author of the blog Twenties Unscripted and a book by the same name that was released this summer. Her Instagram account, as well as her book and blog, is all about exploring womanhood, relishing in life as a writer, and navigating relationships. Check out my interview with Tyece to learn more.

tyunscripted

@_samantha.king

Published author Samantha King is proof that Instagram isn’t just for style bloggers. She has more than 57,000 followers and mostly posts snippets of her writing, snippets that are sure to inspire you on days you’re struggling with writer’s block.

samanthaking

And last but not least… ME!

@seejavaciawrite

I recently started an Instagram account — @seejavaciawriter — specifically for providing inspiration and encouragement to women writers. You can also follow my personal Instagram account @writeousbabe.

seejavaciawrite

 

Who are you favorite writers and bloggers of Instagram? 

5 Things That Made Me a Happy Feminist This Week

  1. Barbie finally gets it right.


I actually saw this for the first time last week, but it’s still making me a happy feminist. The new barbie ad is a refreshing change considering the Teen Talk Barbie once said, “Math class is tough,” and computer engineer Barbie asked her male friends for help in coding. I’m well aware that this is Mattel’s attempt to improve sagging sales (Mattel reported its third-quarter earnings dropped 33 percent to $223.8 million) but I’ll take girl power wherever I can get it.

2. The women of the Supreme Court now have the badass portrait they deserve.

A detail of Artist Nelson Shanks’ painting, “The Four Justices”, a 9-foot 6-inch by 7-foot 9-inch oil on canvas portrait of the first four female justices of the U.S. Supreme Court, top row, from left, Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan, bottom row, from left, Sandra Day O’Connor, and Ruth Bader Ginsburg, is seen during a press preview at the Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery in Washington, Monday, Oct. 28, 2013. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)
A detail of Artist Nelson Shanks’ painting, “The Four Justices”, a 9-foot 6-inch by 7-foot 9-inch oil on canvas portrait of the first four female justices of the U.S. Supreme Court, top row, from left, Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan, bottom row, from left, Sandra Day O’Connor, and Ruth Bader Ginsburg, is seen during a press preview at the Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery in Washington, Monday, Oct. 28, 2013. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)

The Huffington Post recently reported that the women of the Supreme Court are the subjects of a new painting unveiled at Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery in Washington, D.C. last week.

The portrait features the SCOTUS’s current female justices, Sonia Sotomayor, Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Elena Kagan, as well as Sandra Day O’Connor, who retired in 2005. (O’Connor made history in 1981 by becoming the first woman ever named to the Supreme Court.)

3. This photo series imagines four black women as a badass group of superheroes.

black girl superheroes

Lifestyle blogger Paola Mathé recently imagined a new group of strong and fashionable superheroes — a squad of powerful black women fighting injustice and crime against their sisters. Mathé describes the squad as “inspiring bad ass dream catchers.” Read the For Harriet piece on the series to learn more about the project and to see more photos.

4. We curly girls get our own emojis! 

 

DOVE_Stickers

Be Blogalicious, a network for multicultural bloggers, influencers and media mavens, has partnered with Dove to launch the first-ever curly girl emojis!

The launch of Dove Love Your Curls Emojis is an extension of Dove Hair’s Love Your Curls mission, which seeks to help women and girls embrace and love their curls by ensuring they see accurate reflections of their hair in their everyday lives.

The Dove Love Your Curls emojis can be downloaded from the Google Play and App Store for FREE! Learn more at Advertising Age. 

5. Birmingham’s T. Marie King has been recognized by Glamour magazine as a “Hometown Hero”

TMarieKing-w724

I am so proud to know T. Marie King, who cofounded Precious Pearls of Promise, a grassroots mentorship program in Birmingham that helps young women ages 14 to 25 become strong and successful. The group meets twice a month for classes that teach communication skills, how to deal with peer pressure, and more. They also take on community service projects together. And to prove I actually know her — since she’s about to be a celebrity and all — here’s a selfie we took last week at a party!

t marie selfie

What made you a happy feminist this week? 

Belk Charity Sale is Tomorrow!

belk charity sale
So you finally made some money doing a sponsored blog post or a from a paid freelance writing gig for a local or online publication. Congrats! Now you want to take that extra cash and celebrate!

If you want to buy yourself something nice this weekend head to your favorite Belk store to make that purchase. Belk’s fall Charity Day Sale will take place tomorrow — Saturday, November 7 — from 6 a.m. to 10 a.m. in all Belk stores.

The four-hour shopping event is an excellent fundraising tool for participating organizations that sell tickets for $5 to their supporters.  At the event you’ll get to give back to local nonprofits and enjoy savings on rarely discounted brands.

More than 70 local charities will benefit from sales made at the Summit Belk location in Birmingham, including Alabama Waldorf School, Women of Stamina Ministries, and the Birmingham Urban League. If you live in the Montgomery area your purchases could benefit groups like the National Society of Black Engineers – Montgomery Professionals chapter.

Last year Belk charity day events raised more than $11 million for thousands of schools and community nonprofit 501c3 organizations.

Tomorrow morning, the first 100 customers to arrive at each store will receive a Belk gift card, ranging in value from $5 to $100, and a chance to win one of three $1000 Belk gift cards.  All customers will also receive $5 back on their purchases when their $5 charity ticket is redeemed.  Participating charities will also be in a drawing to win one of three $1000 donations from Belk in a company wide drawing.

Intrigued and ready to shop? You can purchase your ticket from a participating organization or at your favorite Belk store. (Revenue from tickets purchased in the store will be equally divided among participating charities and schools in each local store.)

Happy shopping!

30 Things I Love Right Now


(1) Home. | (2) Being brought to tears each time I pull into my garage because I can’t believe I own a house. | (3) The feel of my home’s hardwood floors beneath my bare feet. | (4) Long walks in my neighborhood.  | (5) Living dangerously close to Yogurt Mountain. | (6) Feminist comic books. | (7) Reading before bed. |  (8) Learning that my favorite summer read — The Girl on the Train — is being adapted into a movie. | (9) Blogging like crazy. | (10) My Day Designer planner. | (11) My new business coach (who has quickly become my life coach, too). | (12) Basking in the beautiful dreams of my coaching clients. | (13) Seeing my tribe rise. | (14) Striving to be the author of my own life and pushing other women to do the same. | (15) Watching TV shows about superheroes and working to be a superhero of my own. | (16) Crying through new episodes of Being Mary Jane. | (17) Squealing through new episodes of How to Get Away with Murder.  | (18) My new Instagram account. | (19) Trying to dress like a fashion blogger even though I’m not one.  | (20) Compliments on my Essie nail color. | (21) Overhearing my students say “Bowser is Beyonce.” | (22) Being confident enough to take that compliment with grace.| (23) Dancing in the dark. | (24) “Woman” by Joy Williams. (This song is my mantra, my anthem, and, for feminist like me, a modern-day hymn.) | (25) Mattieologie. | (26) Believing in Black Girl Magic. | (27) Believing in HER. | (28) Believing in HIM. | (29) Believing in You. | (30) Believing in Me.

30 Things I Love Right Now is a blog feature created by writer TJ Bietelman. 

What do you love right now?

On Blogging, Business, and Running in the Rain

run in the rain

I woke up Monday morning determined to get in a 2-mile run before the end of the day. Rainy days and a busy schedule had kept me from pounding the pavement for a few days and I’m trying to get back into the groove of running so I can register for a few big races next year.

The elements were against me. Thanks to the end of Daylight Savings Time I knew it’d be pitch black before 6 p.m. and because of a little run-in a sports car had with my rear end back in 2008, I’m terrified of running at night. But I left work on time (I’m a teacher and can technically leave at 3:06 p.m. but rarely ever do) and made it home and changed into my running gear before 4 p.m.

But there was another problem. Those same clouds that had been raining on my parade for the past few days were threatening to do so again. I considered putting on one of my favorite fitness DVDs and giving up on my run but something inside rebelled against that idea.

So I headed out the door.

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