See Jane Write hosts its first members-only workshop

Last night I hosted the first See Jane Write members-only workshop and it was a huge success. About a dozen members and I gathered at the Desert Island Supply Co. (DISCO) to discuss blogging and social media.

I kicked off the night by sharing some of my personal online experiences and striving to answer questions that the ladies sent to me beforehand. Topics covered included the purpose of blogging and using social media, choosing the best platform for your blog, deciding how often to post, managing multiple social media accounts, monetizing your blog and building your blog readership and social media following. We also discussed blog photography, RSS feeds, and more!

Then it was time to get busy.

These members-only events are called workshops for a reason. They’re designed to encourage attendees to take at least one action step before they leave. So after I spoke, the ladies got to work. One member made her first post to her WordPress site. One member – who’s new to social media – set up a Facebook account. Another started an account on Twitter. And another left with a new editorial calendar.

Still, there was so much more I hoped to do and share. So I’ll be hosting these workshops (sometimes with guest speakers) quarterly. If you don’t want to miss out, become an official member of See Jane Write today.

Special thanks to DISCO for being our venue partner for these workshops!

And thanks to all the ladies who came out. All the laughter shared was my favorite part of the night!

Write Like a Girl

I kicked off Thursday’s event with a recitation of
Maya Angelou’s “Phenomenal Woman.”

For the past few days I’ve been trying to write a post about last week’s Black History Month program Phenomenal Woman: See Jane Write presents the 2014 African American Read-In. But I haven’t been able to find the words to describe the energy and love that filled the room Thursday night. About two dozen women and a few fellows gathered at the Desert Island Supply Co. (DISCO) for the event.

Women read the works of literary legends like Maya Angelou, Zora Neale Hurston, Alice Walker and Gwendolyn Brooks and pieces by contemporary writers like Joan Morgan, asha bandele, and U.S. Poet Laureate Natasha Trethewey.

Some readings evoked laughter, others reverent silence, and some the need to fight back tears.

The evening was perfect and the timing couldn’t have been better. The powerful prose and poetry read Thursday 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.

I 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.

I shared these thoughts Thursday night at the end of the program because I want the women of See Jane Write to reignite their love for words too.

Write on, sisters. Write on.

Carla Jean Whitley read from U.S. Poet Laureate Natasha Trethewey’s book Thrall.
About two dozen women attended Thursday’s event. 

Jill Dill Vincent read Phillis Wheatley’s “An Hymn to the Evening”

Lynsey Weatherspoon read from asha bandele’s Something Like Beautiful: One Single Mother’s Story.

Happy Valentine’s Day!

Let Idris be your muse today.

Here’s a little motivation to get your day off to a great start.

Write on, ladies, and happy Valentines’s Day!

xoxo,

Javacia

Celebrate Black History Month with See Jane Write

Please join See Jane Write as we honor Black History Month by participating in the National African American Read-In on Thursday, February 20 at the Desert Island Supply Co., or DISCO. Doors open at 6 p.m. Readings begin at 6:30 p.m.

With the African-American Read-In a group gathers to read a poem, a speech, an essay, or a selection from a book authored by an African American. The goal of the initiative is to make the celebration of African American literacy a traditional part of Black History Month activities.

The theme for our read-in is Phenomenal Woman (named for the famous Maya Angelou poem) and we ask that participants read works written by African American women, in keeping with See Jane Write’s mission of empowering female writers.

If you would like to volunteer to read, please email me at javacia@seejanewritebham.com.

If you’re too shy to take the stage, that’s OK. We’d love for you to come anyway to listen to great literature. You can RSVP here: https://sjwphenomenalwoman.eventbrite.com.

Please note that this is an event for all people — women, men, boys, and girls — of all races. Black history is American history.

Phenomenal Woman: See Jane Write presents the 2014 African American Read-In
6 p.m., Thursday, February 20
DISCO, 5500 First Avenue North in Woodlawn
RSVP: https://sjwphenomenalwoman.eventbrite.com