November 2020 Goals & Plans

Here’s the thing, November —  October will be a tough act to follow.

Last month I welcomed 33 new members into the See Jane Write Collective.

I was featured on BhamNow.com and xoNecole.com and I was quoted in Oprah Magazine!

I wrote a piece for Reckon South on how breast cancer both ruined and restored my confidence.

I landed my first paid Instagram brand collaboration. And I was invited to contribute a chapter for a book being curated by a high-profile journalist (and I will be well compensated). 

Also, I got my taste buds back! (Along with killing cancer cells, chemo also temporarily kills your sense of taste.)

After a month like that, I’m ready to take on a BIG, HAIRY, AUDACIOUS GOAL.

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30 Writing Prompts to Help You #BlogLikeCrazy

November 1 is Day One of #BlogLikeCrazy, my annual challenge to myself and any other blogger who wants to participate to publish a new blog post every day for 30 days.

When you’re creating that much content you may be tempted to post simply for the sake of posting, but if you resist that blogging devil, it will flee from you.

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How to Achieve Your BIG, HAIRY, AUDACIOUS Writing Goal

Let’s talk about your BIG, HAIRY, AUDACIOUS WRITING GOAL! 

A BIG, HAIRY, AUDACIOUS GOAL (or BHAG) is a concept developed in the book Built to Last. A BHAG is a goal that’s clear and compelling and once that requires building for the long term and creates a sense of urgency.

So what’s a big, hairy, audacious writing goal?

I think it’s that writing goal you have that’s so big it scares you. The one that’s so ambitious that you’re afraid to tell anyone about it because you think they’ll laugh at you. Or maybe when you think about the goal you laugh at yourself.

That was me less than 2 years ago. I secretly wanted to quit my teaching job to be a full-time freelance writer. I have other BIG, HAIRY, AUDACIOUS GOALS and I knew that being a full-time freelance writer would give me the flexible schedule I needed to pursue them. But I was convinced that there was NO WAY I could make enough money to pay my bills and maintain a comfortable lifestyle on freelance writing income. 

But guess what? I’ve done exactly that for over a year — in spite of cancer and in spite of a global pandemic that has rocked our economy. 

There are three things that I think helped me achieve this goal.

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7 Ways to Finally Feel Like a Real Writer

I was 19 years old when I first felt like a real writer.

I wrote a news story about an affordable housing initiative, pitched it to a newspaper in my hometown of Birmingham, Alabama, and that paper published my article.

I had my first clip and I felt legit.

But here’s the thing. You don’t need a book or a blog or byline in a newspaper, magazine, or website to be a writer. To be a writer all you have to do is write!

Here are 7 things you can start doing to FINALLY feel like a real writer.

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