My Theme for the Month and Why You Should Have One, Too

July is here which means we’re halfway through this dumpster fire of a year. Like the rest of the world, I’m dealing with the emotional stress of living in a society plagued by two pandemics – COVID-19 and racism. And on top of that, I’m battling breast cancer.

As much as I want to cancel 2020, I can’t. So, I must find a way to survive it and perhaps even thrive in it instead.

So, my theme for the month is RESET.

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5 Ways See Jane Write Can Help You Get What You Want

What do you want for your writing life?

Do you want to write a book?

Have you written a book that you want to see published?

Do you want to start a blog?

Have you started a blog that you want to grow?

Do you want to begin a freelance writing career?

Have you been freelancing as a side gig and now you’re thinking of writing full time?

Or maybe you just want to FINALLY feel like a real writer.

See Jane Write exists to help you get what you want.

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Why I’m Still a Goal Digger

I have plenty of reasons to not be a goal digger right now.

We’re still in the midst of a global health pandemic. Young people across the country are putting their lives on the line for justice. And I’m battling breast cancer.

The picture on the left is one my husband took of me 5 years ago. It was just a few moments before I was getting ready to kick off a See Jane Write event at DISCO. The event — as you may have guessed from my t-shirt — was all about helping attendees set goals for the upcoming year and develop a plan for achieving them.

The picture on the right is one my husband took of me just a few days ago. You’ll notice my curly tresses are gone – a casualty of chemotherapy. I’m in my home office.  With all that’s going on, who knows when I’ll be able to host an in-person See Jane Write event again. But thanks to the Internet, just before this picture was taken, I was able to go live in the See Jane Write Network Facebook group to discuss the importance of setting weekly goals.

In spite of everything, I am still a goal digger. And you should be, too.

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This Journaling Practice Could Change Your Life

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

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 these days I feel more like a writer than I ever have before and it has nothing to do with my byline, with this blog, or with the book I’m working on.

These days I feel more like a writer than I ever have because of my new journaling practice.

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For Birmingham

Photo by Bill Blevins via Flickr Creative Commons

On June 1, I published a post titled “Dear Birmingham” in response to black-owned businesses being damaged and reporters being assaulted in the unrest of May 31 and June 1. In the post, I declared that rioting is wrong and discussed the importance of peaceful protests and strategic political action.

The next day I decided to remove this post.

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