a website & community for women who write & blog
Writing is a practice. Just as athletes must practice to get better at their sport and musicians must practice to get better at their instrument, we writers must practice to get better at our craft. That’s why I love blogging. I consider blogging the writer’s practice field.
Here are seven ways you can write better blog posts and begin to improve your writing overall.
Good writers read good writing — I say this a lot, especially when people ask me what they can do to improve their writing skills. But lately, I feel like a hypocrite. Because I am an English teacher, I read all the time, but it’s rare that I read for the love of the written word or for the sake of improving my own writing. In 2018, this is going to change. In addition to writing in my journal every night before bed, I’m also going to read at least a few pages of a book (that I’m not using in my classroom) every day. Here are 18 books I plan to read in 2018.
She is clothed with strength and dignity; she can laugh at the days to come. — Proverbs 31:25
Hello 2018,
I thought you’d never arrive.
I’ve been waiting for you longer than you know.
For seasons upon seasons, I’ve been longing for a year like you.
At the start of this year, I declared that “grace” would be my word for 2017. Many people who know me well were surprised, assuming I’d pick a word like “hustle” instead.
But “grace” was my word for the year because I needed a reminder to be gentle with myself, to give myself a break and others the benefit of the doubt.
Sometimes gumption and grit aren’t enough. Sometimes you need grace.
And as I take a moment to look back at 2017 I need grace, indeed.
I need to be gentle with myself as I face the fact that I didn’t completely accomplish any of my major goals for the year.
I didn’t grow See Jane Write to 500 dues-paying members. I didn’t grow my blog traffic to an average of 100,000 monthly pageviews. I didn’t self-publish a book. I didn’t see my byline in one of my favorite national magazines. I didn’t participate in a women’s small group at church all year. In fact, I barely went to church at all. I didn’t take a real vacation with my husband. I didn’t lose 30 pounds.
But here’s what I did do:
If you’re like me, you are so excited about 2018 you could pop! You’ve set your goals for the New Year and even drafted plans on how to achieve those goals and you are ready to slay 2018!
But New Year’s Day will come and go, life will happen and your goals will get pushed to the back burner. Or at least that’s probably what has happened in the past. But we’re not going to let that happen in 2018 because we’re going to manage our mindset.
Related Reading: How to Manage Your Mindset
One way to do this is by creating a 2018 vision board and hanging it in a prominent place in your home or office. This vision board should be a visual representation of the vision you have for your year.
On Saturday, January 6 from 1 to 4 p.m. at the Homewood Public Library I am hosting a vision board party with Black Bloggers United Birmingham. This is a free event, but registration is required. You can RSVP here.
If you can’t make it to the event or if you want a preview of what we’ll be doing, here are my 3 steps to creating a vision board that will keep you motivated throughout the year.