Birmingham

It’s Almost Time to Write and Blog Like Crazy!

Every November I challenge See Jane Write readers and members who blog to publish a new blog post every day for 30 days. I call this challenge #bloglikcrazy. I give participants encouragement along the way by sharing blogging tips and post ideas and if you use the #bloglikecrazy hashtag when you share your posts on social media I’ll help promote your posts, too.

To be honest, I originally started #bloglikecrazy because November can be a lonely time for non-fiction writers. National Novel Writing Month (or NaNoWriMo) is also in November, which means all my fiction writer friends are busy trying to write a 50,000-word novel in a month and no one can come out to play! So, I decided to create a writing challenge for non-fiction writers who blog.

But this year I want to make sure I’m supporting See Jane Write readers and members who are taking on the NaNoWriMo challenge, too. So this month I’m hosting two events — one for my blogger babes and one for my lady writers — to help you prepare for all the writing and blogging we’ll be doing in November.

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When Writing Is Not Enough

Writing can be a feminist act. 

I believe this idea so deeply I did a TED Talk on it.

I believe that by sharing her story a woman can fight for equality and grow to love herself enough to believe she deserves it — no matter what society says.

This is why I teach. This is why I started See Jane Write. This is why I write. But sometimes writing is not enough. Sometimes I feel I have to do more.

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How to Get Picked to Give a TEDx Talk

When I gave a talk on the TEDxBirmingham stage on March 24, 2018, I accomplished a goal I’d had for years. (You can watch my talk here.) If giving a TED Talk is on your bucket list, too, now is your chance to make this dream come true. The organizers of TEDxBirmingham are currently accepting applications for the 2019 event, set for May 3-4, 2019. If you’re ready to shoot your shot here are some tips to help your application stand out from the rest for this or any other TEDx event.

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Must-See Movies at the 20th Annual Sidewalk Film Festival

A Sidewalk selfie from last year’s Festival

“You can’t wait for inspiration. You have to go after it with a club.”

Early American author Jack London said that and it’s one of my favorite quotes about finding the inspiration to write. We writers can sit around waiting to get hit over the head with inspiration, we have to seek it everywhere.

I often find inspiration in movies — from feature films, to shorts, to documentaries — and that’s why every August you’ll find me at the Sidewalk Film Festival in Birmingham.

If you have your tickets for this weekend’s festival you’re probably feeling overwhelmed by all the choices you see on the schedule. Don’t fret. I’ve got you covered.

Corey Craft, one of my colleagues at the Alabama School of Fine Arts, is a features programmer for the festival. Corey has written about film since 2009, teaches a history of film class at ASFA, and has a degree in telecommunications and film with an emphasis in critical studies from the University of Alabama. So before I made my list of must-see movies, I always talk to him first.

Here’s what he had to say…

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Poet Ashley M. Jones discusses her experience as a guest on Code Switch LIVE from Birmingham

On Tuesday, August 14 Gene Demby and Shereen Marisol Meraji of the popular NPR race and identity podcast Code Switch hosted a live recording of the show in Birmingham at the Alys Stephens Performing Arts Center. This event, presented by Birmingham’s NPR station WBHM 90.3, drew a packed house and featured interviews with Mayor Randall Woodfin, WBHM news director GiGi Douban and local award-winning poet  Ashley M. Jones. The discussions during the show tackled important issues about the city’s race relations, economic landscape and more.

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