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Fresh Start February: 5 Ways to Begin Again

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Do you need this month to be Fresh Start February?

So often we enter the new year full of hopes and dreams, fueled by our goals and plans. We try to “hit the ground running” only to trip and fall flat on our faces.

If that sounds like you this year, give yourself some grace. Get up (or let someone help you up) and give yourself permission to start again. Give yourself permission to start slow. You don’t have to hit the ground running. Walking is just fine.

February is my birthday month, so it always feels like a fresh start for me. It’s like my own personal New Year. But you deserve a Fresh Start February too. Here’s how to give yourself the new beginning you need.

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The Best Planner for Writers

The best planner for writers is any planner that will help you achieve your writing goals. I always say the magic is in the planning, not the planner. And honestly, the planning is just half the battle. You must follow through to see any progress. But I’m a huge fan of the Day Designer planner because if you put it to use, it can help you not only make time to write but also design a life worth writing about.

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My December Ta-Da List

Each month I help the members of the See Jane Write Collective set 3 major goals – one writing goal, one wellness goal, and one goal for another area of life that needs attention. But in December things are different. In December we craft a December Ta-Da List! No, that’s not a typo. That’s supposed to say “ta-da” not “to-do” because that’s way more fun, right?!

I can’t take credit for coming up with that name. One year a Collective member used the term during a monthly planning session, and it stuck. And since then, it’s become a yearly ritual for me.

Whether you want to finish the year strong or you’re just trying to finish, the December Ta-Da List can help.

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What Writing for ELLE Magazine Taught Me About Freelancing

It all began with an email. On an otherwise ordinary day, I opened my email inbox to find a message with the subject line “October ELLE.”

I clicked on the message to find correspondence from an editor at ELLE magazine who wanted to know if I would be interested in writing an article for the magazine for Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

At first, I was certain I was being Punk’d (Remember that show?). But after finding the editor on LinkedIn and other sites I realized this was real. I realized I had just been asked to write for a magazine in the top 3 of my byline bucket list. I was so excited I ran laps through my house for a solid minute before I calmed down enough to share the good news with my husband.

The article was hard work. I had to interview several sources and the assignment required a quick turnaround on the first draft and the revision. But I did it. The article — For Breast Cancer, 40 is the New 50 — ran in both the October issue of the magazine and online.

The experience taught me so much about freelancing. Here are three of the most valuable lessons learned.

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My Renaissance World Tour Experience As a 72-Year-Old

Linda C. Mims and her daughters at the Renaissance World Tour in Chicago.

Editor’s Note: See Jane Write now publishes articles and personal essays by writers who identify as women, non-binary folks, and our allies. Learn more here.

By: Linda C. Mims

The first time I played Beyoncé’s Renaissance, I was cleaning the kitchen. “Cozy” came on and had me and the broom bopping and twirling under the disco ball. I half expected Donna Summer to bust out in song. Renaissance sounded like my youth and it paid homage to both House and Disco music, which my generation is very familiar.

I expected the Renaissance World Tour to feel like a family reunion, and it didn’t surprise me to see people aged 60 and older in the stadium. Crowds poured into Chicago’s Soldier Field through 20 gates, and while my daughters bought merch, I people watched. Stylish older ladies, with beautiful gray hair and faces beat to perfection, lifted their canes to me in salute. I, sporting a neon purple cane, lifted back. Mature ladies were a novelty in this venue, and tonight we were here to cuff it, cuff it, cuff it for you, baby!

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