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Must-See Movies at Sidewalk Film Festival 2017

my gear from Sidewalk Fest 2016

 

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again — good writers read good writing. But I believe good writers watch good writing too, good writing that comes in the form of good movies. And that’s why every year you’ll find me at the Sidewalk Film Festival. If you’re in the Birmingham area, I hope to see you at this weekend’s festival, August 25-27.

There are always so many films showing at Sidewalk that sometimes I feel overwhelmed when trying to decide which films I’m going to see.

Fortunately, I have a pal to help me out.  One of my colleagues at the Alabama School of Fine Arts is also a features programmer for the festival. Corey Craft has written about film since 2009, for five years as the primary film writer for The Tuscaloosa News and now exclusively for the upstart arts and entertainment website artsBHAM.com. He also 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 he knows his stuff.

I had a chat with him about the best movies to catch this weekend.

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Write Like a Boss Series: Find Your Tribe and Love Them Hard

I have a confession: I started See Jane Write for selfish reasons.

In 2009 I left my job as a newspaper reporter in Louisville, Kentucky and returned to my hometown of Birmingham, Alabama to teach English at a local high school for kids gifted in the fine arts and math and science. Though I was fond of my new colleagues I missed the group of female writers I was surrounded by in my newsroom.

I searched for a women’s writing group that would welcome poets, authors, journalists, and bloggers – all hats I’d worn at one point in my writing life – but I couldn’t find one. So I decided to start an organization of my own.

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Write Like a Boss Series: 7 Ways to Make Money as a Writer

I think I was in the 5th grade when I first declared I was going to be a writer when I grew up. I had been writing really bad poetry since I was about 7 or 8 and in 5th grade I started reading the work of Maya Angelou. And so I decided I would one day be a famous poet like her.

This little girl always knew she’d grow up to be a writer.

As I got older the type of writing I did changed, but my love for writing never did. And as I got older I started asking myself a question that 5th grade Javacia didn’t think much about — How will I make money as a writer? This is probably a question you’ve been asking yourself, too. And this is a question I want to help you answer in part four of the Write Like a Boss series. (Be sure to read part 1, part 2, and part 3, if you haven’t already.)

Let’s discuss seven different ways you can make money with your writing skills.

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“Write Like a Boss” Series: Know Who You Are and What You Want

Photo by Brendon Pinola

Chances are you hate to hear the words, “Build your brand.” Thinking of yourself as a brand may feel gross or even wrong. But it’s not. Building a personal brand simply means defining and clearly conveying what you’re all about — who you are, what you do, and why you do it.

In part one of the “Write Like a Boss” series, we established that you are a writer. Remember, to be a writer all you have to do is write. But I want you to be a writer who makes money and makes a difference. One thing that will help you do this is building a personal brand.

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Introducing the “Write Like a Boss” Series

Photo by Brendon Pinola

Whether you like it or not, to be a successful writer you must also be an entrepreneur. You must market your book, your blog, or your brand as a freelancer as if it is a business because that’s exactly what it is.

It’s time to get serious. It’s time to write like a boss. My hope is that this new blog series will help you do exactly that.

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