Birmingham

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.

(more…)

My Top 10 Takeaways from WordCamp Birmingham 2019

An African-American woman (me!) dressed in a blue t-shirt and floral skirt poses in front of a building standing next to a sign that reads "YP Y'all"
Another WordCamp Birmingham is in the books!

August 10-11, 2019 I attended WordCamp Birmingham 2019, which was held at Rosewood Hall in Homewood. The event featured several different tracks of workshops including sessions on content and business. I had the opportunity to speak, as well, and gave a presentation on using group writing challenges to boost your blog.

I’ve been attending WordCamp Birmingham conferences for years and I always leave with a notebook full of tips and tricks on how to improve my blog and overall content creation process. Honestly, I leave with too much information. I leave with so much information that I usually get too overwhelmed to put any of it into practice.

But this year I’m going to rewrite my story! This year reviewed my notes and made a list of 10 things I will do to put the information into action.

Here are my top 10 takeaways from WordCamp Birmingham 2019…

(more…)

How to Be a Writer in Birmingham

In 2009 — after living in Berkeley, California; Seattle, Washington; and Louisville, Kentucky — I returned to my hometown of Birmingham, Alabama to teach. Despite the fact that I’d left a job as a newspaper reporter to start a career in education, I knew I wanted to continue to write.

This would be my first time in Birmingham as a working, writing adult. I knew how to be a teenager in Birmingham writing angst-ridden poetry and prose in my journal, sitting in my bedroom with The Cranberries or Mariah Carey playing on the radio.

I knew how to be a writer on the West Coast and in the Midwest. But I had to learn how to be a writer in Birmingham.

(more…)