Your not-so-secret admirer

It will probably come as no surprise that I read a lot. As a writer, I read to stay abreast of current events and to relax, but mainly to learn. Here's the thing: I learn from almost everything I read. Even the Harry Potter series, which I'm currently rereading for the 324th time, teaches me something about the convergence of craft and content. Like my social media feed, my media consumption usually revolves around cocktails, pictures and videos of puppies, and local news. After five years as a writer, many of the pieces that come across are writers and bloggers I've met. But there are many bloggers whose work I actively seek out and subscribe to.

Locally, the scene is unapologetically amazing. Some of these fantastic souls work so hard to elevate the scene that Beyoncé should watch out. These include:

• Ed Bowser's cutting wit, comic book smarts, and humor make Soul In Stereo a must-read for me. Almost every entry I've read has made me laugh.
• Mary-Berkley Gaines and I went to high school together, but I didn't know her then. Now, her work on  The Beautiful Bodies of Birmingham Project spreads the radical body positivity message near and far.
• Sara Glassman is my book dealer. As a bookseller and librarian, her book blog, Medusa's Library, keeps me in books and news from the speculative fiction scene.
• David Griner, the Digital managing editor for Adweek, is a friend and writing hero. I hope to one day write articles with the focus and speed with which he practices the craft.
• Javacia Harris Bowser, the fearless founder of See Jane Write Birmingham is, of course, the first on my list. While the rest of us are sleeping, she's working on her lesson plans for her classes at ASFA, freelance assignments, and businesses coaching plans.
• Carla Jean Whitley gave me the chance that made me a writer. She was my first editor on a professional level, and helped to shape my work into something salable. Her professional work, along with her honest and cat-filled blog, Ink-Stained Life, has been an inspiration since I started this journey.

Though I'm far from a fashionista, I still read several local fashion blogs regularly. Recently, this has become even more important, as I took a position back in June as the coordinator of My Sister's Closet, a secondhand boutique operated by our local YWCA chapter. Some of my favorite include:

• Jeniese Hoisey, the badass babe behind the Jenesaisquoi Blog, is more glamorous than I can ever hope to be.
• Alexis Barton of Same Chic Different Day, who I'm still convinced is too cool to be my friend.
• Jennifer Dome King, whose Stellar Fashion & Fitness entries push me to embrace my body and work from where I am towards a fitness level that works for me.
• Maacah Davis, who runs belladonna, a high fashion magazine that features models of color and diverse backgrounds. It's gorgeous, and I can't wait to see what else she's able to do in the future.

I also read a lot about cocktails, but to ensure that this post isn't 12,000 words long, I'll list some of my favorite writers' names:

• Gray Chapman
• Davin de Kergommeaux
• Jeffrey Morgenthaler
• Kara Newman
• Kirsten Schofield
• Liza Weisstuch
• Clay Whittaker
• and many, many others.

This month, I'm attempting to blog my way forward by writing every day as part of Blog Like Crazy.

Why I'll #bloglikecrazy again

Somewhere between the day-to-day grind of freelancing writing and the 50,000-word book project that consumed September and most of October, I lost It. For a few months, I lost the magic/motivation/desire/mojo/ love that gets you up in the morning and guides you through being self-employed.

A lot of things have lead to this break. I try not to get super personal on the Internet, but there's been a lot of stuff going on behind the scenes that I can't/shouldn't hide from. So, during the course of November, I'm trying to write my way out of the tiny, dark tunnel in my brain where I currently live. To do so, I'm planning to share a bit more than usual to be honest with y'all, and with myself.

Part of this funk came from mental_floss's decision to cease print publication. I've been writing a cocktail chemistry column for their website for three years, and still don't have a clear answer on if my work has a place.

Despite my long-running pieces on their website, I was never published on the print side. It was on my bucket list, which is home to ever more annotations of "not accepting freelance submission," "closed," or "wtf happened." But aside from the professional concerns, I've been reading mental_floss almost since publication started. When I was younger, it was a reminder that there were other nerds like me who got to share their smarts in an achingly cool format. It was a haven, and I wanted to be part of it. In a small way, I've met that goal, but it still falls short.

I'm also burned out. The never-ending cycle of freelance writing, the pitching, rejection/acceptance, drafting, editing, and submission, and the scramble to catch up after falling behind from family stuff, last-minute projects, and part-time jobs, has gotten me down. These days, I have to fight to dredge up any motivation to write even the shortest article.

But here I am. I'm doing what I know how to do: writing my way out. There's no way forward but through, so it's time to start hacking away and see what happens.

Join me for the next 30 days as I make daily blogging an intentional practice. Day one of #bloglikecrazy: Why take on this challenge? 

Five November Blogging Resolutions

This month, I'm going to Blog Like Crazy through Birmingham's See Jane Write blogging group. Our fearless leader Javacia has once again challenged us to blog daily for the entire month of November. Last year, after reading ten or eleven days' worth of amazing posts, I was itching to write my own, and this blog was born. In honor of the month's beginning, here are my five blogging resolutions:

1. Hustle. This month, I will actively work to grow my freelance writing clientele base. I will target new clients more intelligently and efficiently, even after a few rounds of unanswered queries. I will pitch more and write more as I prepare for the future.
2. Use my time wisely. I'm a master of lists, but I'm also easily distracted. Scheduling my writing, running and reading will create accountability and explicitly lay out my work time and free time.
3. Take time for self-care. It may not be a session with a professional masseuse or personal trainer, but exercising and being still now receive designated spots in my calendar. With bartending, tutoring and writing stretching me thin, it's absolutely imperative that I make time to unplug.
4. Loosen up. Last week, it was brought to my attention that I'm pretty serious which can translate into people thinking I'm unapproachable. As a bartender, that's not acceptable. I'm hoping to loosen up by lessening my stress levels through items 3 and 4. If not, I'll find another way.
5. Show more love. I have the most amazing support system -- to whom I rarely reach out. This month, I'm going to contact some of those people to let them know how much they mean to me. I've already tried to start doing so with Adam, and want to actively continue that trend through this month.

See Jane grow: Getting to know Javacia Harris Bowser

Javacia Harris Bowser is one of my favorite Birmingham women. Though she is already a full-time English teacher and busy freelance writer, she is also committed to building a connective and supportive network for woman writers in Birmingham. Named See Jane Write, this organization holds workshops to help established and aspiring writers hone their craft. Not surprisingly, she has recently been contacted by individuals from other cities about founding chapters outside of Birmingham.

This summer, Bowser plans to fulfill a childhood dream by launching a magazine. I spoke with her by e-mail a while back about the connectivity of social media and her current projects.

Write, Clair. Write!: How did you first start using social media?

JHB: When I was in grad school I heard all of the undergrad students in the communications class I taught talking about something called Facebook. I didn’t think much of it then, but after I graduated and got a job at an alternative weekly my new co-workers were all talking about this Facebook thing too so I decided to check it out and I’ve been hooked ever since.

Around that time, though, I was mostly into MySpace. (Remember that website?) I even maintained a blog through my MySpace where I posted about my life and posted my poetry. I joke about MySpace nowadays, but that website actually showed me how you could build a platform, share your art, and express yourself online and through social media.

WCW: I know that you are a huge advocate of using Twitter as a connective medium. What do you like most about it?

JHB: I love that Twitter can allow you to connect with people you may have otherwise never met. Just think about it, if it weren’t for Twitter I may not have ever met you! [Editor's note: That story is well-documented here.]

WCW: How are you using social media to build your Writeous Babe Project and See Jane Write brands?

JHB: I have Facebook pages and Twitter accounts for both WriteousBabe.com and See Jane Write.

I also have Instagram and Pinterest accounts for Writeous Babe, but being a writer I suck at photo-based social media. I’m working on getting better.

My big social media success story has actually been with the See Jane Write Facebook group. I have managed to build an amazing community with that page, with women writers sharing blog posts, writing wisdom, dreams, goals and so much more via this page.

WCW: What would be your advice to Gen Y and Millennials on social media use?

JHB: Always be mindful of how you are presenting yourself on social media. This doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t show personality. You absolutely should show personality and you should be genuine. But don’t tell your followers and fans all your life problems. Facebook is not your therapist. Don’t post pictures of yourself drunk or half-naked and NEVER use your social media accounts to bad mouth your boss.

Also, consider how you can use social media to help other people instead of always simply thinking about how you can use it to help yourself. Take time to use social media to promote other people and their work, to share valuable information, and to connect people.

Others have excuses, I have my reasons why.

There are many reasons why I write, and just as many for going almost a year without writing. With school, tutoring and building a new relationship, I ran out of time. Fun and freelancing (paid fun) just weren't priorities.

Then I met Javacia Harris Bowser. As an English teacher at ASFA, founder of See Jane Write and freelancer, she maintains a busier work schedule than I do. During our first (in-person) conversation, she mentioned, among other things, Blog Like Crazy. Since I didn't have a blog, I could sit on the sidelines and cheer the other Janes on, right?

Wrong. After three days of seeing women writers with careers, kids and goals take to the challenge, my remaining excuses for not writing vanished. I asked for help with my blog, and within a week, it was live.

The months of not writing took their toll. My first post took several hours of writing, editing and tweaking before it was passable. The second came together after some struggling, but it was stronger. By the fourth, writing no longer felt like swimming through molasses.

Now, I write to keep my voice. I write to honor my heroes and family and friends. I write to carve out a space in this world that is mine, and I write to try to capture what makes Birmingham special. I write because I don't feel obligated, and I write now so that I may write more in the future. I write because I love the process of finding the words, searching for better ones and seeing the finished product.

I may not yet know why I'll write tomorrow, but I've found that every day adds another reason to my list of reasons why.

Title from Nickel Creek's "Reasons Why."

Close to home, close to the heart

I left my local readings out of my nerdy links post because they tend towards a much different side of the things I like. There are so many that I try to follow that it would take close to a week to list them all. Here are the some that I've been thinking about recently or are from people I've connected with through social media. I've divided them into categories: 1. Better with Coffee These blogs pair well with coffee--they are the introspective musings of people I know and people I think I would like to know.

Ink-stained Life Gold Shoe Blog Food Revival

2. Moving and shaking Straight up shots of energy, inspiration or humor.

YouGotRossed Writeous Babe See Jane Write Worst Weblog In The World Vodka Cranberry Clooney

3. Misc good stuff Music. Beer. Science. Food. Love.

Birmingham Box Set (Full disclosure: I write for this blog for fun) Primavera Urban Standard

4. City Love Life in Birmingham.

WBHM Magic City Made Mary Katherine Morris (photog) Kate Tully (photog) Rob Culpepper (photog) Cary Norton (photog)