I spent five hours in the library yesterday writing my butt off. It’s really not a lot of time when you think about it. I used to devote 8 hours a day and 40 hours a week to a regular job that benefited my employers more than it did me. For all the “self-employed” writers, you ought to be writing grind style. Forty hours a week is a minimum. Getting your name out there, enhancing your brand, and, most importantly, getting paid, requires you to be ON IT all the time. If you can’t write on the same thing for 8 hours, that’s cool. Write about anything. I chose to tackle a fellowship application today that required me to write multiple essays in addition to pulling together some interview questions for a few upcoming Zora&Alice articles. Now, I’m here, writing to you about nothing really that important, but again another way for me to engage and enhance my skill. I plan to go see Inception tomorrow, but I must get some writing in first (or after). If writing is only a hobby, then your talent will be treated like one.
Here are some great writers that keep me inspired. Hope they help all my writing buddies too!
Gary Vaynerchuk’s “Do What You Love” Talk is a MUST, MUST, MUST watch for EVERY writer
Paulo Coelho’s Blog (if you don’t worship this man as a writer, I’m not sure how successful you’re going to be)
Seth Godin’s Blog (Seth Godin is a marketing guru, but I loved this particular post about book writing)
Advice to Writers website (great for quotes and inspiration…follow them on Twitter for more frequent updates)
I am a long-standing Christina Aguilera fan. From the time she belted “Reflection” on the Mulan soundtrack, she had my girlhood captured and became a fixture in my music life as a woman. Since returning, I’ve enjoyed her new tracks, but particularly, I found this one quite moving.
“You Lost Me” tells the story of a damaged relationship, infidelity, and a woman trying to move beyond a fractured love. I’ve had many broken men who lost me on the way of a beautiful journey. Sometimes our walk broke pieces of my spirit, but still I rise and remain a phenomenal woman. “You Lost Me” tells one of my many stories. But truly, what woman can’t identify with this? I applaud Christina for continuing to speak to the minds and struggles of contemporary women and allowing herself to be vulnerable and authentic with us.
An educator, writer, filmmaker, and dedicated mother, Aiesha Turman is a beautiful force changing the lives of young women of color in New York. As the founder of Super Hussy Media, she creates film and media that explores the vastness of black female life, including the variety of sexualities, national origins, and classes that compose the complexity of black womanhood. Her most recent documentary, The Black Girl Project, deconstructs black girlhood as a monolithic experience. Contrary to popular media, The Black Girl Project introduces black female viewers to themselves: strong, vulnerable, and multifarious. Additionally, it is giving back to young black girls everywhere through a powerful nonprofit initiative.
Sometimes the weekends are the best time to catch up on good sexuality reads. There were several articles that I enjoyed this week ranging from online dating research to a step by step manual for planning a threesome. Sharing is caring and I love my readers. I have to keep you in my mental loop!
Here is a list of my favorites for the week. Enjoy!
Have you heard? The FIRST EVER, @TEDWomen conference will occur in Washington D.C., December 7-8, 2010. I am a @TedTalks junkie. 18 minute inspirational videos from successful changemakers and entrepreneurs…yea, my eyeballs automatically become glued to the screen. TedTalks are all about creativity, tapping your personal passion, and, by doing so, engaging in meaningful work that impacts local communities and the world. I discovered TED last year (and yes, I know that’s late). Since the first time I watched one of their riveting talks, I’ve been a vocal advocate, often emailing their viral videos to friends who need some words of inspiration or simply tuning in on one of my self-doubting days where I’m struggling to see how my entrepreneurial ventures are going to start becoming real projects instead of wonderful ideas. TED is a small nonprofit that is dedicated to “ideas worth spreading,” a mantra that constantly reminds me that greatness starts with creativity and an innovative mind. Indeed, a conference particularly for women’s issues and leadership will provide an incredible platform for inspirational stories from powerful women across the globe.
Check out a snippet of the @TEDWomen conference’s description below
The cross-disciplinary, cross-generational program will focus on how women think and work, communicate and collaborate, learn and lead — what this means and why it matters to all of us. Speakers from around the globe — both men and women, from anthropologists to artists, scientists to soldiers, farmers to futurists — will share their ideas in the world-renowned TED format, creating a program that surprises and inspires.
Some of the speakers you’ll hear from will include:
The women who redesigned their country’s financial system in the wake of near-catastrophe
The physician who discovered the life-saving importance of treating men and women differently
The tech pioneer whose human-centered approach is redefining how we interact with computers
A world leader bringing peace to her conflict-ridden nation
The teen-age filmmaker whose stories changed how a community saw itself
A maverick CEO whose ideas on women and leadership will surprise you
The anthropologist who traces altruism to the mother-child bond
The sports champion who defies convention with her ability and her appearance
The explorer collecting stories and preserving languages of endangered cultures
You can’t tell me that you don’t want to be in that room!
It’s actually one of my bucket list goals to give a @TEDTalk. Right now, the @TEDWomen registration fee is $2,200. For those of you who have businesses, employers, and sponsors that would throw you a check to attend an inspiring conference sure to deliver limitless networking opportunities, GO!
Below I’ve listed my Top Five Favorite @TEDTalks by Remarkable Women. If this doesn’t convince you to be at the @TEDWomen conference, I don’t know what will!
Click to visit the @TEDWomen conference website here.
Chimamanda Adichie: The danger of a single story
Sunitha Krishnan fights sex slavery
Ngozi Okonjo: On aid versus trade
Kavita Ramdas: Radical Women Embracing Tradition
Sharmeen Obaid: Inside a school for suicide bombers
The last 6 months of my life have been life-changing, ideology-breaking, and mentally transforming. And if you asked me in June 2009, if I would be speaking to other women and making a documentary about dating/being in relationships bisexual men, I probably would have laughed and told you “No, not my path, not my thing.” To start:
I fell in love (unknowingly) with a bisexual man
I just want to put that out there, so all of you reading are aware and know where I am coming from. And, just to be up front, my academic education has focused in Gender & Sexuality, which definitely has influenced the way that I have processed the situation.
I spent five hours in the library yesterday writing my butt off. It’s really not a lot of time when you think about it. I used to devote 8 hours a day and 40 hours a week to a regular job that benefited my employers more than it did me. For all the “self-employed” writers, you ought to be writing grind style. Forty hours a week is a minimum. Getting your name out there, enhancing your brand, and, most importantly, getting paid, requires you to be ON IT all the time. If you can’t write on the same thing for 8 hours, that’s cool. Write about anything. I chose to tackle a fellowship application today that required me to write multiple essays in addition to pulling together some interview questions for a few upcoming Zora&Alice articles. Now, I’m here, writing to you about nothing really that important, but again another way for me to engage and enhance my skill. I plan to go see Inception tomorrow, but I must get some writing in first (or after). If writing is only a hobby, then your talent will be treated like one.
