Where Two or Three Gather
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| That’s me with our amazing speakers Erin Shaw Street and Kristen Record Heptinstall |
I am a fiercely independent person. My parents raised me to be that way and I’m grateful for that upbringing because I believe I owe much of my success to it. But sometimes being Ms. Independent brings trouble, or stress headaches at least. Too often I take on huge projects and refuse to ask for help. Even when I’m drowning I won’t scream for a life jacket.
Earlier this year I decided I wanted to begin to make a difference in Birmingham, though at the time I wasn’t really sure what that would look like. Eventually I decided to start See Jane Write, a networking group for women writers in Birmingham. This time I’m not going to make the mistake of trying to do it all on my own.
Last night See Jane Write had its second event: See Jane Tweet, which was a seminar designed to teach women writers how they can use Twitter and other social media tools to promote their work and connect with other writers. The event, held at Matthew’s Bar & Grill, was a huge success and it couldn’t have been without the help of other women. Erin Shaw Street and Kristen Record Heptinstall were amazing speakers who kept the audience engaged, encouraged an interactive atmosphere, and filled us all with their web wisdom. And many of the attendees were there because other people helped me spread the word.
After the seminar I had a chat with Keisa Sharpe, publisher of the website TheNaturalHairDiva.com, about the importance of collaboration. Writing for her website, for example, has brought more traffic to my blog. But this is about something much greater than self-promotion. If I’m going to transform Birmingham into the kind of city that nurtures and supports creative and ambitious women, I need the the help of other creative and ambitious women in town. I need also the help of men who share this vision, men like Wade Kwon, who actually crashed our all-girl event to show his support.
I’m a church-going gal and in Matthew 18:20 Jesus says, “For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them.” I think this is concept is one that can be applied to a number of things regardless of your religious beliefs or lack thereof. When two or more people are gathered in the name of something greater than themselves, be that a deity or a dream, the spirit of whatever has brought them together will be present and will work wonders. And that’s exactly what happened last night as I saw my dreams for See Jane Write becoming a reality.
More shots from See Jane Tweet
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