Here are some ideas to get your pen moving:

• What do the holidays mean to you?
• Do you have a New Year’s resolution? Why or why not? If so, what is it?
• What are you favorite – or least favorite – winter memories?
• Such short days! How do you make the most of the daylight?
• Have you been to a really great – or seriously awkward – holiday party? What happened?
• Did you travel to see your relatives this year? How was it different from last year?

Not much of a holiday person? What else is going on?

• It’s almost time for the Republican primaries – who do you think will win?
• How do you feel about the 2012 elections overall?
• What about the Occupy movement?
• What about world politics?

It’s also the time of year for lists: best books, films, films based on books, blunders, highlights, etc. Do you agree with the choices? What’s on your Top 10 for 2011?

Make a Top 10 (or 20 or 50) list of the most personally important moments to you that won’t make it on a national or international Top 10 list. Did you get a new job? Get married? Lose someone close to you? Did you take a new yoga class that has changed your perspective? Tried a new recipe? Read a great book? Did you go on a fabulous trip?

Whatever got to you, made you stop and think, gave you inspiration, challenged you like never before, and made this a year to remember, write it down.

If you blog and need help with ideas for posts, check out this list of bloggers who came up with pretty interesting ideas for the past year.

Don’t forget to toast all you have done this year and how much more you can do in 2012.

Happy Writing,

Learn How to Write an Op-Ed & Make Your Voice Heard

photo credit: utahinsfaqs.blogspot.com

Passage of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) was an arduous process. A lot of us wished for different outcomes in some regard. It cannot be denied, however, that this reform to our nation’s health care system has delivered great benefits to millions of women and their families. Repeal of this act would endanger the progress we’ve made. Make no mistake, while many are coming around and realizing how beneficial this legislation is, stiff opposition remains.

Here are just a few of the benefits that women can access because of the ACA:

• Young adults are allowed to stay on their parent’s plan until they turn 26.
• Insurance companies are prohibited from imposing lifetime dollar limits on essential benefits, like hospital stays.
• Insurance companies can not deny coverage to children under the age of 19 due to a pre-existing condition.
• More small businesses are offering health insurance to their employees, thanks to a new tax credit.
• No more gender discrimination. Insurance plans receiving federal funds will not be able to charge women more for services disproportionately used by women.
• The ACA guarantees access to preventive services like mammograms and cervical cancer screening.
• The ACA assures that pregnant and parenting women on Medicaid get access to needed services including education about post-partum depression, anti-smoking programs and violence prevention.
• Older women will save thousands of dollars as the reform closes the prescription drug gap (aka the “donut hole”)
• Family caregivers now have more support. The ACA establishes Geriatric Education Centers to support training in geriatrics, chronic care management, as well as mental health and dementia best care practices – all at little to no cost.

For more information on the benefits of the ACA, including the timeline of when everything goes into effect (some aspects will not go into effect until 2014), be sure to check out www.healthcare.gov. At a time when so many women and families are suffering from unemployment, underemployment or the exorbitant medical costs incurred before this act, now is simply not the time to repeal this protection. Too much is at stake. Quite frankly, lives are on the line.

Thanks to the National Partnership for Women and Families for much of the information cited here.

photo from findingdulcinea.com

Do you like living in a representative democracy? Do you like social safety nets like social security and medicare? How about the right to full reproductive health care including abortion? Or access to health care at all? If you answered yes to any of these questions, then you need to make sure to vote. Better yet, make sure your friends vote too.

In case you need some reminders of the hard-won battles that we benefit from today, especially those that help women, here’s a list (thanks WIN and Ms.):

1. Women’s Right to Vote (1920)
The 19th amendment was passed by the states in 1920 and guaranteed all American women the right to vote. Since then, women have surpassed men both in the proportion and numbers of women who vote.

Threat: Instead of advocating a 21st century voting system, conservative legislatures in 30 states are attempting to turn the clock back to the 19th century when only privileged white males were allowed to vote. Newly imposed ID requirements in some states target students, people of color and women. As many as 32 million women of voting age do not have documentation with their current legal name.

2. Social Security Act (1935)
Women represent 57 percent of all Social Security beneficiaries age 62 and older and approximately 68 percent of all beneficiaries age 85 and older. Social Security is the bedrock of women’s financial security in the later years of their lives.

Threat: Bills introduced by conservative congressional members would gut the current
Social Security program and disproportionally impact women’s economic security.

3. Medicare (1965)
Medicare is the nation’s health insurance program seniors and younger adults with permanent disabilities. More than half (56%) of all Medicare beneficiaries are women.

Threat: The conservative majority of the House of Representative passed a fiscal year 2012 budget bill that will effectively end Medicare and replace it for those now under 55 with a voucher to buy private insurance. It would increase out-of-pocket health care costs, limit benefits and choice of doctors.

4. Medicaid (1965)
Medicaid provides 19 million women access to vital health services at all stages of their lives. In 2007 nearly seven in ten elderly individuals who relied on Medicaid for assistance were women.

Threat: Under the conservative House budget, Medicaid was targeted for deep budget cuts and converted into capped block grants to states. Medicaid still faces threats as the Joint Select Committee on Debt Reduction deliberates and identifies an additional $1.5 trillion in budget cuts.

5. Title VII of the Civil Rights Act (1964)
Title VII passed in 1964 prohibits employment discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, sex and national origin. Title VII covers all employment actions, including hiring, promotion, and termination, as well as all of the terms and conditions of employment and has been central to expanding women’s economic opportunities.

Threat: Recent actions by conservative Senators and the conservative-majority on the
Supreme Court have weakened employment discrimination laws and placed women’s rights in jeopardy.

6. Title X, The National Family Planning Program (1972)
In 1972, Title X, America’s national family planning program, was signed into law by President Richard Nixon. More than 5 million individuals receive health care through Title X clinics.

Threat: For the first time in history, the U.S. House of Representatives voted to completely defund Title X in 2011. Nine states have reduced family planning funding through legislative action and one (NJ) has eliminated it through Governor veto.

7. Title IX of the Education Amendments (1972)
Title IX, passed by Congress in 1972, prohibits sex discrimination in federally funded education programs or activities. Title IX greatly expanded equal access to sports opportunities so that today girls and women represent 40% of all college and high school athletes.

Threat: A combination of budget cuts, regulations held over from the Bush Administration and pressure from congressional opponents threatens to weaken enforcement of Title IX.

8. Roe v. Wade Supreme Court decision (1973)
In 1973, the U.S. Supreme Court held in Roe v. Wade that a right to privacy under the 14th Amendment extended to a women’s decision to have an abortion.

Threat: Anti abortion members of Congress have introduced legislation that would make
all abortions illegal and essentially overturn Roe v. Wade. In 2011, over 1000 pieces of legislation have been introduced and 162 bills have been passed at the state level to restrict access to abortion and/or family planning, the most since 1973.

9. The Violence Against Women Act (1994)
The Violence Against Women Act passed by Congress in 1994, created the first U.S. federal legislation acknowledging the severity of crimes related to domestic violence, sexual assault, stalking, and violence against women.

Threat: VAWA will expire at the end of the 2011 unless it is reauthorized. The law also
requires updates and strengthening, including provisions that will help protect students on campus who are consistently subject to sexual harassment, assault and violence. Despite this, no action has yet been taken to ensure VAWA is reauthorized for the years to come.

10. The Affordable Care Act (2010)
The Affordable Care Act of 2010, passed by Congress and signed into law by President Obama, covers well woman preventive health services, such as an annual well-woman visit, contraceptives, mammograms and cancer screenings, prenatal care and counseling for domestic violence, as basic health care for women at no additional cost. Combined with other provisions, the ACA is an historic step forward for women’s health and economic security.

Threat: Conservative members of Congress as well as conservative state legislators
and governors have pledged to repeal ACA and deny women, of all ages, critical
preventive care services.

Our system may not be perfect but it has one great silver lining built right in: the right to vote out those we don’t like and vote in those we do. Take a moment to reach out to your friends and family and ask them to vote. Send all your friends a reminder text on election day. Better yet, start now and remind them to make sure they’re registered. Let’s make a new slogan: Friends Don’t Let Friends Stay Home on Election Day. Especially not girlfriends.

image from staff.esuhsd.org

One of the many wonderful things about being in WIN is Women Opening Doors for Women (WODW). It’s a night filled with access to amazing women who are not only shining in their careers, but willing to sit down with other women and share their expertise. It’s a night to relive the reason that WIN got started: to give women a chance to help other women succeed. Last Wednesday, it delivered once more.

The Writing Group planned a dinner on the subject of getting published, and were truly blessed with an amazing group of speakers, including our host. In all, we had four authors to talk with, listen to and learn from. We are sill glowing from the evening. The authors and a recap of their advice are below.

Cathy Alter
Author of “Up for Renewal: What Magazines Taught Me About Love, Sex, and Starting Over” www.cathyalter.com

Holly Kearl
Author of “Stop Street Harassment: Making Public Places Safe and Welcoming for Women” http://www.hollykearl.com/

Ruth Schimel
Ph.D., Career and Life Management Consultant, Writer of book series “Choose Courage” www.ruthschimel.com

Allison Silberberg
Author of “Visionaries In Our Midst: Ordinary People who are Changing our World” www.allisonsilberberg.com

Holly explained that she had already started a website and a blog in addition to her thesis, and that this established identity and credibility- especially the CNN story featuring her Master’s thesis – which helped earn publisher attention. She recommended starting a blog or other route to get your name and expertise out there in advance. She published without an agent, querying mainly academic publishers directly, but did find that her book is more expensive than she would have preferred and is limited in where it can be sold. Holly also gave everyone a 2-page document on how to write a book proposal, which will undoubtedly prove useful. Once she became known for her work, reading comments became bit of a landmine. She recommended avoiding the “trolls” as much as possible.

Allison shared that she keeps her stack of rejection letters to remind her that writing is not personal, it’s a business. The only failure, she urged us, is in not trying. She told that she has even kept in touch with some of the publishers who rejected her proposal. Sometimes it isn’t so much that they don’t like your book, it’s that they do not publish in that style or genre, or cannot accept any more while you are soliciting. She recommended creating an Excel sheet to track who you submit to, when, and if you get a response. In order to find and agent, she and Cathy recommended looking through books similar to the one you’d like to write and looking to see if the author thanked his/her agent (they often do) and then Googling that person. You can also ask booksellers for similar books or suggestions of where to query. Echoing Holly’s avoidance of the trolls, she cautioned that the naysayers will ruin you if you let them – but that life is too short, and “nobody knows nothin’.” Protect your energy and look for communities – writing groups (we totally agree), an assortment of readers, or similar venue. She reminded everyone to respect criticism even if you don’t agree with it. Above all though, write from the heart, and write with passion, but don’t be preachy. Keep in mind, in 5-10 years, when you look back, what do you want to see?

More practically, find a lawyer to go through your contract and negotiate; get your work copyrighted in your name (the Library of Congress does this) and make sure your contract specifies that it can be revisited in a year (also recommended by Ruth). The author often receives an advance, anywhere from $5-$40,000, when signing with an agent. Allison further shared the experience of a friend who chose to do developmental publishing (an option between self-publishing and traditional), and the nuts and bolts of how to go about it. This route brings financial risk, as the author pays about $35,000 to get it up and running. Royalties through agent-bargaining usually yields 5-15%; developmental publishing usually brings much higher royalties (~30%). But no matter how you publish, you need to “market the heck out of yourself.” Remember though, you don’t have to do it all in one week. Pace yourself for a marathon, not a sprint. Write an article for a newspaper or a magazine and mention that you are writing a book. Also, when you begin to send out proposals, know that they may ask to see the first three chapters, so have those ready. Another thing to keep in mind is that if you choose to self-publish, academic classes will not consider purchasing.

Cathy set us amateurs at ease by reporting that though publishing is daunting – she used to think writing a “Talk of the Town” piece for the New Yorker was her highest aspiration – it really is possible. Underscoring the emphasis that Holly and Allison put on believing in yourself and just getting started, Cathy recommended the “bum in chair” method to get things done: just sit down and write. She also encouraged the practical – practice your craft and think about what will sell in order to be a good, successful writer. Become an expert in your area. She went through an agent as well, and recommended that route. As Holly and Allison also said, Cathy advised having an elevator pitch ready. Be able to explain your book in 2-3 sentences. Some resources that Cathy suggested checking out are the Writer’s Center and the American Association of Independent Writers.

Ruth lent her experience and wisdom, sharing many materials that may be of use to us in our search for passion. She broke down and defined the terms ‘courage’ and ‘passion,’  and instructed us to remember that “all work is in self-revelation.” She also said to “speak from what has meaning for you.” In addition she also shared these quotes:

All good work requires self-revelation. – Sidney Lumet

As soon as you trust yourself, you will know how to live. – Goethe

Our speakers include:

Cathy Alter
Author of “Up for Renewal: What Magazines Taught Me About Love, Sex, and Starting Over”
www.cathyalter.com

Allison Silberberg
Author of “Visionaries In Our Midst: Ordinary People who are Changing our World”
www.allisonsilberberg.com

Holly Kearl
Author of “Stop Street Harassment: Making Public Places Safe and Welcoming for Women”
www.hollykearl.com

Ruth Schimel
Ph.D., Career and Life Management Consultant, Writer of book series “Choose Courage”
http://ruthschimel.com

So you can see why we’re excited. We hope you can join us. Details are below.

No Reservations: Proud to be Pro-Choice.

WHEN: Wednesday, June 22
Reception: 6:00- 7:00
Dinner: 7:30 – 9:30 Doors open at 5:30

WHERE: Reception: National Education Association 1201 16th Street, NW
Dinner: based on your dinner choice

Get your tickets here: www.tinyurl.com/wodw2011

See you on June 22!

photo from CommonCensus blog

photo from Her Royal Highness blog

So, here’s what you need to do: Write! Read as much as you can, write as much as you can, and share it with as many people as possible. Now get started!

We’ll see you at our next meeting.

WIN’s  Political Training Team and the WIN Writing Group Proudly Present: 

Finding Your Online Voice: Political Blogging 101

 True or False: There are more female bloggers than male in today’s online media?

If you answered true, you are correct! Women made up 50.9% of online blogs in 2010.

However, the New York Times recently reported that men are twice as more likely to take to political blogging than women.

It’s no surprise that online media has become a powerful tool in everyday politics. As attacks on Democrats in the 2012 election promise to be fierce, it’s more important than ever to get your blogging skills in gear!

Join WIN’s Political Training team as we team up with Writing Group for an exciting panel on political blogging. Listen to top female bloggers speak about the basics of online journalism and how you can find your “online” voice.

Amanda Hess, DC sex and gender columnist and blogger
Kay Steiger, online managing editor at Washingtonian magazine and the former editor of CampusProgress.org
Zerline Hughes, communications manager for the Justice Policy Institute
Michelle Kinsey Bruns, tweets for @ClinicEscort and blogs at The Inevitable Preggobelly

WHEN:

Thursday May 12^th, 2011
6:30-8pm
RSVP via email to politicaltrainings@winonline.org

WHERE:

Farragut North Area – Address provided to RSVP’s

Refreshments Will Be Served!

SPACE IS LIMITED. PLEASE BE SURE TO RSVP TO ENSURE A SPOT.

Because of you, other newborns and infants now have coverage, and their moms and dads have more health care too, including family planning. Not to mention no more co-pays for cervical cancer screenings or mammograms. And no more gender discrimination! At least in insurance premiums (you’re only one bill). Plus, if you get sick, you can’t be kicked off your insurance plan. The benefits are rolling in. Let’s review some more:

• Insurers are banned from imposing lifetime dollar limits on coverage
• Insurers cannot charge higher costs for emergency services obtained outside of their network
• Insurers, including Medicaire, are required to cover a core set of preventive services without cost-sharing requirements such as co-pays, deductibles or co-insurance.
• Insurers must spend at least 80-85% of premium dollars on providing beneficiaries with health care and improving the quality of their care, and NOT on administrative costs and profits.
• Any insurers receiving federal funds will not be able to discriminate on the grounds of race, national origin, gender, age, or disability.
• Women may be eligible for premium and cost-sharing assistance if they purchase insurance through a health insurance exchange in the individual market.
• Insurers will be required to comply with limits on annual cost-sharing.
• Health plans are prohibited from denying coverage to children ages 0-19 with “pre-existing conditions” such as asthma and diabetes.
• A new tax credit that helps small businesses provide coverage to their employees. Women are more likely than men to work for small businesses that don’t offer health insurance.

You’ve even got a snazzy new website to help everyone navigate the new system. Not too shabby Lil ACA. With a little bit of luck and some help from your friends, I’m sure you’ll even weather the spending cuts and litigation. It won’t be easy, but as you get older and really come into your own, things will settle down. Your foes will get used to you, and many will even come to appreciate you. Hey, you’re here for everyone.  So, have a slice of cake, make a little noisemaker noise, and sing yourself a hearty Happy Birthday. You’ve earned it!

Thanks to the National Partnership for Women and Families and the National Women’s Law Center for the facts.