Blogging Guidelines

We're so glad you've joined us on this blogging adventure!  Just a few things to keep posts headed the same direction:

• We like the length of 300 to 400 words, which is about two to three solid paragraphs. Please make sure your post focuses on just one theme that you can flesh out in that space.
• Essentially, these posts are critical reflections on your experience of the tradition. In your writing, use the same kind of narrative tone that you used in your submission for the book. Consider this a time to raise thought-provoking questions.  
• Please remember to title your work.
• Readings can be found at www.usccb.org/nab. If you find other sites that are helpful to you, please let us know!
• The chapter topics include Growing Up Catholic, Faith in Action, Being a Catholic Woman, Vocation, and Spiritual Identity. 
• Growing Up Catholic explores the impact of that experience on our adult lives. 
• Faith in Action focuses on Catholic identity and social justice.
• Being a Catholic Woman looks at just about any of these questions explicitly through the lens of gender, however you define that.
• Vocation is broadly defined, as well, delving into the ways in which you live out your Catholic identity in the world.
• Spiritual Identity contributions challenge the rigid dividing line between “spiritual” and “religious,” seeking to demonstrate the ways in which both sides of the coin enrich and challenge one another.
• Please submit your post in a Word document, with the text copied and pasted to the end of your email.
• Be sure to attach an accompanying image to your email that fits with your post. It can be a photo that you have taken, something that you’ve found online—whatever it is, please be sure that you have the rights to post it. And if we can give credit to the photographer, let us know! They can be .jpg, .gif, .bmp, or .png, as long as they’re no larger than 8 MB in size.
• If you would like to link to a website from your post, please simply put the web address in parentheses after the word that you’d like the link to start from. For example, the September 11th post links to the USCCB website. So the start of the first sentence would read, “Hearing the first reading (http://www.usccb.org/nab/091108.shtml) during this morning's ecumenical Eucharist service, I was struck by the simplicity and the poignancy of the opening lines…”
• Be sure to sign your post and include a brief bio. It doesn’t have to be the same one that you submitted for the book. Use your creativity, and please keep it to a sentence or two. 
• If you have any questions, please be sure to let us know: youngwomenandcatholicism@gmail.com.