Sonya Elliott

Back on the Court

AUTHOR & BASKETBALL FANATIC

LIFE INSPIRED FITNESS: Happy Hill Day

By

I’ve talked about how I like doing stairs. It’s a good way to get a workout in a short period of time and the set near me has a beautiful view of the city.

Yesterday I ran (okay maybe jogged is the right word) to a spot where I planned to do a few sets of stairs and run some hills. Well as I was doing my slow warm up jog, I came to a hill and it was so hard to go up it that I stopped and walked. And let me tell you, the hill was not steep!

I’m not sure what it is for me, but it’s easier to go a shorter distance at a faster speed, even up a hill, as opposed to a longer distance at a slower pace (except walking). That’s probably why marathons don’t sound very fun to me. The crazy thing is, last year when I saw the RedBull 400 Race, where you run 400 meters straight up a ski slope, I thought, wow that looks awesome, I want to do that! My family thinks I’m crazy, but it’s on my list of things to do. Wait, did I just put that in writing? Yikes!

Anyway, a short fast run is more to my liking. So even though I couldn’t even jog up the hill on my way to run hills, when I got to my chosen hill/stair spot, I sprinted (this may be an exaggeration) right up the hill, five times, with a couple sets of stairs in between.

Anyway, what I’m trying to say is, we are all so different, and we have different likes. Likes that even change and grow over time. So celebrate the things that you love and get out there and do them. And if you feel like it, find a slope that’s right for you, and try a few hills.

Happy Hill Day!

PS: be sure to warm up good first

PEN TO PAPER: Fingers To Keys

By

It’s been a while since I’ve written by hand. I wrote the first draft of my memoir, Back On The Court, by hand. At least a majority of it. I wrote it in journals, the cheap black and white ones that college students get for class notes. It worked great, because as I transferred the writing from the notebooks to my computer, I edited the work. I even felt that I was more creative when I was writing by hand.

Now I write almost exclusively on my computer. Maybe I’m just lazy, or maybe it’s because it’s so hard to keep up with my thoughts when I write by hand. Or it could be that because my writing is so sloppy these days, I can’t read half of what I’ve written. I’m not sure, but even though I do enjoy writing by hand from time to time, other than some freewrites, I stick to writing on the computer these days.

In the end, I think that you should do what works best for you and which ever helps you to get words on the page.

What method do you use when you write?

WRITING PROMPT 1: put these two words at the top of the page, I WRITE, and then put your pen to paper or fingers to keys and go for it.

WRITING PROMPT 2: Pick the method that you use the least, and write a few paragraphs that might be used in a piece that you are currently working on.

WRITING PROMPT 3: Emily closed up her laptop, looked at her blank notebook and…

 

PEN TO PAPER: The Trash Can Is Your Friend

By

Do you ever think, my writing sucks!

Well, you’re not the only one. I think we all feel that way from time to time, I know I do. And sometimes my writing does suck, and that’s okay. You can’t expect your writing to always be perfect, or even good. It is all part of the process of getting better.

I love the quote, “The Trash Can Is Your Friend,” by Margaret Atwood, author of The Handmaid’s Tale, because it gives you the go ahead to give up. I don’t mean on your writing, I’m the queen of never giving up when it comes to writing and life, but there are times when what we’ve written, is just there to get us better. It’s our practice.

And just like any other practice, (let me use basketball as an example since it’s my other love), it’s not always perfect. There were practice days, as both a coach and a player, when I was grateful that it wasn’t a game day. Days that were terrible. But you know what? I still learned from those days. Just like you learn from all the hours that you put into writing.

Sometimes our writing just needs editing (actually it always needs editing), and sometimes a piece of work should just be tossed into the trash (like the first two chapters of my novel).

Trash can or not, each minute spent writing means you’re one step closer to being the writer that you want to be.

WRITING PROMPT 1: Write TRASH at the top of the page and start writing.

WRITING PROMPT 2: Take a piece of writing that you are not happy with, toss it in the trashcan and start on something new.

WRITING PROMPT 3: Jacob walked down the alley, kick over the trash can and…

 

PEN TO PAPER: Animal Inspiration

By

Today’s writing prompt is an easy one. It’s about animals. Do you have a favorite animal? A favorite pet? Maybe you love going to the zoo and watching the giant hippos glide through the water and then plod across the shore, maybe you are inspired by the graceful neck of the giraffe. Maybe you don’t know what you’d do without your pet tabby cat that you rescued when Covid hit or maybe you are attracted to a dog that sheds non-stop, farts more than your husband and slobbers on your pants every time he walks away from his water bowl and sets his jowls on your thigh. Or maybe you are not a fan of animals at all. Whatever the case, animals can be great writing inspiration.

Pick one or more prompts and let your pen and mind get to work. Write on!

WRITING PROMPT 1: Write about your favorite, or least favorite, animal. Think about why you chose this animal. Maybe there is even more for you to write about?

WRITING PROMPT 2: Choose an animal and then write for a bit from their point of view.

WRITING PROMPT 3: Cassandra opened the door and called for Casper again. It wasn’t like him to…

PEN TO PAPER: New Year’s Goals

By

I’ve never been one to set New Year’s resolutions, but I am a goal-setter, which I suppose isn’t so different. I guess my tendency to shy away from New Year’s resolutions comes from my long held belief that they are unsuccessful. In fact, a quick Google search on history.com confirmed my thinking, while as many as forty-five percent of Americans say they usually make New Year’s resolutions, only eight percent are successful in achieving their goals.

Still, setting goals gives you long-term vision and short-term motivation, so if a New Year’s resolution does that for you, go for it. Or if you’re like me, don’t put so much pressure on yourself and simply call them goals, that happen to take place at the beginning of the year.

Many wishes for a healthy and happy New Year! Write on!

WRITING PROMPT 1: Write down your writing goals for this year

WRITING PROMPT 2: Write about what you are looking forward to in 2021

WRITING PROMPT 3: Olivia pondered her New Year’s resolutions, then she…

PEN TO PAPER: Be Present, Connect & Listen

By

Last Thursday when my friend Jenny and I did our freewrite, we chose three words from her Anchored Card Deck. The words were Presence, Connect and Listen. My fingers flew across the keys, what powerful words to focus on during the holidays, and especially during a pandemic.

It can be difficult to be present. With bills and work, and these days the constant worry about everyone’s health, stress levels are high. And my to-do list seems to get longer everyday. But, this is also when I use my past, my history with loss, to remind myself to slow down, to be present. If you’ve lost people you love, you know what I’m talking about.

Sometimes I have to have a little conversation with myself. Sonya, who cares if the house is a messy, hang out with your son, he will be back at college soon. Enjoy walks with your husband and watching basketball when there are dishes in the sink. Forget about the other stuff, be truly present.

Yes, presence is worth writing about and thinking about and doing.

And who doesn’t need to connect right now? Most of us are living within our bubbles, working to keep others safe. So for ourselves, and others, we need to look at how we can connect with our friends and loved ones, and maybe even people who we don’t know as well. Set up a zoom meeting, text or just pick up the phone and call. These are difficult times, look at how you can connect.

Listen. Ah, what a word (And it fits so well with the other two). A reminder to listen, just listen. Listen to your spouse, listen to your friends, listen to your kids, listen to the teller at the grocery store, listen to your favorite music, and listen to the rain on your rooftop. There is so much to the word. A perfect word for writing inspiration.

When pulling cards from the deck of inspirational words, Jenny often says that you pull the words you need most (even if you don’t realize it at the time). I can tell you one thing. These three words were not only great as a writing prompt, they were definitely ones that I needed to be reminded of.

Try putting these words to work with the writing prompts below, and think about how they can enrich your life as well… Presence, Connect and Listen.

WRITING PROMPT 1: Use one or all these words, and start writing. Presence. Connect. Listen.

WRITING PROMPT 2: incorporate presence, connect and listen into a poem

WRITING PROMPT 3: With his airbuds jammed into his ears and the hood of his black AC/DC hoodie drooped across his forehead, nearly covering his eyes, Adam sat in the corner…

Subscribe to Sonya's Blog

Follow Sonya