LIFE INSPIRED FITNESS: Happy Hill Day
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 […]
PEN TO PAPER: Fingers To Keys
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
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
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…
Meet Sonya
Meet Sonya
Sonya Elliott’s memoir, Back on the Court: A Young Woman’s Triumphant Return to Life, Love & Basketball, is her story of finding hope in the wake of tragedy after she and her fiancé were hit by a train. She blogs about writing, basketball, and life and is currently working on a Young Adult Novel and a Non-Fiction Coaching book. Stories of her career as a fashion model are woven through her memoir, as both the Soloflex and Easy Spirit Shoes commercials were filmed during that time period, and this unique and intriguing business continues to be a part of her life.
Sonya played basketball at Eastern Washington University and was a starter for the Big Sky Champion team that went to the 1987 NCAA tournament. She coached for almost 25 years and was voted Seattle Times Coach of the Year, Seattle Officials Women’s Basketball Association Coach of the Year, and twice voted Metro League Coach of the Year. She loves the game of basketball and is thankful, not only for her husband and kids but for her ability to continue to get back on the court.
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PEN TO PAPER: Car Craze
Wow, cars bring up a lot of memories for me. My first car was a gigantic white Buick Electra with a 455 engine (that means fast). It was white with a black top and velvety wine colored electric seats. Man, I had some adventures in that. Then came my reddish-orange Opal Manta, I loved that little pumpkin seed. Then I started my Volkswagen run with a VW rabbit, diesel. It was a nice car but it blew a head gasket going up the steep hill just west of Spokane. Next came my first real car, meaning the first one I bought myself , my red-hot sirocco, wolfberg addition. That baby took me back and forth across the state of Washington a million times, probably a bit faster than it should have, especially since the speed limit was 55 MPH at that time. Then came the love of my life (next […]
PEN TO PAPER: Working Together
The focus of my basketball coaching book is how to build a strong team. How to get players to work together. This concept is so important on the basketball court but it’s also important in life. There are so many times in our lives when we rely on others and our ability to work together, so I thought it would be a perfect place to mine our thoughts for writing this week.
As usual, I will list three related prompt ideas and you can choose which calls to you, use them all or make up one of your own. The key is to simply write.
Write on!
WRITING PROMPT 1: Together we can…
WRITING PROMPT 2: Alone I can’t…
WRITING PROMPT 3: Nora called them all together and…
PEN TO PAPER: Mood & Weather
It was so nice to take in the sun this last Saturday. The Vitamin B lightened my mood. Or maybe it was watching the football game in our local park, or perhaps the chance to chat safely with a bunch of neighbors since we have all been sequestered inside of our homes most of the winter.
All I can say is, it was nice.
The weather can change your mood. Sometimes in surprising ways. I also love a rainy day as much as a sunny day (just not too many). It gives me a great excuse to hunker in. But when my husband looks out the window and sees rain, his entire body slumps down upon itself.
All of us are different.
When you’re writing, bringing in the weather can help create the mood of the scene and it can also give the reader a peak into your character’s personality.
For today’s prompts let’s delve […]
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