Monday’s Pen to Paper: One Word at a Time
I’m at a turning point in my life. My kids are about out of the house. I no longer coach high school basketball and I only model from time to time. I manage a couple of rental houses that keep me busy but I want to focus on writing. I do my share of writing, I blog, I’ve written a few articles and I’ve been working on my YA novel but I want to make a living writing.
Over the last couple of months I’ve read books and watched YouTube videos about being a full-time freelance writer by writing articles. I enjoy writing articles and thought, “I can do this!” But then I took a moment to think about what I really want, and I want to write books. I enjoy writing my blog and magazine articles from time to time (a recent one in the Miniature Gazette, Love In Every Little Step, shares my grandmother’s love of miniatures and love of life), but do I want to write articles full-time? The answer I found was no, I want to write books.
That was all I needed, to take a moment and listen to my heart. Now I have to set goals using my refreshed sense of focus and put in the time. Start making it happen one word, one page, one chapter at a time.
Think about what you really want in your life. Find your focus and then set goals to make it happen.
WRITING PROMPT: Write about what you want in your life. How will you make it happen?
Monday’s Pen to Paper: A Thousand words or at Least Ten Minutes
A picture is worth a thousand words right? or a least 10 minutes of writing practice. Take a look at the photo below and get to work!
WRITING PROMPT:
PeaceLoveBasketball Friday: Bring Your Team Together with Fun
I felt a little guilty last week. I went away and took some time for myself. I had a good excuse, I turned 50, and though I shouldn’t need an excuse to take some “me” time (everyone needs to “refill their cup” from time to time), my birthday did make it easier to spoil myself.
So I went to Utah. I hiked five to seven miles every morning in Snow Canyon Park, practiced yoga, did rehab on my shoulder and wrist, read, wrote and relaxed. One day I even tried water aerobics (good for my shoulder), and the crazy thing was that by the end of the class, though I was smiling, I felt a deep sadness. You might be thinking, “well you did just turn 50,” but that wasn’t it. The water aerobics class made me miss coaching.
Kind of an odd connection, but at the end of the workout, when we paired up with another person in the class for a final activity, I was transported back to the gym, to my years of coaching, when I would pair up girls for team building activities. Poolside, while the old farts (me included), waded around the pool to find partners, I thought of my former players. In the aerobics class we used foam noodles and did silly exercises, and though my cranky old brain was thinking, “this is stupid, I don’t want to do this,” my coaching brain was thinking, “this would be a great team builder for my girls.” And that’s when I got sad, because they’re not my girls anymore. Still, I imagined the players hopping in the pool, grabbing teammates and wrestling around in the water. I could imagine their faces lighting up, just as surprisingly enough, the faces of […]
PeaceLoveBasketball Friday: Fuel Your Passion
If you love to play basketball it makes it easier to work at practice everyday. Having passion for your sport or activity makes working hard easier, but it doesn’t mean that it will always be easy. Practice is practice, and it’s not always fun.
If you’re finding it hard to get out of bed and get to work on the court, take a moment to listen to your body and mind. Sometimes it’s a matter of pushing yourself a bit more but there are times when you need a break.
Is your body hurting, not sore, but hurting? Take a short break to heal.
Do you feel burnt out? Have you lost your passion? Your love of the game can get covered up by expectations and stress. Will I make Varsity? Will I start? Will I be good enough to play in college? Will I be able to keep my grades up? What will my parents think? What will my peers think? What will my teammates think?
Take a moment to listen to your heart and soul.
Often all it takes is a reminder of why you are on the court, of your love of the game, and that alone will give you the energy to push through the tough days and work hard. If you need a quick break to rekindle your passion, take it. Eat healthy and get lots of sleep and then get out of your head and onto the court, and have fun.
If you LOVE to play, then PLAY! Fuel your passion with your love of the game.
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.
Blog
PEACELOVEBASKETBALL: Knowledge is Power – Share It
I’ve read a lot of books about coaching basketball and over the years I have attended many coaches clinics and I love learning about the game and getting different perspectives. As coaches we have certain preferences, but it only helps to check out different options and opinions, and then pick and choose the bits and pieces that fit our needs. Whether we are talking about the X’s and O’s or overall team concepts, knowledge is power.
I am currently building a Coaches Toolkit page on my website with basic information for basketball coaches, such as free downloads of court diagrams, practice plan forms, and beginner basketball basics. The page will also include some of my favorite books such as The Complete Guide to Coaching Girls’ Basketball: Building a Great Team the Carolina Way by Sylvia Hatchell, […]
PEACELOVEBASKETBALL: Always Be Prepared
As a coach it’s important to be prepared. To be prepared for upcoming games, for your upcoming season and especially for your practices. Yet at the same time, you need to be flexible. When I was coaching I would spend a lot of time planning for the approaching season, what skills and concepts we should work on in practice and when. And though the plans often changed as the season progressed, had I not started each season with a plan, our teams would have struggled.
As an assistant coach I remember thinking that ten practice days (the mandatory practices needed to play in the first game) was plenty to get a team ready for the first game. As a head coach, there is never enough time. There is a lot to cover before that first game, especially if you have a lot of […]
Monday’s Pen to Paper: Why Do We Write?
This week I was reading about creating, and why we do it, and what keeps us going. As a writer, it’s easy to forget, it’s easy to wonder why the hell we spend hours upon hours jotting down words and then rearranging them into unsatisfactory combinations, until we find that we kind of like them, or we give up. Oh, occasionally there are the moments when we are truly happy with the results, but that is not often and comes with a lot of work and so we wonder, why? Why do we torture ourselves this way? And then we get a reminder. Sometimes it’s a nudge, sometimes it’s a 2×4 across the head, but whatever it is, it resonates with us, and keeps up going.
That’s what happened to me when I read this one line. “We write to share.”
Ah, yes. That’s it. […]
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