Monday’s Pen to Paper: The Fine Art of Writing
My daughter Charli is a writer. She may not believe she is, but I know it. Not only does she love to write, she’s written a first draft of a novel, and is studying to get a creative writing degree in college. That to me is a writer. Over Thanksgiving break my husband suggested she start a blog. She didn’t know what to think about the idea. Then last week I got a link to eloquentlyelliott.com, a place of for writing inspiration. Charli had created a blog.
Charli doesn’t quite know what this new blog space means to her. But for now it is a place to get her words down and share her love of writing. Her first blog post The Fine Art of Apologizing is a powerful piece and it came from a home work assignment in her non-fiction writing class. It is the inspiration for today’s writing prompt.
If you love to write, you are a writer, so find the time to do just that, you are worth it. Write On!
WRITING PROMPT: Write a piece about the fine art of something trivial. A sigh. A sneeze. The goal is to slow down and focus on the little things. Write on!
PeaceLoveBasketball Friday: AWESOME SPORTS PROJECT writing contest
Do you have a story to share about your life on the court? on the field? on a diamond? or a story about what sports have meant to you as a woman? Awesome Sports Project has published two of my articles, Court Dreams: A Life Worth Living and Can I Play? Dreaming in the Wave of Title IV , that share stories about how athletics have changed my life and the lives of other women thanks to Title IV. Awesome Sports Project is an online literary journal committed to inspiring girl’s and women’s voices in sports.
This month Awesome Sports Project launched the Awesome Sports Writing Contest, offering cash awards to youth (20 & under) and adults writing about girls’ and women’s sports. Deadline is January 15, 2017. Male and female writers of all ages (and level of writing experience) are welcome. The submission must be nonfiction and about girls’ and women’s sports.
I encourage you to find your voice and share your story!
Monday’s Pen to Paper: Spread Love and Bring the Country Together
My dad is not a citizen of the United States. I like to tell people that he’s an Alien (a Legal Alien). He has lived in the United States, run a business in the United States and paid taxes in the United States for nearly 60 years, since he married my mom and moved here in the 60’s, but he cannot vote. That doesn’t mean he doesn’t have an opinion, he does, but it does mean, that even though my mom votes, we never got too caught up in politics. I grew up loving where I live and appreciating other countries and cultures.
I was in college when I could have voted for the first time but didn’t. I was busy with school, basketball and a boyfriend when George H W Bush was elected. I didn’t vote at the next presidential election either, I had recently been in a terrible car accident where I was injured and lost my fiancé. I didn’t care about the election. Nothing really mattered to me when Bill Clinton took over the White House. It was later, when I had kids, that I started to care about politics and voting and changes that might happen in my community and in our world.
Raising kids gave me a reason to care more about the future. As a young girl I had been in the midst of great change in women’s rights; I played sports all through school and even went to college on a basketball scholarship thanks to Title IV. And though I never thought much about it when I was young, I knew what it was like to be discriminated against. After college, when I would go to play basketball at open gyms, many of the guys […]
PeaceLoveBasketball Friday: Preparation is the Key to Success
It’s that time of the year. Yes, it’s fall, but more important, it’s almost basketball season. And if you are an athlete, this means it’s time to get ready to get on the court. To get in basketball shape.
Nothing but playing basketball and doing basketball drills truly gets you in shape for running the court, but there are a lot of things that can help. If you are in a fall sport like soccer, you may still be in running shape but you might want to look at finding a couple of nights a week to shoot the ball, lift weights or play at open gyms. If you are in a fall sport, like golf, you might need to do a bit more so you can start the season in good condition.
I’m a proponent of young athletes playing different sports (read more in my blog Variety is the Spice of Life), but as the next season nears, it’s important to prepare yourself, and give yourself the best opportunity for success. It’s not alway easy if one season runs into the next (for example when you make playoffs and your season extends a couple of weeks), and of course players have to keep up with school work, but it’s important to take a moment to look at your schedule, think about what is important to you, and if possible take some time to get prepared for your upcoming season.
Make this preparation time fun and you will be more inclined to find the time to do it. Get together with teammates or friends and run hills, meet in the weight room, play some 3 on 3 or hit open gyms. When I was coaching, I opened the gym several mornings and afternoons during […]
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: Discover Your Story
This last weekend I drew inspiration from my daughter. Not only did she graduate with a degree in Creative Writing, she used what she’s learned in her major to inspire her classmates in her valedictorian commencement speech.
She related the life of a college graduate, one who is stepping into a new and unknown world, to that of a writer staring at a blank page.
“The sprawling expanse of possibility lies before us, both tantalizing and terrifying all at once. Yet, I’ve found that the cure to writer’s block is to just start writing. The time has come to start crafting our own stories.”
So true. Life can be scary, whether you’re a writer plugging away at a difficult piece, a new graduate starting a career, a new mother discovering what it’s like to care for an infant or an old mother figuring out what life has in store […]
LIFE INSPIRED FITNESS: Have a Hankerin’ for a Hike?
I love to hike. I don’t always like the drive to get to the hike but once I’m there, I’m in heaven. My daughter loves to hike too, and I feel grateful that I am still able to go on hikes with her. Last year we scrambled up Mailbox Peak. We were both in heaven.
Recently an old high school friend, and basketball teammate, touched base about doing some of the Pacific Crest Trail. I was ALL in (but not the whole trail at once). It’s been so exciting to start planning to hike sections of the PCT. In the past I have lived vicariously through other hikers who have done the trail, and I’m looking forward to at least getting a glimpse into the experience.
And though I am no hardcore hiker (I’m more of a hike hard and then come back for a shower and a glass of wine kind-a-gal), […]
PEN TO PAPER: Get on a roll
I’ve been on a roll. A slow roll, but a roll all the same. I’ve been writing, not as much as I’d like, but the key is I have been doing it. I’m a little bit like the tortoise in The Tortoise and the Hare. I’m just plugging away, setting aside time to write, even if it’s just thirty minutes.
Whether it’s the book you’re writing, or your goal to stay in shape, or even perhaps your goal to start a business, just start rolling. Even a slow and steady pace will gain momentum and lead you where you want to go.
What helps you to get, and keep, on a roll?
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