PeaceLoveBasketball Friday: Laugh and Cry and Make Your Halloween Special.
My 17-year-old daughter asked me to help her get her creepy alien on this morning. Gotta love it! A special morning.
According to coach Jim Valvano, if I laugh, think and cry today, I’ll REALLY be on my way to having a special day.
If you laugh, you think, and you cry, that’s a full day. That’s a heck of a day. You do that seven days a week, you’re going to have something special. -Jim Valvano
I’ve attached two basketball videos to help you on your way. One will make you laugh (especially if you’re a coach, though my nephews showed it to me a few years ago and they think it is hilarious) and one will make you cry. Now think a little and you’re on your way…
Monday’s Pen to Paper: Point of View
Last week in my Young Adult Fiction writing class, we talked about Point of View. We discussed the importance of keeping to a teen voice and having teen appropriate stakes. And then we looked at developing the setting, adding details and how to keep the action going, and the one thing that I noticed is that everybody does it differently. And that is what is great about writing. Yes, there are the basics, but each person makes the story their own. Usually, YA is written first-person (present or past tense) or third-person limited, but not always. And in our class we decided that whatever POV a writer chooses, they simply need to do it with purpose. With authority.
When I was writing my memoir, Back on the Court, I wrote the first draft in first-person present-tense. It felt right to me. (It took me about eight years, but it felt right). I liked the immediacy, the way a reader would be in my head, feeling what I was dealing with at the time, and hopefully relating to it in a way that could be helpful for them if they were struggling in life. And then one day I had an instructor from one of my classes tell me that they thought my book should be written in past-tense, so I spent probably four months switching it to past-tense, and making many changes to the story as I did. When I was all done with the transition to past-tense, I decided that I didn’t like it, but I did like many of the edits and changes that happened during the process.
I spent another several months switching my manuscript back to present-tense. And though I wouldn’t recommend this lengthy road to a finished manuscript, just know […]
Monday’s Pen to Paper: Blog or No Blog?
Recently I had a fellow writer ask about blogging. They were trying to decide if they should blog. I wrangled with this idea myself when I first set up a website. I started out blogging on occasion and, as with many writers, I kept thinking, “Why am I doing this? Who really cares to read my blog?” And then I would fizzle out and my writing would stop. Finally, I had a little sit down with myself, and knowing that it would help my writing, I made a commitment to two blogs a week. And then I reminded myself that if just one person finds it helpful or enjoyable, it is worth it, and that keeps me on task.
So if writing a blog keeps you writing, follow your heart and blog!
WRITING PROMPT #1: Write your first blog now.
WRITING PROMPT #2: Write about your heart’s desire…
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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Monday’s Pen to Paper: What the heck is NaNoWriMo?
I’ve had friends in the past who have written first drafts of their novels by being a part of NaNoWriMo. I never quite understood what it was and have shied away from doing it, but this November I decided that if it can help me get my first draft finished sooner, why not give it a try.
National Novel Writing Month is put on by a non-profit organization to encourage writing. For the month of November, thousands of people write like crazy, working to finish their novels. The NaNoWriMo website helps writers to track their word-counts toward a goal of at least 50,000 words.
I’m excited to be on board this year, even if I’m a little behind with my word count (It’s day 2 and I’m still at zero). But not for long, from now on, it’s one day at a time until […]
PeaceLoveBasketball Friday: Patience
I played basketball with a group of high school girls at open gym this week. A great workout for me, and whether they liked it or not (between my huffing and puffing) the girls got some coaching. Not super serious coaching, more encouragement and reminders, but I just couldn’t help myself. Once a coach always a coach.
“Nice look.” “Sweet Pass.” “Stay between your man and the basket.”
I’d set a screen away and make them think about movement away from the ball. Remind them, and myself, to stay low, jump to the ball, block out. As much as I don’t like getting old and being a little out of shape, not being able to do what I wanted to do, exactly when I wanted to do it, emphasized for me how important patience is, as a player and as a coach, […]
Monday’s Pen to Paper: Reminders of this Precious Life
I love fall. The crisp air, the change in the color of the trees, the different angle of light that is cast by the sun in the cloudless sky. The urge to hunker in a bit, to drink more tea, to connect with myself again after the frenzy of summer. These are just a few of the things that I love, yet fall is one of the most difficult times of the year for me, which honestly, kind of pisses me off.
I can be out walking my dogs and breathing in the cool air, minding my own business, and be brought to tears. It has been many years since I lost a loved one in the fall, but as you may know, there is always a place deep inside one’s heart where there is sadness, along with the happy memories, when […]
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