Monday’s Pen to Paper: Prose Focus
Today I needed an exercise to get me writing. Something new, or something I hadn’t done in a while. I pulled out Steering the Craft by Ursula K Le Guin and perused the pages. Chapter 5 grabbed me by the throat. “Chastity.” I put my index finger to the word and started reading. “Write a paragraph or page.” I can manage that I thought. I read on. “…of descriptive narrative prose without adjectives or adverbs. No dialogue.” A bit more difficult than first suspected. The idea is to give a vivid description of a scene or an action, using only verbs, nouns, pronouns and articles. (occasionally adverbs of time.). As Ursula puts it, “Be chaste.” I pulled out my journal and went to work.
Writing Prompt (if needed) to start your “Chastity” exercise: Stella spit on the floor and marched out the door…
PeaceLoveBasketball Friday: August 24 & 25 – Sonya will be signing books, selling PeaceLoveBasketball shirts & more at the Pacific Northwest Youth Sport Show
I’m looking forward to being part of an event that celebrates youth athletics. This family friendly gathering will have resources for players, parents and coaches all in one fabulous location. Go to PNWYSS.COM for more information.
Event: Pacific Northwest Youth Sports Show
Date: Saturday & Sunday – August 24 & 25, 2013
Time: Saturday 9am-5pm, Sunday 9am-4pm
Location: CenturyLink Field Event Center, 800 Occidental Ave S, Seattle, WA 98134
More event information: PNWYSS.COM
Monday’s Pen to Paper: Summer
This morning my daughter was complaining that summer is almost over. We have been busy. Family vacations to the East Coast and Montana, and my daughter studied in China for 2 weeks. A lot has happened, but there is still a lot of time before school starts. “What do you mean summer is over?” I said, “There are three weeks left.” I rolled my eyes. “That’s almost a month.”
It didn’t help that clouds rolled in today for the first time all summer, so I admit is does seem more like fall. But as much as I love fall, I’d like to take advantage of the rest of summer for myself, and for my kids. So I put on my thinking cap and jotted down ideas to get out and enjoy. It may not be easy to get my kids on board with my ideas, they are teenagers after all. I may have to use a tactic that my husband and I used recently to get them to go play tennis with us. “Tennis or weed the back yard?” Surprise, they choose tennis. I can’t say they will even enjoy the adventures, but I will have no moping.
So on several of the days over the last few weeks of summer, if they don’t have a plan, I will pull them along for a quick adventure. Paddle boarding. Golfing at Green Lake. A Museum. The zoo. Hiking. An outdoor movie. Something to help them take advantage of these last three weeks, and if not have fun, perhaps learn something new.
Writing Prompt: What was your favorite thing to do in the summer when you were young?
PeaceLoveBasketball Friday: Wake Up Call
My daughter and I have been playing basketball together Tuesday and Thursday mornings at the YMCA. The 5:45 wake up call seems early, still we are the last players to arrive. There are more than just a few of us whose love of the game gets us out of bed at that crazy hour. For some it’s golf, others yoga or swimming or maybe taking their dog, and themselves, for a walk . Find something that you love to do to get you out of bed in the morning and start your day off right.
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: Timeline Inspiration
I don’t write from beginning to end. I write sections of my story that come to me, that seem vivid and alive in my mind, and then overtime bring them together and find an order to their chaos.
This method worked for me when I wrote my memoir Back on the Court, and it is how I’ve been writing my YA novel. However, when I was writing my memoir, I knew my story and characters intimately.
Writing a novel is a little different. I’m enjoying getting to know my characters and I’ve got scenes that I know approximately where they belong in the story, but recently I decided that I needed to make a timeline. My main character takes a journey, and what better way to document her journey than on a map. I could place scenes along the path of my main characters […]
PeaceLoveBasketball Friday: Ice Cold Awarness
My son took part in the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge with his friends this week. He showed me his video and I asked what it was for. He said that he wasn’t sure. And then he remembered, “it’s for…ALS?”
I asked him if he knew what ALS was.
“A disease, right?” he answered.
This is what the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge is about. To raise money and raise awareness. And though there are probably a lot of people who may not even understand why they are dumping buckets of ice water over their heads, obviously there are millions more that do (or don’t, but donate money) because over 41 million dollars has been raised so far, and there are many that have a conversation.
“Do you remember Gary?” I asked my son.
My son was young when a member of our extended family died of ALS. The disease Amyotrophic Lateral […]
Monday’s Pen to Paper: Fear
WRITING PROMPT: Make a list of everything that you are afraid of. Choose one of your fears and write some more…
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