Monday, February 27, 2012

Word Web


In the companion book to Writing on the Bus--a workbook with journal prompts and a training log for athletes--I suggest using Word Webs when an athlete is stuck on a topic. Here's a model I created using the prompt "When you were young, who did you admire as an athlete and why?" My answer, my big brother Fred.


Monday, February 20, 2012

Over the hump

There comes a time when a writer gets over the hump of a project. That happened today with my new book called The Athlete's Workbook. It needs to be said that every word, line, paragraph, section, and chapter has a "hump" of some sort. But a book hump, that's a big muthah. So, I'm at page 102 and rolling. This workbook/journal will take less time and effort than Writing on the Bus, but I have a sense that the book will prove to be a vital tool and an important model for coaches, athletes, and sports psychologists. Here's hoping... and here's to Hump Day!

Friday, February 3, 2012

Who is that character?

In responding to a writing student of mine today, I made the following suggestion about helping her analyze the description of her main character Marie:

Print out the first chapter and take a yellow highlighter and highlight the descriptive passages and words about Marie. Has the narrator done a good job of helping readers come to know her? If you think your description of Marie is not as strong as it could be, write a separate character sketch of her and add a few of those traits into the first 25 pages.

Why we write...

A lot of writers live to engage ideas and work with words. Many of us like being alone with our thoughts. As a young writer, the possibility of signing autographs turned me on (don’t I know how lame this sounds). Another reason to write: some day a friend might write a thoughtful review of your book.