Stay in the Chair... keep writing.

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.

"Bailey Chilling on a Saturday" by Simon

Over the hump

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!

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.