A guest post by Patricia McKinzie-Lechault/@PattyMacKZ posted by Kathleen Pooler/@kathypooler
“No person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any education program or activity receiving federal financial assistance.” Title IX legislation signed into law by President Nixon, June 23, 1972, full compliance required by 1978.
I am thrilled to welcome Pat McKinzie-Lechault back to Memoir Writer’s Journey in this guest post on how playing basketball helped her to write her memoir. Pat and I first met in Dan Blank’s Build Your Author Platform Course in 2011 and have been “team mates” ever since.
Pat is a Title IX trailblazer for women’s basketball. As the first recipient of a woman’s college basketball scholarship, she paved the way for women to have a legitimate place on the basketball court. In her memoir, Home Sweet Hardwood, she chronicles her journey from childhood dreams to woman’s professional basketball. Here is a blurb about her memoir:
“Written with an awe-inspiring resiliency and focus, Home Sweet Hardwood is more than just a book about sports. While possessing all of the drama and action you would expect in a blockbuster movie, this captivating book is a deeply personal tale of one woman’s triumphs over tragedy while continuing to pursue her dreams. Throughout her journey, McKinzie’s fight to play, her resiliency after each setback, and her unwavering spirit illuminate readers to the shocking strength of the human spirit and the power of a determined woman.”
Here are my book reviews on Amazon and Goodreads.
Welcome back, Pat!
Skills I learned as a professional athlete transferred to my career as a writer.
A child’s naïve hope helped me believe that one day I would be allowed to play ball like the boys. That same blind faith led me to persevere in publishing my own book. The self-discipline to practice the same jump shot for hours, trained me to rewrite the same sentence over and over to get it right. In rhythm to tunes blasting from my boom box, I shot hoops entering the zone when my body flowed. Now listening to jazz and R&B, I scribble first drafts, losing track of time and place in the artist’s zone of words.
Sports shaped the person I became and helped me to endure 5 concussions, 3 whiplashes, and 1 broken back as well as the countless setbacks and rejections that are an inherent part of any writers’ journey.
Here are 9 tips I’ve learned from playing basketball that helped me write my memoir:
1. Ideas are everywhere. Never get caught empty-handed. I carry a pocket notebook, always prepared for the muse, and jot down thoughts in class, while officiating soccer matches, and even during dinner parties.
2. Practice. Establish a routine! Butt-in-chair-daily-discipline helps ideas flow –journaling is a great warm up.
3. Start a blog. I used to write a weekly newspaper column about life abroad and that discipline carried over to blogging and helped in meeting deadlines.
4. Exercise. Oxygen to the brain helps you think sharper. Writer’s block? Walk it off. I am invigorated by the view of the snow-peaked Alps towering behind Lake Geneva. Water heals; mountains inspire.
5. Rest. As an athlete my inner drive exceeded the limits of my body. Due to injuries, pain imprints my spinal column like a tattoo; every day must include time to recline with my spine aligned to the floor.
6. Read. After my car accident, words jumped across the page for two years. When they stopped moving, I felt like I had my life back and could gain inspiration from other writers.
7. Form a team. My French husband, a printer, does the layout. My grown children, sisters, friends and former players read and edit. Bloggers like Kathy Pooler, Clara Freeman and on GenFab, NMWA and GIP groups offer weekly inspiration with their posts.
8. Persistence! As part of my personality – a feisty, in your face, never-take-no-for-an-answer kid – I became a focused, driven adult. Just as sport teaches you to win and lose graciously, writers must learn to handle defeat gallantly. Rejection stings. Don’t take loss personally, review mistakes, and move forward
9. Gratitude. After surviving a near death experience, I will never forget that life is a gift. Chronic illness presents challenges, but each day we face a choice, give up or go on. Thank your God, Great Spirit, and Higher Power for another 24 hours.
Over the years, I wrote countless different versions of the book and worked with a dozen editors and agents, but in the end the publishers said no thanks.
I felt like a loser. I moped. I swore. I cried. I kicked the wall. Then I picked up the pen again.
With a firsthand account of the monumental Title IX ruling, my book serves as an inspiring lesson in women’s history, but it is more than just a sports story. From expatriate life to cross-cultural marriage to motherhood, Home Sweet Hardwood touches on the transitions every woman makes as she bridges the gaps between genders, generations and cultures.
Though I suffer from pain, but no matter how awful I feel, I can muster the strength to read.
Writing saved my life. Words keep me from giving up. I exist to bear witness and record.
Whether I am teaching, coaching, or blogging, my life is dedicated to inspiring courage, breaking barriers, and creating connections.
Thank you so much, Pat for sharing these valuable lessons learned from your courageous life’s journey. You inspire us all to be the best that we can be.
Author Bio:
As a pioneer for women’s basketball, Pat McKinzie is the first female athletic scholarship recipient in Illinois and first female player to score 1,000 points at ISU. She is one of the first Women’s Professional Basketball League draftees and female inductees in the Hall of Fame at Illinois State. After a 1983 car accident in France ended her playing career, McKinzie began to focus her energy on coaching. With thirty years of experience in coaching, teaching, and writing, she has cultivated an impressive career from hall-of-fame coach to basketball agent, student advisor, columnist, and blogger. McKinzie has a bachelor’s degree in education from Illinois State University. She is married to a Frenchman with whom she raised two Third Culture Kids, and she currently resides in Switzerland.
Links:
Google+ : https://plus.google.com/u/0/
Blog http://pattymackz.com/wordpress/
Facebook https://www.facebook.com/pat.mckinzie
http://pattymackz.com/wordpress/book/
Twitter:@PattyMacKZ
Home Sweet Hardwood can be ordered from Amazon or Pat’s blog:
Pat will give away a free copy of Home Sweet Hardwood to a commenter whose name will be selected in a random drawing.
How about you? What life skills have you been able to transfer to your writing projects? How has writing helped you in life?
We’d love to hear from you. Please leave your comments below~
This week: Pat and I are also over at Clara Freeman’s Clara54Weblog in an Interview on Memoir Insights. Hope you’ll stop by there , too!
Next Week: Writing Teacher, Author and Editor Cate Russell-Cole of the popular CommuniCATE Resources for Writers blog will discuss “Thinking Inside the Frame: Using Photographs to Tell Your Story.”
Congratulations on the book Pat!!!! And thank you for sharing these tips.
-Dan
Thanks for stopping by Dan. It is great when we can celebrate each other’s successes!
Thanks, Dan. Like the rest of your loyal, original DanClan group, I will be forever grateful for all you taught me in your invaluable course, Build Your Author Platform.
The ball and the pen: One dribbles. One scribbles. Both score points. Both practice, compete, feel pain, hope .Both need time outs. Both loose and win. Both give joy. B ball and the book. they’re twins. My kids. At 83.
I love this , Jim–“One dribbles. One scribbles. Both give joy.” It seems to echo Pat’s inspirational message. Thanks for stopping by and sharing your colorful thoughts!
Love this ball and pen. You captured the essence of my two loves so nicely. Are you an old ball player yourself? You still got game?
I finished reading Home Sweet Hardwood and found Pat’s story encouraging during a time when there were such distortions in the minds of people against women in Basketball and people of color. Pat’s story gives us hope, inspires us to be ourselves and persevere when faced with obstacles!
Kathy, thank you for hosting Pat today. Her tips on writing the memoir are the cat’s meow. Pat, thanks for sharing your story with all of us- I applaud you for having the courage to walk the talk!
Blessings,
Clara Freeman
I agree, Clara. Pat’s memoir gives us all hope and inspiration and stirs us all to persevere. I’m thrilled to help promote Home Sweet Hardwood And thank you for interviewing us both on about memoir writing today on your blog :http://clara54.wordpress.com/2013/04/18/memoir-writing-insights-from-kathleen-pooler-and-pat-mckinzie/ It’s great to be on the same team, cheering Pat and her memoir on!
Blessings,
Kathy
Thanks, Clara, for allowing me to have a voice after all these years through your blogs at http://authentic-woman.net/ and http://clara54.wordpress.com/ We both know too well what it feels like to be left out and we have never been ones to sit back and shut up. So you keep a hollering your message from Chicago Illinois and I will echo it right back from Geneva Switzerland.
Beautiful post, Pat, and many invaluable words of wisdom and guidelines for writers included. You are a true pioneer . . . as are all the wonderful women writing and sharing the stories, finding their “voice” and telling it like it is without apology.
Congratulations on your book. A wonderful achievement and I look forward to reading it.
Also, Kathy, I love the question you pose at the end of this asking how life skills can be transferred to writing projects. That could pack a whole other blog post!
Susan
Susan, I know you will love Home Sweet Hardwood. Through her story, Pat shows us the courage and tenacity of a true pioneer who breaks through barriers so women’s voices will be heard. Her memoir is not just a sports’ story. It is a story of living out a dream, overcoming major obstacles and transforming one woman’s life in a way that all woman are transformed. And thanks for your idea on dedicating a blog post to how life skills can be transferred to writing projects. Thanks, as always for your insightful comments!
Kathy
Thanks, Susan, and as you well know through your work we are part of that great sisterhood, sharing stories, paying it forward and passing on the tales to the next generation.
Thanks to Kathy for inviting Pat to share these inspiring tips. Pat, your persistence sets a high bar, and I hope it encourages legions of others, as you athletic example has. I can’t wait to read your book!
You’re welcome Sharon. You will love Pat’s inspirational and engaging memoir. I’m thinking –lifetime movie! Thanks for stopping by and offering your cheers and support.
Thanks, Sharon, I am lucky to be connected to so many great writers that help me over the hump when my own motivation wears thin. Time and time again, I have turned to my toolbox which includes your blog for inspiration. Anyone who is reading this message, I highly recommend that you hop right on over to
http://heartandcraft.blogspot.ch/
Kathy
Thank you for promoting my book and hosting me on your site. You have been the catalyst bringing people together through your kindness, your faith and your words.
It is truly my pleasure to feature you, Pat. Thank you for your excellent guest post and for your inspirational memoir. It is a gift to your readers.
Kathy, you are so generous, giving your “pulpit” to Pat and letting her take center stage!
Pat, what wonderful correlations you make between sports and writing! I hadn’t really thought about it like that, but I’m sure all those years I spent on a tennis court helped make me the writer I am today. When an athlete thinks he/she is too tired to continue, he/she digs deep and finds inner strength; so must a writer. Well said!
Debbie, I don’t know about “pulpit” but I’m thrilled to give Pat center stage for sharing how she has translated her skills on the court to writing! She has excelled at both, digging deep and finding her inner strength, and being a source of inspiration for all of us. Thanks, as always for offering your insights and support.
Dig deep, Debbie, absolutely, writers, athletes and really any artist must do that daily to continue to hone the skill. I am sure your musical background and marching band experience required the same self-discipline and drive and also contributed to your writing craft.
Great tips, Pat. I especially like the one about exercise – I’m an addict. I never would have equated sports and writing, but I can see how helpful sports’ routines can be for enriching our writing lives. Thank you.
And congratulations on your book.
I agree Madeline. Pat shares some great tips about writing and life. I appreciate you sharing your thoughts. Thanks for stopping by!
Thanks Madeline.You are right . Most people would never equate sports and writing, but like I tell my students “my two greatest loves are books and ball games and I am as quirky as they come!”
Congrats, Pat. I don’t know if “life skill” is what I’d call it, but I’m pretty stubborn, I don’t like being told what to do, and I definitely don’t like the feeling of being held over a barrel. As such, I never considered going through an agent or a publisher and waiting for someone else’s nod of approval, especially once the technology made it possible for authors to do everything themselves. One of the best decisions I ever made.
That is reassuring to hear, Nancy because I was so torn by the decision to self publish. I look forward to following your spunky self at your Nancy, Grace on Display blog.
Pat, thanks for sharing your innermost thoughts and the tips on writing. As I read your words, I was reminded of myself as a younger me. Stymied by a mom who told me I was never good enough, I determined to be the best I could be at whatever came at me. Now at 67, I often wonder will I ever finish this memoir, get it published, and on and on. Then I read your words, Kathy’s inspirational messages here and on other blogs, and I feel renewed in my determination to do it. I too suffer from a chronic illness and have suffered my share of back pain including two fusions and two smaller surgeries. Losing myself in words, whether writing or reading, is my salvation. That and the goodness of my Heavenly Father.
Kathy, thanks for hosting Pat and now I’m hopping over to find you two together with more good motivational talk.
Oh how I can relate, Sherrey, to your feelings about finishing your memoir. Yes,we will! We can’t turn back now. We need to keep inspiring one another to keep moving forward! Sorry to hear of your chronic back pain. Pat certainly inspires us to persevere despite whatever limitations we may to face. Thank you , as always , for stopping by, sharing your stories and offering your support and inspiration. And thank you also for visiting and commenting on Clara’s blog. Blessings, Kathy
Oh, Sherry, do we ever get over hearing “that not good enough” slogan that was drilled into us as women by a society that refused to let us count? With all your writing experience and valuable stories to share, you must finish that memoir. And as you well know from your blog, Healing by Writing, it will also be validating. I can appreciate your determination to write through pain as I too suffer from chronic back pain.
For me, writing is as important as breathing… it is my sanity. Taking the overload of stress out of me, writing torments on paper for — later on, when reading my words — better understand the why, the how, the where all that came from and the where I go from there and the what I can do with all that ((**#@* now, dammit… and also writing all the little moments, the little beauties, the little joys, the little happinesses, the little moments that make my life beamingly livable.
All this, is vital for my equilibrium.
From writing (and reading of course), I survived misery, challenges, stress, sickness and death. It helped me to grief, to grow up, to survive and to live. It is now guiding me out of the shock and the intense trauma following 2 violent assaults where I was almost murdered. It support me while I am battling to cope with temporary poverty and show me hope for a nearby bright future.
In short, without writing… without a pen and a pad of paper as my best friends — Oh! Yes! my old little laptop also (I have to talk about him too as he is a bit jalous of my pen and can get some attitude as he gets old) — I would not be able to live, not be able to have a smile on my face, not be able to smell the flowers, not able to laugh, not be able to have emotional stability and be happy and Zen 🙂 … not be able to just be.
I am writing my memoirs presently… might be a bit pompous to say but, let say that I am blackening pad of papers (both physical and electronic) with the scribbles of my life and it is very soothing. Will it be published? I don’t know but one thing is sure, it helps me to see to what point I am a strong survivor, a tempered resilient and this gives me the strenght to look forward, to unstooped my back, to straightened up and to proudly affirm my being here, in the now… “happy as a clam”.
By the way… somebody knows where this expression come from… “happy as a clam”… even when I look carefully… I never saw a clam showing some kind of happiness 🙂
Dear Amyah, Wow, you have really captured the healing power of memoir writing in this colorful story you share! I , for one, can certainly relate to your descriptions of what writing means to you–it reminds me of that saying “we write because we can’t not write.” And the beauty of writing is that not everything needs to be published unless, of course , one feels compelled to do so. Writing for the pure pleasure of letting the words flow is a gift in itself. And I don’t know about why clams are so happy unless it’s because they just hang around inside their shells all day long 🙂
Thanks so much for stopping by and sharing your thoughts.
Best wishes on your writing,
Kathy
I am sorry to be late Pat in responding to your great post. I agree that the discipline from exercise carries into writing. I have been a weight/personal trainer and keep going 5-6 times a week myself. I only feel good about sitting at my desk all day after the gym. I can relate to the points you raise about writing. Sorry I cannot come over to Geneva in May, but really hope to on another trip.
Wow, Amyah, I do hope that one day you publish you memoir because your words have captivated me. Even though our stories may be very different, you sound so much like me in your need to write to live, to breath, to better understand “the how, the why, the where I go from here.” An underlying theme of my memoir is resiliency and the drive to survive in face of injury, accident, heartache, and loss. Hope that you will hop on over to my blog from time to time, would love to hear more from you.
Sonia, no wonder you look so fit. You work out every day. Yes, one discipline carries over into the other. I wish I was retired from teaching then I would be free to come visit you when you are in Paris, but hopefully on one of these trips over here, we will get the chance to meet in person. Thanks for linking me to so many other fascinating people through Gutsy Independent Publishers.