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.”