Bear with me as I post yet another metaphor for writing. March Madness has hit our household. Every game, every victory of an underdog team sets the walls shaking. If you’re not into basketball, likely somebody you know well is. Maybe you are thinking, what is the big deal? It’s that in college basketball anything can happen. On a given day any number of teams can beat a number one seed. Like the Northern Iowa men’s team just did, sending Kansas home and busting brackets all over the country. On a given day we can write as well as any Prinze or Newbery award winning author.
Gonzaga basketball is a glue that has held my extended family together since the men’s Cinderella run into the Elite Eight twelve years ago. My mom likes to say that she and Dad went to Zag games years ago when they were poor relations. Sometimes some of our family members might think we are poor relations, writing books that may never sell. Gonzaga’s men’s team has played in the NCAA tournament for twelve straight years. Talk about consistency. Coach Mark Few likes to say that they just keep “sawing wood,” every day, every game. Tomorrow morning they play number the one seed in the West – Syracuse. Tonight the Gonzaga women’s team plays, too, as the women’s NCAA tourney starts up. By the time you read this, both games may be over. But the Zags will be back sawing wood in the gym next week – either way. And so must we. Putting words together every day. Bust your bracket. Make this the year March Madness comes early and stays late. On a given day, we can make those clutch free throws and we must. We must keep giving it our best shot.
Whatever keeps you going, outside of writing, do it. Fill up your well. Right now for me, it’s the NCAA tourneys. Go Zags, go U of Washington, even go Duke, Elizabeth. Unless, of course, they’re playing my favorite team.
All this talk of March and Madness and Alice brings me to some choice advice for writers:
March Hare: Why don't you start at the begining?
Mad Hatter: Yes and when you reach the end… Stop.
Whether it is rooting for college basketball, writing for children, or celebrating an Unbirthday with Tory, we are all mad as hatters. We must be. There can be no other explanation for what we do.
Claire, I love the idea of sawing the wood to bust your brackets. Even more, I love the idea of a Duke/Gonzaga matchup.
Oh, dear, Elizabeth. Not this year. The Zags are coming home. Go Duke Blue Devils. Back to sawing wood and creating that mystery that RK blogged about. Time for a good hike in the woods.