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.