Thursday, June 16, 2011

What Playoff Hockey Can Teach Us About Writing

I only watch playoff hockey. There is something about the urgency and do or die attitude that makes me watch what would otherwise be just another game.

The last game of the NHL playoffs was held last night in Vancouver – game seven of a best of seven series – so it was definitely do or die.

I rooted for the Vancouver Canucks, my husband for the Boston Bruins – he also only watches playoff hockey. The Bruins lost the first two games of the series, so it looked like Vancouver would have an fairly easy run for the Stanley Cup, but it wasn’t meant to be. The Bruins were the victors in the end. I lost the bet and I am relegated to do all the cleaning and cooking for the rest of the month – oh, wait! I already do that. LOL!

I envy the way the Bruins persevered – they kept going even though after the first two games they were behind. One would really have to wrap their hear around moving forward and not looking back in that situation.

I think the same thing applies to writing. What can we learn from our mistakes? How can we make our next attempt better? I am someone who tends to dwell on failures, even though I know it’s not good for me or my writing.

To be able to get past the mistakes, the setbacks, the disappointments is something that I strive for, that I want to be able to do without fail. My skin is getting thicker, but it still has some weak points. I want to be able to learn from my mistakes but look forward rather than back.

I look at my path to getting published like training for a marathon. I have to start walking before I run. There is a also a long road before I reach the finish line. In hockey, the teams have to play a lot of games before they can raise the Stanley Cup.

Eventually, I will get there, but I know it will take a lot of steps in the right direction.

3 comments:

Rosi said...

You caught my attention with your headline. I watch hockey every chance I get. And baseball. The rest of sports is just a blur. Sports are central to many of my stories, so I look at the time spent watching my sports as research. ;-) Being a Sharks fan, as much as I would have loved to see Manny Malhotra lift the cup, it was great to see Mark Recchi, at age 43 and a perfect gentleman, have that honor. If you want to see the other end (the most amateur end) check out my latest blog post. You'll get a kick out of it. http://rosihollinbeckthewritestuff.blogspot.com/2011/06/couple-of-things-and-review-of-chris.html

Stacie VanE said...

Glad to see you are a hard core sports fan!

KendallGrey said...

It's hard not to dwell on the negative. I do that too. Someone can say 9 positive things and one sort of negative one, and that's all I hear. But you're right. It's all about the training. There are always challenges, but they make us stronger. Good luck with your writing!

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