Observations on Writing a Daily Blog, a Basketball Word Cloud, and "The 95" (Without the Ball)

As Anne Lamott might say, no basketball gods allow me to take dictation. But many writers oversee our writing. They're invisible but here. 

Stephen King writes for his Ideal Reader, checking for fluff and adverbs. He hates them. I'm not 'very sorry' when I read a 'really', 'very', or 'truly' of mine. I'm mortified. 

We should demand schools teach his On Writing. Here's a quote, "Mostly when I think of pacing, I go back to Elmore Leonard, who explained it so perfectly by saying he just left out the boring parts. This suggests cutting to speed the pace, and that’s what most of us end up having to do."

King also shares a rejection pearl, "You need to revise for length. Formula: 2nd Draft = 1st Draft – 10%. Good luck."

David Mamet shaves syllables, referencing great joke writers.  

Anne Lamott forgives "shitty first drafts." She says the first draft is (get it) DOWN, the next fixes it UP, and the third is dental-like INSPECTION. 

Bob Woodward seeks "the best version of the truth" and include at least six critical points in any column. 

Ron Howard tells us the "director is the keeper of the story" and "the film (story) is made in the editing room." 

Malcolm Gladwell advises us to write and "walk away" for months, returning with clarity to see what works and what doesn't. 

William Manchester shares the best advice, ""I try to be as ruthless as possible. I ask myself of each sentence, "Is it clear? Is it true? Does it feel good?" And if it's not, then I rewrite it."

My standards fall short of their collective wisdom. I'm working on it. 

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"Culture eats strategy for breakfast." 

"Skill, there is no substitute." Skill is the sine qua non of modern basketball. Points come from attacking the basket, sharpshooting, and free throws. "Every day is player development day." The Eloi got the looks but the Morlocks cashed the proceeds. 

"The game honors toughness." Toughness includes resilience, the ability to fight through contact and adversity. An NBA guard gets screened 25 to 50 times a game by behemoths worthy of the National Football League. 

Academics. "No ability without eligibility." Dawn Staley succeeded at the University of Virginia when she understood that academic success meant working as hard in the classroom as on the court. 

Coaches want players valuing TEAM before self. Excellent teams exceed the sum of their parts. They sacrifice, share, and outwork opponents. A TEAM communicates, pays attention to detail, and everyone reads from the same script. They put David Brooks' eulogy values ahead of resume values. 

Leaders serve. Accountable leaders own their world. Leaders make leaders. Ask how we model leadership today.

Lagniappe. Hat tip: Ray Lebov, Celtics Pistol Curl

Lagniappe 2. Billy Donovan calls it the 95, the 95 percent of the game when you don't have the ball.