Olympics for Writers

I love the winter Olympics. 

It's exciting to watch the athletes go for the gold. Whether they're skiing, skating, snowboarding, bobsledding, curling, running the luge, or doing the half-pipe, the winter Olympians inspire. 

These amazing athletes give it their all, and then find the strength to give even more. 

Strength. Endurance. Perseverance. Wouldn't an Olympic athlete make a great character to write about? 

Try doing just that. Create a fictional character who competes at the Winter Olympics. Which sport does he or she participate in? What motivates this character to practice a sport at the very highest level?

Write a paragraph using a first person "I" point of view. Let your athlete tell us what it's like to win a gold, silver, or bronze medal. 

Or let your character speak about coming so close, but not earning a medal. After all, most athletes at the Olympics don't. But they still keep going. 

I find that inspiring for us writers. We may not win a gold medal, but we keep going, too. Go, writers! 

More Inspiration from the Olympics

I don't know about you, but I'm becoming more and more inspired by the Olympic athletes I read about or see on TV.

The volley players are jumping beans. The swimmers are fish. The runners are blurs of movement. The divers are sharp knives in motion.  

What motivates a person to become an Olympic athlete? What kind of strength--physical and mental--is required to compete at that level?

Even if we're watching from the couch, we can be inspired by the sheer amount of beautiful energy we see on the screen.

What if we tried to experience--through our writing--what the athletes are going through? 

Close your eyes. Imagine you're an athlete at the starting line, on the diving board, at the edge of the pool, behind the net. What's going through your mind? What are you telling yourself as you prepare for the most important competition of your life? 

Write down your thoughts, and have fun starring in the biggest sports arena in the world!