The Kansas City Star ran an article today about a football player who filled time recovering from injuries by writing. Eric Berry plays Safety for the Kansas City Chiefs but while rehabbing from knee surgery, he followed his heart and started writing. He says he wrote three screenplays, over 200 poems and some music. Read the article here to learn why he did it and what he plans to do with those screenplays in the future.
We don't usually think of professional athletes composing music, poems, prose and plays, but there have been others. Notable among them is Muhammad Ali whose poetry was cited in many a newspaper, not because it was deep and literary--it wasn't--but because the boxing great had written it.
Movie stars have written children's books which sometimes get published because of the name behind it. A mother who sees a book written by a movie star is very likely to purchase it. If the story is worthy, I have no problem with it, but if it is published only because of the author's name, then I have a big gripe. But that's another blog post someday.
I have a writer friend who is a poet. He runs a construction company and spends the bulk of his time building houses, but on his own time, he pens poems about so many things. He has several books published and he attends poetry readings in various places to share his work.
Sadly, very few people can make a living through their writing, but many can supplement their income or write for their own pleasure on the side. Eric Berry, the football player, would most likely never be able to equal his NFL career pay with his writing, but I bet it would give him great satisfaction to see his work published or to watch one of his screenplays made into a movie.
Anyone who has an interest can be a writer. It might be the stay-at-home mom who steals some time to write when the baby naps. A farmer might use to slower winter months to write his memories. A cowboy could compose lyrics to a country western song at the end of a long day. I once knew a fine doctor who received accolades for his poetry which he wrote when he had some rare quiet time.
Teachers, nurses, lab technicians, grocery store checkers, auto mechanics can write if they are so inclined. Writers come from all walks of life, they run the gamut from the newbie to the ultra-professional.
We don't usually think of professional athletes composing music, poems, prose and plays, but there have been others. Notable among them is Muhammad Ali whose poetry was cited in many a newspaper, not because it was deep and literary--it wasn't--but because the boxing great had written it.
Movie stars have written children's books which sometimes get published because of the name behind it. A mother who sees a book written by a movie star is very likely to purchase it. If the story is worthy, I have no problem with it, but if it is published only because of the author's name, then I have a big gripe. But that's another blog post someday.
I have a writer friend who is a poet. He runs a construction company and spends the bulk of his time building houses, but on his own time, he pens poems about so many things. He has several books published and he attends poetry readings in various places to share his work.
Sadly, very few people can make a living through their writing, but many can supplement their income or write for their own pleasure on the side. Eric Berry, the football player, would most likely never be able to equal his NFL career pay with his writing, but I bet it would give him great satisfaction to see his work published or to watch one of his screenplays made into a movie.
Anyone who has an interest can be a writer. It might be the stay-at-home mom who steals some time to write when the baby naps. A farmer might use to slower winter months to write his memories. A cowboy could compose lyrics to a country western song at the end of a long day. I once knew a fine doctor who received accolades for his poetry which he wrote when he had some rare quiet time.
Teachers, nurses, lab technicians, grocery store checkers, auto mechanics can write if they are so inclined. Writers come from all walks of life, they run the gamut from the newbie to the ultra-professional.
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