What Fantasy Sports Taught Me About Writing
Eight takeaways for writers pursuing their creative dreams
What on earth does fantasy hockey have to do with writing?
A lot, actually.
But before I jump into that, let me provide a little backstory.
Mention fantasy league, and most people think of the NFL. But hockey is where it’s at for my family.
It was no surprise, then, that we started a fantasy league this year. My daughter and I were relative newbies to the sport, but we were also quick learners. Our understanding of the game improved almost immediately, as I helped coach a high school rec team and many meal-time conversations centered on rosters, team stats, and which players were injured or out for a game.
I didn’t expect much from this experience, least of all insight into my freelance writing career. Our league was primarily something to do as a family, a last hurrah before my oldest heads off to college in the fall. The first night was as disastrous as I expected. I didn’t know enough to make educated decisions about what I needed to tweak in my approach, so I went to bed, figuring I’d be lucky to win a single week. Six months later, here I am as the winner, with a whopping 20–3–0 record.
