All-Star Cheer In Literature

[cheerisloving]

Not to sound preachy but we always talk about Cheer in television but what about cheer in books? My personal favorite is the Non-Blonde Cheerleaders trilogy by Kieran Scott (she writes the Private book series under Kate Brian). It's a high school girl moving from NJ to Florida and joining a team full of blondes and she is the only burnette. Really cute and the author has an idea about cheer as a former cheerleader. Anyone else got one?

 

[INeverStopCheering]

I find most books still stereotype cheerleaders as snobby, bratty, stuck up girls. I wish someone would write a memoir, or even a fictional book based on actual information about cheerleading. I can think of a great plot. Someone just needs to write it.

 

[cheerisloving]

I find most books still stereotype cheerleaders as snobby, bratty, stuck up girls. I wish someone would write a memoir, or even a fictional book based on actual information about cheerleading. I can think of a great plot. Someone just needs to write it.

I love writing and have been writing a short story/novel about cheer. I loved non - Blondel because it had the elementsnof the mean girls but the main character was good and a cheerleader. It was an amazing series.

 

[pantherscheer2010]

Okay, so this is my first-ever post out of the newbies section (after lurking for the entire 2011-2012 season), but once I saw this thread I just had to post! The Non-Blonde Cheerleader trilogy is fantastic and such an awesome example of writing about cheer without making it into that stereotypical thing that it always seems to come off as in just about anything else people write. I can't even try to count the number of times I've re-read those books.

I'm an English major who's been writing practically since I could talk, and cheer has always been one of those things I want to write about. I actually did write a short story about it for my Creative Writing class a couple semesters ago, and almost all my characters are cheerleaders, just because I think the world needs more characters who are cheerleaders and aren't caricatures/completely evil, but at some point what I really want to do is tell the story of an All Star team--maybe one that was on top and won Worlds several years back, but now most of those girls have aged out and the team hasn't been able to live up to the standard set by the team a few years ago. I haven't come up with the full plot yet :/ Feel free to throw ideas at me if you have them, because I'd love some inspiration!

Because I only cheered high school (my family couldn't afford All Star), I feel like I don't know the All Star world quite well enough to write about it right now. I have a good handle on it from doing school cheer with girls from Cheer Force and from just following the sport (and of course, reading about it on Fierce Board!), but I kind of feel like to really be able to write it what I need to do is kind of shadow a team for a season and get a sense of what it's really like to do All Star cheer, especially as a level 5 athlete. The thing is, I really have no idea how I would go about talking to a team about doing anything like that, and I have no idea how most programs would feel about someone sitting in on their practices, maybe even talking to some of the athletes to get an idea of their personal experience, etc. It's kind of a pipe dream at this point, but I'd love to be able to write the "Remember the Titans" of cheer or something :)

Also, sorry this is so long. Like I said, this is my first time posting out of the newbie section and I'm kind of terrified that I'll say something wrong or stupid and end up getting the veteran posters annoyed with me.

 

[cheersdominique]

I've read Cheer!: Inside the World of College Cheerleading about a million times. I know some portions are a little exaggerated but I love how it's more of a documentary (in book form) of cheerleading. The author follows SFA, U of Memphis, and Southern University on their road to nationals.

 

[UEAcheerchick]

Okay, so this is my first-ever post out of the newbies section (after lurking for the entire 2011-2012 season), but once I saw this thread I just had to post! The Non-Blonde Cheerleader trilogy is fantastic and such an awesome example of writing about cheer without making it into that stereotypical thing that it always seems to come off as in just about anything else people write. I can't even try to count the number of times I've re-read those books.

I'm an English major who's been writing practically since I could talk, and cheer has always been one of those things I want to write about. I actually did write a short story about it for my Creative Writing class a couple semesters ago, and almost all my characters are cheerleaders, just because I think the world needs more characters who are cheerleaders and aren't caricatures/completely evil, but at some point what I really want to do is tell the story of an All Star team--maybe one that was on top and won Worlds several years back, but now most of those girls have aged out and the team hasn't been able to live up to the standard set by the team a few years ago. I haven't come up with the full plot yet :/ Feel free to throw ideas at me if you have them, because I'd love some inspiration!

Because I only cheered high school (my family couldn't afford All Star), I feel like I don't know the All Star world quite well enough to write about it right now. I have a good handle on it from doing school cheer with girls from Cheer Force and from just following the sport (and of course, reading about it on Fierce Board!), but I kind of feel like to really be able to write it what I need to do is kind of shadow a team for a season and get a sense of what it's really like to do All Star cheer, especially as a level 5 athlete. The thing is, I really have no idea how I would go about talking to a team about doing anything like that, and I have no idea how most programs would feel about someone sitting in on their practices, maybe even talking to some of the athletes to get an idea of their personal experience, etc. It's kind of a pipe dream at this point, but I'd love to be able to write the "Remember the Titans" of cheer or something :)

Also, sorry this is so long. Like I said, this is my first time posting out of the newbie section and I'm kind of terrified that I'll say something wrong or stupid and end up getting the veteran posters annoyed with me.

I think shadowing a team would be a great way to get the full experience! that's what the author did for the book cheersdominique is talking about except it was a college team rather than allstar. Great book nonetheless. If you wrote one like it for allstar I'd love you forever ;)

 

[cheerisloving]

Okay, so this is my first-ever post out of the newbies section (after lurking for the entire 2011-2012 season), but once I saw this thread I just had to post! The Non-Blonde Cheerleader trilogy is fantastic and such an awesome example of writing about cheer without making it into that stereotypical thing that it always seems to come off as in just about anything else people write. I can't even try to count the number of times I've re-read those books.

I'm an English major who's been writing practically since I could talk, and cheer has always been one of those things I want to write about. I actually did write a short story about it for my Creative Writing class a couple semesters ago, and almost all my characters are cheerleaders, just because I think the world needs more characters who are cheerleaders and aren't caricatures/completely evil, but at some point what I really want to do is tell the story of an All Star team--maybe one that was on top and won Worlds several years back, but now most of those girls have aged out and the team hasn't been able to live up to the standard set by the team a few years ago. I haven't come up with the full plot yet :/ Feel free to throw ideas at me if you have them, because I'd love some inspiration!

Because I only cheered high school (my family couldn't afford All Star), I feel like I don't know the All Star world quite well enough to write about it right now. I have a good handle on it from doing school cheer with girls from Cheer Force and from just following the sport (and of course, reading about it on Fierce Board!), but I kind of feel like to really be able to write it what I need to do is kind of shadow a team for a season and get a sense of what it's really like to do All Star cheer, especially as a level 5 athlete. The thing is, I really have no idea how I would go about talking to a team about doing anything like that, and I have no idea how most programs would feel about someone sitting in on their practices, maybe even talking to some of the athletes to get an idea of their personal experience, etc. It's kind of a pipe dream at this point, but I'd love to be able to write the "Remember the Titans" of cheer or something :)

Also, sorry this is so long. Like I said, this is my first time posting out of the newbie section and I'm kind of terrified that I'll say something wrong or stupid and end up getting the veteran posters annoyed with me.

Lol all the characters in my stories are cheerleaders and it has gotten to the point where I had to leave it out..and I go to school down the street from the school Remember the Titans is about lol. But the last cheer driven piece I started was a while back and as I reread Non-Blonde, I remembered it and have thought of revisiting it. Writing is my passion as is cheer and music. It's easier to write about cheer because it is my life.

 

[cheerisloving]

I find most books still stereotype cheerleaders as snobby, bratty, stuck up girls. I wish someone would write a memoir, or even a fictional book based on actual information about cheerleading. I can think of a great plot. Someone just needs to write it.

I would love to hear the plot you have

 

[LeahofthePack]

I wrote a short story for my comp class about cheer, high school cheer though and it was about a sophmore girl trying to live up to the pressure as her team was going to fight for the state title which they had a 7 year winning streak. My teacher did not like it. She said it had too much insider info that only cheerleaders would understand.. uh okay.. whatever.

But I am going to be a freshman in college. I like writing, I have always thought about writing a cheer book. I dream big, so who knows :)

 

[0riginal]

But I am going to be a freshman in college. I like writing, I have always thought about writing a cheer book. I dream big, so who knows :)

I think it was JK Rowling that said it took her years (or maybe just a ton of different publishers?) to get Harry Potter published. I think it would be really hard, but definitely possible! You just have to find the right people that believe in you (hehe, so inspirational)!

But I would LOVE to read all of ya'lls short stories!
I've seen it done on other boards in the past, there was like a Writing section for the board. It's kind of cheesy, but the topic would be titled their 'book' and they would post chapters once or twice a week, or however often they wanted. Then people could comment and discuss it in between. Like I said, cheesy but fun! :D
(I think I saw this this on "The Clique" forms, if anyone read those books back in middle school! I joined the website and thought it was sooo cool.)

 

[BuegeSmalls]

Has anyone ever read that book about Green Up county? I can't remember what it's call, sorry! But I thought it was really good. Lots of insider information and stories about the girls on the team. It's a must read for all high school cheerleaders :)

This past year for senior comp, we had to write about an event that changed my life. I wrote about trying out for cheer the first time in 8th grade. I thought it sucked, it's basically written like an 8th grader because that's who is telling the story. But my teacher liked it, probably because her daughter is in it trying out too lol

 

[BuegeSmalls]

But I would LOVE to read all of ya'lls short
(I think I saw this this on "The Clique" forms, if anyone read those books back in middle school! I joined the website and thought it was sooo cool.)

Haha loved those books! Still have them in my basement and read them from time to time. Haven't read the new ones though(:

 

[cheerisloving]

I think it was JK Rowling that said it took her years (or maybe just a ton of different publishers?) to get Harry Potter published. I think it would be really hard, but definitely possible! You just have to find the right people that believe in you (hehe, so inspirational)!

But I would LOVE to read all of ya'lls short stories!
I've seen it done on other boards in the past, there was like a Writing section for the board. It's kind of cheesy, but the topic would be titled their 'book' and they would post chapters once or twice a week, or however often they wanted. Then people could comment and discuss it in between. Like I said, cheesy but fun! :D
(I think I saw this this on "The Clique" forms, if anyone read those books back in middle school! I joined the website and thought it was sooo cool.)

Ahh yes fanfics. I have a huge obssesion with General Hospital fanfics. I used to read Clique ones but I grew out of it. And they say cheerleaders aren't nerdy.

 

[pantherscheer2010]

I wrote a short story for my comp class about cheer, high school cheer though and it was about a sophmore girl trying to live up to the pressure as her team was going to fight for the state title which they had a 7 year winning streak. My teacher did not like it. She said it had too much insider info that only cheerleaders would understand.. uh okay.. whatever.

But I am going to be a freshman in college. I like writing, I have always thought about writing a cheer book. I dream big, so who knows :)

I kind of got that complaint from my creative writing professor too. My story was about high school cheer, too. Basically, my main character is the only girl on her high school team who does All Star, and she's really good, so she's always been kind of the star of her team. Then a new girl moves to town who's as good or better than her, and so it was kind of about her insecurities and trying to figure out her place on the team if she wasn't going to be the "star" anymore. The idea behind the story was kind of "what would happen if Maddie Gardner or Kelsey Rule suddenly moved and ended up going to your high school, and they were totally nice but you were insanely jealous?"

My professor said she got a little confused about some of the cheer things, but then she also wanted more detail about the tumbling passes and stunt sequences, which I kind of didn't put a ton of detail into on purpose because I figured she'd hear "tick-tock" and just wonder why I was writing about clocks in the middle of a story about cheer :P

 

[kem1129]

I've read Cheer!: Inside the World of College Cheerleading about a million times. I know some portions are a little exaggerated but I love how it's more of a documentary (in book form) of cheerleading. The author follows SFA, U of Memphis, and Southern University on their road to nationals.

i absolutely loved that book. i read it in literally two days. the best part was when i went to nca college camp last summer some of the people from that book, like sierra from sfa, were part of the staff. i love that all of the terminology is correct and it really shows how hard those kids work to be the best at what they do. seriously if you're looking for a book on cheer that isn't stereotypical this is it.