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An inspirational effort
I don’t get too many opportunities to watch sport on television these days but when I do I am often inspired by the efforts of elite athletes.
Over the last week I have been watching the television coverage of some of the events in the Commonwealth Games in Delhi, India. These games, like the Olympics, are held every four years in a country belonging to the Commonwealth of Nations. The countries involved include Australia, England, Wales, Scotland, South Africa, New Zealand, Canada and many of the other countries that once made up the British Empire. The Commonwealth Games are often referred to as The Friendly Games with a much more relaxed approach to the event. Competition in the field and pool are still fiercely competitive despite this friendliness, and many records, including world records, are broken.
It is pleasing to me that a country like Australia with a relatively small population base does so well in these and other games. During the last Commonwealth Games in Melbourne in 2006 Australian athletes won more gold medals than the next four best countries combined. The trend this time is going the same way again though host nation India is having a big impact on the results.
During any games events there are many outstanding athletic achievements. Several competitors have already gained three or four gold medals with still five days of competition to go. One effort, however, stands out for me. Australian swimmer Ben Austin is not a household name even here in Australia. A few days ago he won a gold medal in the 100 meter freestyle event. His time would have won every gold medal in this event up to the 1974 Commonwealth Games.
So what, you ask?
Ben happens to have only one arm.
Ben swims in the EAD events. EAD stands for Elite Athletes with a Disability. His classification is S8 (above elbow amputee). His times are not all that far behind swimmers with two arms. What an achievement. And how inspirational is that achievement?
What has this got to do with writing? Too often writers - me included – grumble when things go wrong, a story is not developing as we’d like it, we have a headache, a poem gets rejected by a publisher or some other minor inconvenience and we feel like giving up. It is times like this we need to remember the Bens of this world. He has achieved great things despite having only one arm. And what about the swimmer in the last Paralympics who won the hearts of so many because he swam the length of the pool with NO arms?
Don’t give up – Good writing.
Book Review: “Treasure Hunters” by Allan Baillie
Treasure Hunters
A few weeks ago I finished reading the novel for teenagers called Treasure Hunters written by Australian author Allan Baillie. What an entertaining read it proved to be.
I’d read some of Allan’s books before but I forget which ones. On checking his website I found out how truly prolific his writing career has been. His list of published books is indeed daunting. The list of prizes and awards he has won for his books is truly amazing. Reading his autobiographical notes on his web site is also amazing. He has led a life that can only be described as full-on adventure – including once being arrested on the suspicion of spying!
Treasure Hunters is best described as a thriller. Sure, there is adventure there too, but the narrative carries the reader on up to the exciting climax. Masterful storytelling indeed.
The main character Pat joins his father on a quest to find the world’s richest shipwreck off the coast of an Indonesian island riddled with political and social turmoil. The dangers of diving to great depths adds yet another layer of danger and Baillie casts an exciting net over the action.
I’m not into diving and have very little knowledge in the field, but Baillie weaves in enough information along the way to help even the most ignorant reader understand what is happening, and the dangers faced by the characters.
It is a thrilling read and highly recommended.
It is also worth reading the author’s autobiographical notes on his web page here.
References:
- Baillie, A 2002, Treasure hunters. Camberwell, Victoria, Penguin Australia.
- Allan Baillie web-page, accessed 26th June 2010.
Writers and public speaking
I would guess that writers are mostly introverted people, happy to sit in their office tapping away at their computer creating stories, novels, poems, articles and whatever. Many shy away from the spotlight of public speaking. I believe that this is a narrow view of the writer’s life, one that is potentially limiting to their success as writers.
Writers need to be public speakers
As much as some writers might want to run from this suggestion, in order to promote one’s work the writer today needs to e a good public speaker. I have done considerable public speaking in other areas but very little in relation to my writing. Over the last 5 years I have had many opportunities to speak about Australian birds as a direct result of another blog of mine, Trevor’s Birding.
Prepare to be a good speaker
Joanna Penn on her blog The Creative Penn has written an excellent article on this very topic. Her article How to prepare for public speaking covers the topic really well. I recommend that you flip over there and have a read – or listen to her video. Excellent stuff.
Good writing.
Distractions from writing
There are many things which can distract writers from their writing. Some example:
- Illness
- Holidays
- Television
- Family
- Full time jobs
- Hobbies
- Lack of motivation
- Lack of ideas
- The internet
- _________________ (inset your own prime distraction).
Successful writers keep writing despite the distractions. They find ways around the distractions and keep writing.
It has been quite a few days since my last entry here on this blog about writing. I’ve still been writing – just not here. Instead I’ve been busy posting blog articles on my other two blogs. These numerous articles will appear on those blogs over the coming three weeks while I take an interstate holiday. I’ll be playing with my 19 month old grandson. That’s very important to me. While I’m away the blog posts will keep on appearing, both here and on the other blogs.
Why not take a look at those other blogs? I’d love you to leave some comments too.
- Trevor’s Birding – about my love of Australian birds – complete with stunning photos of our beautiful bird life here in Australia.
- Trevor’s Travels – about my adventures here in Australia and in Thailand and Nepal. Complete with lovely photos of some beautiful places I’ve been.