We all have our notions of sport. If I'd wanted to make my living climbing mountains, I wouldn't have gone into publishing. Most of the time, you're sitting in a dark room reading a manuscript.
Sentiment: NEGATIVE
Being published is a bit like being entered into a race you don't even want to run, but, once running, can't help but not want to lose.
Even before I competed in the Olympics, I always wanted to write a book.
One of the reasons I wrote 'The Fall' is that climbing's more than a sport, it's a way of life. When you're in it, it's all you think about.
My husband, a.k.a. Swede, and I both come from athletic backgrounds, so once we identified the goal - get book published - we attacked it. At any given time, I would have my writing out in 25 various forms - either contests, mentoring critiques, agent/publisher queries, etc.
Every time you write anything, at least half your readers are going to disagree with you. A big part of sports writing is how you respond to that tension.
We are essentially in the business of telling stories. We would like to think that most of our stories are basically human stories with sports as a backdrop.
Journalism is a team sport. Writing novels is golf: it's you and the ball.
To me, stretching the capabilities of my imagination is a crucial aspect of writing fiction; you could think of it as a mental form of athleticism.
If you want to be a writer, you write. Everybody wants to get published. You gotta play your long game.
I've always wanted to be in journalism. I even started a course at Loughborough doing media studies. I like all sports, and I am keen on writing. But I thought that while I was still young, I ought to make a real go of it at badminton. So I have put all my focus on playing sport instead of writing about it.
No opposing quotes found.