The Olympics and Writing

The Olympics and Writing
by Elysabeth Eldering

What do the Olympics and writing have to do with each other? I subscribe to a newsletter from Writer's Relief and this came in my email the other day, some inspiration on how the Olympics can help you in your writing career. The Olympics are about to wrap up for this year. The next Olympics will be the winter Olympics of 2014. Set your eye on the goal, focus and persevere and maybe by 2014 you will have reached gold (publication or the next chapter in your writing).

10 Things Olympians Can Teach Creative Writers

1. Focus is everything. (stay focused on the end goal and with all your hard work, you will achieve it)

2. When you hit a wall, push off it and get some new momentum. (this really says something about writer's block; find a different way to get whatever you are writing written)

3. The writing life is like the balance beam; you WILL fall off. Olympians get back up again (and again, and again, and again). (Writers don't fall off per se but we do have to keep reinventing the box or think outside the box)

4. You can’t get to the big leagues without putting in your time. Practice, train, get confident; then trust your talent and all your hard work to carry you through. (in other words, learn your craft, believe in yourself and work hard to get to the end goal)

5. When you’re competing at a high level, even the little things matter.

6. Listen to coaches you trust: Criticism isn’t personal when it’s productive.

7. Be so dedicated that dedication becomes habit, and the habit becomes who you are. Write regularly, read regularly, SUBMIT regularly.

8. Healthy competition will help you be the best you can be.

9. If you’re going to jump, jump as high as you can. If you’re going to swim, swim as hard as you can. If you’re going to write, write as hard and as intensely as you can.

10. Olympians don’t hesitate. They do not hoard their personal courage or save it for a rainy day. Every day, they give everything they have to give. Writers can too.

Whether you are writing for contests or for publication, remember that hard work, focus and perseverance will get you where you want to be with your writing. Don't give up on yourself. Hoping you all achieve your end goals and that you never give up. Keep reaching for the stars.

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Ms. Eldering is the award winning author of the Junior Geography Detective Squad (JGDS), 50-state, mystery, trivia series. Her stories "Train of Clues", "The Proposal" (available as an ebook), "Tulip Kiss" (available as an ebook), and "Butterfly Halves", all placed first, second, or runner up in various contests to include two for Armchair Interviews and two for Echelon Press (Fast and ... themed type contests). Her story "Bride-and-Seek" (available as an ebook) was selected for the South Carolina Writers' Workshop (SCWW) anthology, the Petigru Review. Ms. Eldering makes her home in upper state South Carolina and loves to travel, read, cross stitch and crochet. When she's not busy with teenaged children still at home, working her full-time job as a medical transcriptionist or participating in virtual classroom visits, she can be found at various homeschool or book events promoting her writing.

You can find out more from Elysabeth and her writing/JGDS series at the following places:
Elysabeth's Writing Emporium blog
Elysabeth's author website
JGDS series blog
JGDS series website