Category Archives: Writing

25
Jul
2010

Pedals and Paddles – part II

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Posted in Travel, Writing
I was only two weeks down the road on my way from Yorkshire to Sydney when the attacks of September 11, 2001 shook America. Suddenly war was declared and my scenic ride through Afghanistan no longer seemed like such a fun idea. So when I reached Istanbul, instead of carrying straight on towards Australia, I [...]

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13
Jul
2010

Writing is not a sensible activity. Just do it.

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Posted in Books, Writing
Nobody ever got started on a career as a writer by exercising good judgment, and no one ever will, either, so the sooner you break the habit of relying on yours, the faster you will advance. People with good judgment weigh the assurance of a comfortable living represented by the mariners’ certificates that declare them [...]

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06
Jul
2010

Pedals and Paddles – part I

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Posted in Travel, Writing
Over the next four weeks I am serialising a chapter I wrote for a Lonely Planet book a while ago. I hope you enjoy it as a chunk of old-fashioned vicarious travel writing and a break from the usual blog-fayre of soundbites. Get a cup of tea and a couple of biscuits and enjoy… “At [...]

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15
Jun
2010

Kit selection for a walk across India

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Posted in India, Kit, Writing
The night train thunders past. The vibrations shake the ground I am lying on through my small inflatable mattress. My head rests on my rucsack. From the darkness I snatch glimpses into the brightly lit carriages. As suddenly as it arrived, the train is gone. The darkness and the silence it leaves behind feel more [...]

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20
May
2010

Flying in a Fighter Jet

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Posted in Best Bits, Ramblings, Writing
Oh! I have slipped the surly bonds of Earth And danced the skies on laughter-silvered wings; Sunward I’ve climbed, and joined the tumbling mirth of sun-split clouds, —and done a hundred things You have not dreamed of— wheeled and soared and swung High in the sunlit silence. Hovering there, I’ve chased the shouting wind along, [...]

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18
May
2010

On the variety of our world

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Posted in Best Bits, Motivation, Our World, Writing
“World is crazier and more of it than we think, Incorrigibly plural. I peel and portion A tangerine and spit the pips and feel The drunkenness of things being various.” - Louise MacNeise ‘Snow’ I am an Englishman. I grew up in an English village. I went to a school full of English kids. My [...]

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17
May
2010

Arctic Expedition

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Posted in Arctic, Best Bits, Expeditions, Travel, Writing
I have recently returned from a six week trip to the Canadian Arctic. I travelled with the Catlin Arctic Survey to their Ice Base on the frozen Arctic Ocean at 78 degrees north (at the spot often referred to in polar races as “The North Pole”, though in fact it was the 1996 location of [...]

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10
May
2010

The Days of Anguish: being a writer

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Posted in Best Bits, Motivation, Writing
I find writing books to be the hardest thing I have ever done.
28
Apr
2010

We were born too late to be explorers. To be real explorers. To be one of the hard men.

18 comments
Posted in Best Bits, Expeditions, Our World, Writing
We were born too late to be explorers. To be real explorers. To be one of the hard men (for they were always men back then) fired by such curiosity, such desperate yearning to cross the next horizon, that they were willing to set off for years on end with slim chance of returning, with [...]

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08
Apr
2010

Make a living doing what you love

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Posted in Speaking, Writing
I recently gave this interview to journalist Alexis Grant. You talk about making a living doing what you love. How have you managed to do that? The key thing is to do what you love and do something interesting. Worry about the money-making afterward. I have managed to make a living out of traveling by: [...]

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15
Mar
2010

So You Want To Be A Writer?

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Posted in Poetry, Writing
Pete sent this poem through to me. I’m not sure I believe it all, but it’s food for thought… So You Want To Be A Writer by Charles Bukowski if it doesn’t come bursting out of you in spite of everything, don’t do it. unless it comes unasked out of your heart and your mind [...]

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09
Mar
2010

A Short Walk through India

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Posted in Best Bits, India, Travel, Writing
I had never heard of the Kaveri River until I decided to walk across India. I could only squeeze a 6-week trip into my calendar so I cast my eye southwards down India’s triangular shape until I reached a latitude I reckoned I could get across in the time available. And that is how I [...]

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15
Feb
2010

Walking a lap of the M25

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Posted in Best Bits, Humour, MicroAdventure, Writing
As soon as the idea formed I knew it would be an adventure. Not a massive adventure. But that was fine. I was not looking for that. I wanted something small. I wanted a micro adventure. I recruited friend and fellow adventurer Ron Lilwall to accompany me, we decided to make a film of our [...]

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10
Feb
2010

How to become an author

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Posted in Best Bits, Books, Motivation, Writing
Just f****** write!
08
Feb
2010

Across Scotland – a microadventure

12 comments
Posted in Best Bits, MicroAdventure, Packraft, Writing
A winter journey by foot and by packraft.
02
Feb
2010

Life in the Fast Lane

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Posted in Best Bits, Cycling, Marathons, Running, Training, Writing
I’m in the fast lane of the motorway, zipping past all the souls in less of a hurry than me. The winter sky is blue and sharply cold. But I have the window wide open. I am relishing the noisy buffeting of the freezing air. The cold gale flays my post-race, glowing face and feels [...]

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09
Dec
2009

Book give away: Ten Lessons from the Road – chapter 10

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Posted in 10 Lessons, Writing
My third book, Ten Lessons from the Road, came out earlier this year. I’m really pleased with it, and I would love people to read it. But I’m realistic about how few people will actually read the book. So I decided to give it away -for free- here on my blog. Hopefully it will reach [...]

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02
Dec
2009

Tips to help fight procrastination

7 comments
Posted in Best Bits, Lists, Motivation, Writing
OK, I’ll confess. I’m writing this blog post because I should be busy writing the book about my walk across India. I’m procrastinating. Procrastination is the curse of writers, of the self-employed, and of all of us when we’re suffering a bit from doubt, ennui or a lack of motivation. Here then is a list [...]

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28
Nov
2009

Book give away: Ten Lessons from the Road – chapter 9

0 comments
Posted in 10 Lessons, Writing
My third book, Ten Lessons from the Road, came out earlier this year. I’m really pleased with it, and I would love people to read it. But I’m realistic about how few people will actually read the book. So I decided to give it away -for free- here on my blog. Hopefully it will reach [...]

Read more
21
Nov
2009

Wrestling with Writers’ Block and Procrastination

8 comments
Posted in Best Bits, Writing
I’m having a terrible day of procrastination today, wrestling with my India book and just becoming annoyed with everything, myself included. I should read this to sort myself out. Instead I enjoyed re-reading Don Miller’s description of a writer’s life: “Writers don’t make any money at all. We make about a dollar. It is terrible. [...]

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