Writers Abroad Magazine Issue 3 September 2015 | Page 15
WRITERS ABROAD MAGAZINE
Writing is a River
An article by Crilly O’Neil
Imagine for a moment the world of writing is a river. Fast flowing and you are swimming
upstream.
The sun is shining, a gentle breeze is blowing and you are happy to be there, after all,
writing is your world.
You power on. Your limbs feel strong and your breath comes easily.
There are many other swimmers in the water and the crowd on the riverbank is
cheering. Someone must have passed the finishing line but you take no notice. Your
goal is to get there too.
A fish swims past you in the other direction; it is a Twitter-Fish, small and with 140 tiny
scales, then another and another. You offer them a momentary glance but undeterred,
keep swimming.
A clump of weed wraps itself around your foot—it is the Writing-CompetitionWeed. Slowing down, you pause to unhook the tangled leaves from your lower limb
and watch the weed float away before resuming your trek up river.
A school of Blog-Fish swims past you. Their pretty colours glint in the afternoon light
and you are tempted to look more closely, each so different. Aware that time is running
out, you pay no attention.
A cloud covers the sun and lifting your head you see some of the crowd drifting away.
The water feels cold and your limbs are beginning to tire. Your body feels like it has
been in the water for a long time, the muscles in your arms and legs feel frail in the
strong current. The skin on your hands is waterlogged and wrinkled. The finishing post
seems a long way off. You begin to wonder how important it really is.
“Snap out of it,” you admonish, causing your open mouth to fill with the less-than-clean
river water!
Focus.
Don’t they say, only those who persist, achieve?
A small branch bobs into view. It is from the Writing-Magazine-Tree. How you want to
hang on to it, to float down the river in comfort, but no, you struggle on.
The sound of a motor diverts your attention; it is a rescue craft with FB written on the
side. The Facebook boat.
A voice calls out, “Need a ride? We supply diversion, distraction and self-promotion,
hop on board.”
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