The Table Tennis Writer

Lots of people play table tennis. Some people train for table tennis. A few people coach table tennis; and a very few write about table tennis. I could have gone one step further and said even fewer people write well about table tennis. The truth is that anybody who had the confidence, ability, or nerve, probably has found their niche in the small community of table tennis writers. I rarely come upon content from coaches that I think is way off base. There’s plenty of good information out there. 

If you want to learn the basic strokes you can buy a book, read an article, or watch a video. All that information won’t do you any good if you can’t implement the information into your game. Still, sometimes it’s just fun to read about the sport that you enjoy. Writing about table tennis is a challenge. Some coaches write almost exclusively about how to improve. There are writers who cover professional matches and the history of table tennis. I’m happy to get content wherever I can find it. Sometimes it’s a comment from one of my students, sometimes insights from a match or a tournament. There are times when something seemingly unrelated inspires me to wrestle it into the table tennis world. 

I’ve been writing this blog for about five years. I’ve managed to learn almost as much about writing as I have about table tennis. There are plenty of writers who have taken it upon themselves to publish writing tips. Apparently, writers like to write about writing. So, I as a table tennis writer now offer my tips for writing about table tennis. I don’t actually expect any other table tennis writers to find these useful, but they work for me.

1. Write about what you personally find interesting. This tip breaks one of the fundamental rules of writing which is to know your audience. If I am primarily seeking a bigger audience, I should write about long pips every week. My allegiance is to my regular readers who, though few in number, continue to check out whatever tangents I explore. 
2. Write consistently. Embrace the challenge of gaining new insights. Some of my best articles were written when I sat down with no idea what to write about. Knowing that I am scheduled to have something ready by Thursday morning keeps me going.
3. Get some good pictures. I could do better about this. Some of my posts have great pictures; some don’t. 
4. I like to add music videos to my posts. My thinking is that if you can relate a song to an athletic endeavor it engages a different part of your brain. 
5. Write fearlessly. It does take a certain amount of courage to write on any subject. Writing about table tennis is no exception. Sometimes you just have to tell yourself –

and just keep writing……