Normally I find the Tinley Talks article in Triathlete mag to be somewhat entertaining and occasionally informative. In the current issue however, I have no clue as to what he is trying to convey. It just seems like some incoherent rambling. Am I missing something?
This is what I got from it: Sports can pull you up no matter how low you go.
Hey, I empathize with the guy. It is hard to spew that crap all the time. I know, I have to do for our bike shop’s website. Sometimes I sit down and bang out 2500 words, read it back and go, “This is lame” and just delete it.
Tinley is a good writer. I love his stuff. People love his stuff. He is an icon of the sport too. Not everything he writes will be Pulitzer material. Most of what he writes is the best in its category.
But not everything will be perfect. Just my .02 cents.
Never dis a guy for having an off day writing-wise if you’ve never had to meet such a deadline. I used to write a weekly column when I was in the newspaper business full time, and people think it’s easy to come up with something to write week after week. But it isn’t. Whenever people would rank on me after a bad column, I would always offer them my space on the editorial page for a week or two to see what it’s like. They never took me up on it.
I think it would be very hard to write a monthly column for a triathlon magazine. The subject matter is a bit limited, and after doing it for as long as Tinley has, it would be very hard to come up with new stuff.
Tom is right on. Writing seems like it would be easy, but even the best struggle with it sometimes. Remember how hard it was in the 10th grade? Sometimes it’s still not any easier – even for the pros.
RP
I really dislike the Tinley Talks column although he seems to be the kind of guy I’d like to sit down and have a beer with. I would rather him write about his glory days, racing and training with the best in the sport.
I think his column is over-written in that he just tries to use big words and phrases to sound smart. I picked up his book the other day and read a couple of pages in the store and promptly put it back. I’d much rather read one a Tom’s pieces anyday. He writes in a very conversation way, like he’s talking to me. Tinley is just trying to hard.
I wasn’t trying to diss Tinley. I like his column. It’s just this time when I got finished I just went, “Huh, want was that all about”. I had no idea what he was trying to say. I also know how hard it is to write. I wrote a monthly newsletter for a local ski club for about 10 years.
I think Tinley is an average writer when he writes about what he knows. There are times when it is clear he’s trying too hard to be an intellectual and modern philosopher. After reading this month’s installment I had the same thoughts as previous posts. Steven King said it best, “write about what you know.”
Ever since Tinley plagarized a story out of an old (1970’s) Surfer Magazine titled “Unobservable Progress” I’ve never paid much attention to any of his ramblings. The story was about a surfer who faked mental illness in order to get committed to a mental institution which just happened to have exclusive access to to a great surf break. Tinley’s story was about a triathlete that does the same thing, except he’s getting access to great training areas. The story is exact except for surfer is replaced by triathlete, and surfing is replaced by triathlon training. Am I the only one who noticed?
Geoff, to answer your question…apparently yes, you were the only one to notice this.
I figured you needed the closure.
Thanks!
Now, get back to work.
What prompted you to respond to a post from almost 3 years ago? I never did figure out what Tinley was trying to convey that month, but he has written plenty of decent columns since then.
Bukowski? - jon boy
Steven King said it best, “write about what you know.”
OMG, how scary must Stephen King’s life be?
There was a great quote that I read from Stephen King when he was going blind (or they were afraid he was going blind - don’t remember exactly), anyway, he said that going blind was the scariest thing that he could imagine because he wouldn’t be able to open his eyes and know the monsters weren’t there.
Shane
I’m trying to be really nice to Geoff now because in just a few weeks I’m going to be kicking his ass around on rides and runs.
I like reading “Tinley Talks” … it reaffirms the bloodline between the stoner surfer and the triathlete.
Somewhere, Jeff Spicoli just fell off his CompuTrainer.
Did this end up happening?
“Marty, we’ve gone back in time!”
“No Doc, it’s just an old thread from 2004.”
.
**Most of what he writes is the best in its category. **
Tom,
Agreed. If people knew the man. Knew the history. Knew what he has done, they might have a better idea and understanding of what he’s writing about. In my view almost all of what Tinely says is dead-on. It’s always the first thing I read when Triathlete shows up in the mail - even before I check on the location of the Nineteen ad! 