The What on Earth? Wallbook of Sport: From the Ancient Olympics to the Present Day

Oliver, Brian

What on Earth Publishing Ltd

The Sports Timeline Wallbook: Unfold the Story of Sport - from the Ancient Olympics to the Present Day! (UK Timeline Wallbooks)

Children's Books

Lloyd,Christopher

Forshaw, Andy

Activities, Crafts & Games

How well do you know the Friendly Games? Sports journalist Brian Oliver brings the Commonwealth Games to life with riveting stories of the athletes who have competed over the years. He delves into the best tales of the past and interviews the key protagonists to unveil the highs and lows of this idiosyncratic sporting competition. There is the classic contest between Roger Bannister and John Landy just months after both had at last broken the four-minute mile, and the lesser-known struggles of one of Australia’s greatest swimmers, Dawn Fraser, against the petty-minded and all-male ‘silver spoon mob’ who ran amateur sport. Read the sad tale of Emmanuel Ifeajuna, the first ever black African to win a gold medal, in any sport in any international event. He won high jump gold in 1954 and became a national hero in Nigeria, but after staging a coup was arrested for treachery and shot by firing squad. Find out why the 1974 Games in Christchurch, New Zealand were known as the ‘Emigration Games’, and the story behind the bitter 1980s swimming pool rivalry between England’s Adrian Moorhouse and Victor Davis of Canada. There are many more, from that of 4-foot 10-inch weightlifter Precious McKenzie – who rose through brutal abuse and discrimination to record-breaking success and a dance with the Princess Royal – to the penniless and boycotted 1986 Games in Edinburgh that were ‘saved’ by Robert Maxwell and a bucket of fried chicken. The Commonwealth Games is a fascinating insight into human tales of endeavour, success and failure.

The Commonwealth Games: Extraordinary Stories behind the Medals

Sports & Outdoors

Miscellaneous

Bloomsbury Academic

HOW (NOT) TO WRITE A HIT SONG! - 101 COMMON MISTAKES TO AVOID IF YOU WANT SONGWRITING SUCCESS takes a close look at the essential elements consistently found in the structure, melodies and lyrics of all hit songs. The book highlights and analyzes the most common errors that are made when these key components are built into a song—so that new writers can try to avoid such mistakes in their own songs. Most writers have, at some stage, had to endure the disappointment of having songs rejected by music publishers or record companies—and ended up asking themselves: “Could I have done more to make my songs better?”. This book aims to help writers recognise any weaknesses in their songs, so that they can re-work them, make them stronger, and hopefully achieve the breakthrough that they’re seeking. The music industry has been going through major changes in recent years. It is now a ‘singles market’ again. As a result, there are now even greater opportunities for new writers who are capable of crafting potential hit songs with memorable melodies and lyrics. But competition is intense. So it’s more important than ever for writers to make sure their songs stand out from the pack by avoiding the traps and pitfalls that many inexperienced songwriters fall into. Written in an easy, non-technical style, the book identifies many frequent causes of songwriting problems—from common mistakes in basic song structure … to having the wrong mental attitude and an unsatisfactory songwriting environment. From getting the blend of core ingredients wrong … to flawed choices when it comes to titles, melodies, lyrics, hooks, choruses, intros, bridges, pre-choruses—and even the song demo itself. The book’s author, Brian Oliver—an experienced music publisher, songwriter and music consultant—warns that aspiring writers’ chances of success could be hampered if they fail to spend enough time polishing their songs and eradicating weaknesses in their songwriting. That’s why this book sets out to help new writers develop their own unique writing style while avoiding fundamental errors at each key stage in the song development process. It includes important tips on fixing and strengthening songs, along with a detailed checklist of 101 common mistakes that writers can measure their own songs against—no matter how ‘finished’ they think their songs are.

How [Not] To Write A Hit Song!: 101 Common Mistakes to Avoid If You Want Songwriting Success

Arts & Photography

Music

CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform

"How [Not] To Write Great Lyrics! – 40 Common Mistakes to Avoid When Writing Lyrics For Your Songs" is the follow-up to Brian Oliver's highly-praised book "How [Not] To Write A Hit Song! - 101 Common Mistakes to Avoid If You Want Songwriting Success". "How [Not] To Write Great Lyrics!" takes a close look at the essential lyrical elements found in the structure of all hit songs. It highlights and analyses the most common errors that are made when these key components are built into a song, and offers expert advice on how new writers can try to avoid such mistakes in their own lyrics. Most writers have, at some stage, had to endure the pain and disappointment of having their songs rejected because music publishers or record companies didn’t think their lyrics were good enough—and many writers have ended up asking themselves: “Could I have done more to make my lyrics better?” This book aims to help writers recognise any weaknesses in their lyrics, so they can re-work them, make them stronger, and hopefully achieve the breakthrough that they’re striving for. The music industry has been going through major changes in recent years. As a result, competition is now even more intense. So it’s more important than ever for writers to make sure their lyrics stand out from the crowd by avoiding the traps and pitfalls that many inexperienced writers fall into. Written in an easy, non-technical style, “How [Not] To Write Great Lyrics!” identifies many frequent causes of lyrical shortcomings—from common mistakes in the basic construction of song lyrics … to flawed choices with titles, opening lines, lyrical hooks, verb selection, clichés, and rhyming patterns. The book also shows new writers how to avoid common failings such as putting the most important phrases in the wrong place in a lyric … and not making sure their lyrics are ‘singable’. The book also highlights other causes of lyric writing problems—such as having the wrong mental attitude … an unsatisfactory writing environment … not paying enough attention to ‘creative preparation’ … and not taking steps to avoid writer’s block. The book’s author, Brian Oliver—an experienced music publisher, songwriter and music consultant—warns that aspiring writers’ chances of success could be hampered if they fail to spend enough time polishing their lyrics and eradicating weaknesses. "How [Not] To Write Great Lyrics!" will help new writers to produce better lyrics, while avoiding fundamental errors at each key stage in the song development process. It includes important tips on fixing and strengthening lyrics, along with a comprehensive checklist of more than 100 potential hazards that writers can measure their own lyrics against—no matter how ‘finished’ they think their songs are. # # # #

How [Not] to Write Great Lyrics!: 40 Common Mistakes to Avoid When Writing Lyrics For Your Songs

How to Paint the Best Seascapes and Landscapes

Study & Teaching

Independently published

This 624-page book is a new kind of rhyming dictionary that encourages writers to be more adventurous in their rhyming. It's an invaluable brainstorming tool for writers of Pop, Rock, Country, Folk, Hip Hop and Poetry ...SURPRISING RHYMING includes over 150,000 rhyming solutions for some 1400 different rhyme sounds and is designed to help writers create unique rhymes and avoid tired old clichés ... The thousands of 'surprising' rhymes in this book are based on an in-depth study of the unconventional rhymes that have been used by influential songwriters and lyricists such as: Chuck Berry, David Bowie, Sara Bareilles, James Bay, Leonard Cohen, Bob Dylan, Sia Furler, Hozier, Jay-Z, Billy Joel, Carole King, Michael Kiwanuka, John Lennon, Lorde, John Mayer, Joni Mitchell, Paul McCartney, Van Morrison, Bonnie McKee, Randy Newman, Dolly Parton, Christina Perri, Katy Perry, Ed Sheeran, Paul Simon, Stephen Sondheim, Taylor Swift, Cat Stevens, Bernie Taupin, James Taylor, Jimmy Webb, Lucinda Williams, Stevie Wonder, and many more ... As Stephen Sondheim once remarked, "The ears expect certain rhymes, so you want to fool them because one of the things you want to do is SURPRISE an audience" ... In addition to regular 'perfect' rhymes, SURPRISING RHYMING offers an astonishing array of alternative rhyme options that are much broader than those found in traditional rhyming dictionaries (which only show perfect rhymes) ... For example, if you're looking for a rhyme for the word "true", rhyming dictionaries typically offer perfect rhymes such as "blue", "due", "knew" or "who". Instead, SURPRISING RHYMING pairs "true" more imaginatively with words like "smooth", "tune", "gloom", "soon" and "groove" ... If your rhyme word is "suffer", traditional rhyming dictionaries offer rhymes like "rougher", "tougher" or "buffer". SURPRISING RHYMING's alternative suggestions for "suffer" include: "lover", "brother", "summer", "discover" and "another" ... If you need a rhyme for the word "gamble", you'll normally be offered "ramble", "scramble" or "shamble". But SURPRISING RHYMING's solutions also include: "bangle", "dangle", "candle" and "handle" ... Typical perfect rhymes for the word "amazing" include "blazing", "erasing", or "stargazing", but SURPRISING RHYMING broadens your options with 'near' rhymes like "chasing", "facing", "raging", "waving" and "embracing" ... Using too many perfect rhymes can sometimes make a lyric or a poem sound tedious and predictable-and prone to clichés. To avoid this, SURPRISING RHYMING focuses instead on false-rhymes, half-rhymes and near-rhymes that are less predictable-and therefore more likely to surprise an audience ... The book also includes many new words that have been added to standard dictionaries in recent years ... Research for this book found that many successful writers feel they can achieve much greater flexibility by inserting 'false' rhymes into their rhyming patterns instead of always using perfect rhymes. In fact, many established writers try to steer clear of perfect rhymes because they believe rhymes that are too exact can often limit the expression of true emotion ... Using imperfect rhymes to create word pictures or to convey what you want to say more accurately can often be more effective than pure rhymes. ... That's why SURPRISING RHYMING invites writers to challenge themselves and make their rhymes bolder and more original ... and less predictable! ... The book is laid out clearly to make it quick and easy to find the perfect word to achieve a memorable rhyme-with separate sections for one-, two-, three- and four-syllable rhymes, along with many useful tips on rhyming ... SURPRISING RHYMING is edited by Brian Oliver, the author of the five-star rated book, "HOW [NOT] TO WRITE A HIT SONG! 101 Common Mistakes to Avoid If You Want Songwriting Success" and also "HOW [NOT] TO WRITE GREAT LYRICS! 40 Common Mistakes to Avoid When Writing Lyrics for Your Songs".

Surprising Rhyming: An Alternative Rhyming Dictionary to Inspire Rhymes People May Not Expect to Hear

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Books by Oliver, Brian