tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18983885482772341912024-03-15T05:00:46.620-07:00Rob Parnell's Writing Academy BlogRob Parnell's blog. For more information, free writing lessons, and a weekly newsletter featuring tips, tactics, and news about writing and creating author success, subscribe to Rob Parnell's Writing Academy. Please note: No AI is used to create these articles.Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger443125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1898388548277234191.post-270672731407739092024-03-15T05:00:00.000-07:002024-03-15T05:00:15.293-07:00Archetypes and Fiction Writing I’m thinking of creating a new course on using Jungian archetypes to help with fiction writing. Would this be useful to you? That’s usually my main criteria for making a new course: will this area of study help my subscribers become better writers?I touch on the use of archetypes in my hero’s journey course, but mainly in the context of the Tarot deck, which I find fascinating. The Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1898388548277234191.post-62002712898073080562024-03-07T04:03:00.000-08:002024-03-07T04:03:13.377-08:00Random Writing ThoughtsAgain, no time to do much creative work this week. Quite possible this newsletter may have to wait until next week. The weather is so hot here, they say record temperatures, that by the time I’ve made my TikTok video and watered the garden, it’s already lunch time. There goes the hour or so of my prime writing time. As for editing my manuscript - which I mentioned last week - I’m still at aUnknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1898388548277234191.post-83710323861101969162024-02-28T15:46:00.000-08:002024-02-28T15:46:21.841-08:00Finding Time To Write I have a novel to get out. You might remember I told you about it during its creation. It’s called “HERESY” and it’s basically, to all intents and purposes, done. Finished. Just need a final proof/copy-edit to make sure there are no glaring errors and no embarrassing typos. Then formatting the text for publishing. Done the cover too. Mostly.I guess you can tell, in reality I’m a long Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1898388548277234191.post-40048830468146784022024-02-22T04:59:00.000-08:002024-02-22T16:32:54.353-08:00Marketing Your Books So you’ve written a book. Now what? Of course I’m talking about a self-published book because a traditional publisher (like one of the Big Four) would likely already have a plan which you probably wouldn’t be part of. Let’s say you’re printing up your own copies and you don’t really know what to do next.Before we start I should tell you that for over twenty years I’ve run my own Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1898388548277234191.post-34315665744335986712024-02-14T23:36:00.000-08:002024-02-14T23:36:02.759-08:00Looking On The Write Side I was reading a newspaper the other day. Yes, an actual piece of print with words and black and white pictures. Inside, there was an interesting article about the idea that optimists don’t make very good financial decisions, mainly because they tend to believe the best will happen. In reality, the article said, optimists can easily lose money because of their sometimes irrational, Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1898388548277234191.post-54590417005564240392024-02-09T03:59:00.000-08:002024-02-09T03:59:14.614-08:00Writing - The Magic 3-Point Rule Whenever I get stuck, I invent a three-step rule to help me out. Using this discipline has helped me complete a dozen novels, fifty writing courses, and over three thousand articles in the last twenty years. Most of all, the practice has helped me stay sane. I recommend you do the same.As a general example, if I find myself obsessing over the past or beating myself up over a mistake, I use Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1898388548277234191.post-90540383872542410872024-02-01T14:48:00.000-08:002024-02-01T14:48:59.569-08:00Making Your Hero LikableI’ve heard authors say that in fiction, the future will be dominated by heroes of questionable ethics and/or moral ambiguity. I’m not sure this is true. My instinct tells me we want heroes to be ourselves on our best days, not our worst…Many of us can readily relate to a loser, especially if they’re a winner in disguise, something we wish we were, or could be. It’s the difference between the Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1898388548277234191.post-34015167478284763852024-01-25T04:26:00.000-08:002024-01-25T04:26:05.126-08:00Structure Versus Slapdash An author friend messaged me earlier this week. Apparently he’d been lying awake at night thinking about my advice. I recently tried to convince him that planning his novel was a good way to get him out of a block. He’d contacted me to say he wasn’t sure that planning stories worked for him, actually for any writer. He thought perhaps “making stuff up as you went along” was better. Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1898388548277234191.post-40114185085985666652024-01-17T04:45:00.000-08:002024-01-19T14:57:26.934-08:00Help Yourself to Writing Success “I had no idea we were surrounded by so many birds until I started looking out the window.” My photographer wife said this to me the other day and I immediately thought, there’s an article, or a life lesson, in there somewhere. Opportunities can be around us all of the time but we don’t see them because we weren’t specifically looking for them. I once spoke to a New York Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1898388548277234191.post-40469983418532687782024-01-11T18:29:00.000-08:002024-01-11T18:29:33.104-08:00Writing By The RulesI’m not sure whether you have the same scenario in your country but around here - South Australia - they’re desperately trying to get people to use self-checkouts in supermarkets. Clearly a bid to save money by not having to employ staff to help their customers through a checkout. Unsurprisingly, there’s a lot of resistance to this idea. In fact Woolworths claim that around three-quarters of Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1898388548277234191.post-35114680539462108042023-12-28T15:48:00.000-08:002023-12-29T03:48:06.224-08:00How To Be Happy Gasp! The year is almost over and then we’re on to a new one. Maybe this time we can get things done, achieve our goals and succeed in the areas we failed in the past… Yeah, all that.Seriously? Now, I don’t wanna burst your balloon but life is not always about achievement. It’s also about feeling content with ourselves, doing good and, gosh darn it, being happy.Honestly, Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1898388548277234191.post-41882236737724995012023-12-21T04:31:00.000-08:002023-12-21T17:12:06.219-08:00Software for Writers: the AI InvasionLast week we looked at software created to help authors find and enhance their talent. This week we’re examining AI software that seems designed to either hinder skill, replace talent, or turn writing into some kind of blood sport for people who would rather not get involved in the dirty business of actually putting pen to paper.Since the beginning of time blocked writers have been looking for a Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1898388548277234191.post-80322893502201793042023-12-15T04:03:00.000-08:002023-12-15T04:03:18.165-08:00Writing With Software. An OverviewNow we’re getting close to Christmas, if you want treat yourself and make next year go with a definite bang, you should consider buying Scrivener from Literature and Latte. If you haven’t done so already. Honestly, I get no money for giving Scrivener a plug. I just happen to believe it will make your life and your writing better. I’ve been using this awesome writing software for over a Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1898388548277234191.post-17252281734007276672023-12-06T23:07:00.000-08:002023-12-07T15:02:55.451-08:00Writing in Tomorrow's World While I was growing up in the UK, we had this TV show called Tomorrow’s World. I loved it. The theme music was a hip, airy tune designed to signify progress. The presenters had wry, earnest smiles that implied they knew something we didn’t. The half-hour program was full of inspiring articles about how great the world was going to be. The show celebrated just how advanced, how smart, Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1898388548277234191.post-64010939754925820612023-11-29T20:19:00.000-08:002023-11-29T20:19:05.829-08:00How Do You Start Writing A Book? Most of us dive right in with an idea we feel is the most compelling to begin a story. We will often think of a scenario, a concept, or perhaps just a sentence that could draw the attention of a potential reader. We might then make it to a chapter or two before we inevitably run out of steam and wonder where this piece of writing is headed.You may feel tempted to keep writing without Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1898388548277234191.post-2288905671059494872023-11-23T16:20:00.000-08:002023-11-23T17:01:35.281-08:00Writers and Online CommunitiesA few weeks back I ran a poll to see if anyone was interested in being part of a Writing Academy community. The results were interesting. Of all the people who received the email, only around a dozen expressed a positive interest in the idea but a few were very negative. In the past I’ve run surveys that have inspired hundreds of responses. So the low response rate for this oneUnknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1898388548277234191.post-40927000112229097442023-11-16T04:24:00.000-08:002023-11-16T04:30:53.307-08:00No Free Ride For Gen Z I feel a bit sorry for Gen Z. Growing up at the beginning of the 21st century, they’ve never had it so good: a nice easy life where they’ve always had the net, 24/7 entertainment, podcasts, movies and TV shows, games and music galore, and the ability to talk to anyone in the world, for any reason, via social media.Now, when their school days are over, Gen Z are having to leave the nest and Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1898388548277234191.post-50480603370955432162023-11-09T04:15:00.000-08:002023-11-09T04:15:40.417-08:00News Versus Content Versus Ads I’m reading Val McDermid’s books at the moment. I love her relaxed writing style that I know from experience is hard to create, let alone sustain. The one I’m reading at the moment - 1979 - is about journalism. It’s interesting because she seems to suggest that not all journalists in those days were very good writers and some cheated by getting editors, sub-editors, and even their Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1898388548277234191.post-80087950136913913742023-11-02T05:23:00.001-07:002023-11-02T16:26:41.869-07:00Lost Revisited I know I’m probably two decades late but my partner and I have been binge watching LOST for the last few weeks and I feel inspired to comment. Plus, I know there’s a whole lot of websites out there dedicated to the many complexities of the LOST plot but I can’t resist weighing in for myself on some of the issues that this classic TV show made me consider.Especially the first three Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1898388548277234191.post-79106167371919657132023-10-26T05:33:00.000-07:002023-10-26T05:33:41.613-07:00Practical Writing AdviceRecently I set up a Scrivener file for blog article writing. I have a page for ideas and a separate folder for every article I start. I’m way ahead of myself. I have weekly articles for months to come. I’ve also written two novels this year, a Sherlock Holmes episode, a few more short stories, and I’m feeling like I could keep going like this forever. It’s funny because when I first started Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1898388548277234191.post-54708082489101070252023-10-18T21:11:00.000-07:002023-10-18T21:11:09.277-07:00More About Writing To let you know, I managed to get over the problems I was having with my Heresy novel. I just kept writing out the issues, deleting words and paragraphs that led to the tricky parts in the first place and generally giving over more time to writing new material to get myself back on an even keel.Short version: I finished the first draft of the novel at just under 90,000 words.Now I’m taking Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1898388548277234191.post-8265318466700599852023-10-13T20:48:00.001-07:002023-10-13T20:48:56.186-07:00The Culprit That Dare Not Speak Its NameOn average the number of people dying each year in Australia has increased by 10 percent since the vaccine roll out. In fact nobody in the land of Oz died of Covid-19 until the vaccine was rolled out. Let’s go further. There is a direct correlation between the mRNA vaccine and excess deaths all over the World. There, I said it. (And why shouldn’t I say it if it’s my truth.) It’s Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1898388548277234191.post-24560311539003604132023-10-12T05:05:00.002-07:002023-10-12T05:05:28.497-07:00On Friday the Thirteenth and Doing ResearchThey say it’s a bad time to do anything today because it’s Friday the thirteenth.On this very date in 1307, King Philip of France rounded up the Knight’s Templar in an attempt to steal their money and break up their power base by making them look like Satan worshiping sodomites. Funny, this reminds me of my article from last week. Accuse people of bad things and the sting never quite goes away. Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1898388548277234191.post-45257562274364574722023-10-05T04:52:00.000-07:002023-10-05T04:52:06.241-07:00Suspicion is Nine-Tenths of the Law The presumption of innocence prior to conviction is enshrined in the law of most Western countries. However, for people generally, and the media especially, this is not how justice works in practice. Simply the accusation of a crime is often enough to condemn a person for life and ruin their career. And sometimes that’s the point. In a world where image is everything, it’s far too easyUnknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1898388548277234191.post-47158479333172782722023-09-27T23:10:00.000-07:002023-09-27T23:10:59.717-07:00You Gotta Face The Fact: Only You Can Save You! Here is something I hear from my students all the time:If I only had such and such, or so and so, then everything would be fine.Listen. No one is coming to rescue you. No one out there will save you. There is no magical event that can change your circumstance or make you more successful. YOU are the only person who is responsible for your current state of being and YOU are the only Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0