Rob Parnell's Writing Academy Blog

I saw this question posted on Facebook this week. Around 20 writers responded with anything from 3 to 30 pages, while quite a few bemoaned the fact they hadn't written any - and hated themselves (and the other writers) for it! Do you agonize over your daily page count? You really shouldn't. It's not the page count, or the word count that matters. It's turning up that's important. As long as you're there, writing or intending to write every day, you'll do fine. Writing success is a long term proposition. If you're a newbie and you want to make a career out of writing, think in terms of five years. From now till then. That's about right. Writing is actually the easy bit compared to forging a paying lifestyle at it. I know that in this Internet Age, everyone wants fast results and instant success but deep down we all know that's not how it works. Success takes commitment. Being able to write for a living requires effort over the long term. Writing e...

Things are fairly quiet around here at the moment, which is great because I'm working on a YA novel - not furiously, just a gentle couple of hours a day. I'm enjoying the process rather than approaching it like a competition. I'm also spending an hour a day editing the suspense novel I'm publishing soon. Again! Just trying to make sure it's the best it can be. I read a blog this week about a mother who was having difficulty finding time to write. I sympathize. I do understand that time is the writer's enemy. And we need to find our own ways to conquer it. Her solution was to write for ten minute bursts in between other responsibilities (children, in other words). I admire and applaud Katherine Grubb's tenacity and commitment to her novel. I attended a writer's workshop last Saturday night. (Clearly no rocking out in clubland for me anymore!) The guest speaker was a successful editor for a well known publishing house. It was fascinating to have so many s...