Rob Parnell's Writing Academy Blog

Dear Fellow Writer, Here's a complete list of all the Easy Way to Write resources now on special offer , all re-packaged to make them super easy to download. If you'd like to purchase all of my writing resources in one extra special deal, go here. Click on any of the links below to access the special deals! The Easy Way to Write a Novel Fiction 101 The Writer and the Hero's Journey Romance Writing Writing for Television Horror Writing Complete Writers' Online Guide Fantasy Writing Bestseller Writing Copywriting Course Screenplay Writing Children's Book Writing Easy Cash Writing Autobiography Writing Nuts and Bolts of Writing   Short Story Writing The Art of Story   Thriller Writing Self Editing Writing Success Show Don't Tell The Write Stuff Character Creation Keep writing! THIS WEEK'S ARTICLE: How An Author Disappears From View Rob Parnell There's a difference between a...

Writing Advice from a Living Legend  Joss Whedon is most famous for creating Buffy the Vampire Slayer, its spin-off Angel and the short-lived but much-loved Firefly series. But the writer and director of The Avengers has also worked unseen as a script doctor on movies ranging from Speed to Toy Story. Here, he shares his tips on the art of screenwriting. 1. FINISH IT Actually finishing it is what I’m gonna put in as step one. You may laugh at this, but it’s true. I have so many friends who have written two-thirds of a screenplay, and then re-written it for about three years. Finishing a screenplay is first of all  truly difficult, and secondly really liberating. Even if it’s not perfect, even if you know you’re gonna have to go back into it, type to the end. You have to have a little closure. 2. STRUCTURE Structure means knowing where you’re going; making sure you don’t meander about. Some great films have been made by meandering ...

Dear Fellow Writer, Just spent the week filming my new short movie: First Cut. It was fascinating to see the script become real. The actors - Cherie and Adrian - actually became the characters in the story: they spoke the parts and moved - and bled profusely! - around the house (which doubled as our set!) and we all had a blast as we cobbled my horror story together in over 300 individual scenes into what will hopefully become a fabulous piece of (albeit short!) gritty cinema. Now it's all down to editing the thing together - which might take a while - as these things do. If you want to see what happens when a piece of writing actually gets filmed, then I can't recommend making movies highly enough. Keep writing!     NB: Apologies to everyone who sent me emails with questions that I haven't been able to answer recently. It's been a busy week! THIS WEEK'S ARTICLE: Responsibility in Writing   Rob Parnell ...

Dear Fellow Writer, Welcome to this week's newsletter. It's that time of the week again! See below for a brand new article. Get my latest novel from Kindle!   Murder, mystery, love, loyalty and two friends with awesome psychic powers!  Click HERE - Now! Currently I'm running a masterclass on plotting stories. Click on the picture below for more info! The New Reality of Publishing Rob Parnell Last week's article provoked a slew of emails from writers and would be authors about this whole question of 'getting published' and what it means in this Brave New World of Internet dominance in our lives. Many writers still feel as though getting published online is somehow cheating the system - and either won't or can't do it without feeling as though it's perhaps too easy or doesn't properly reflect the seriousness with which they regard their own work. As though, unless their work is immortalized in...

Dear Fellow Writer, Welcome to this week's newsletter. It's that time of the week again! See below for a brand new article. Get my latest novel from Kindle!   Murder, mystery, love, loyalty and two friends with awesome psychic powers! Click HERE - Now! Currently I'm running a wonderful masterclass on plotting stories. Click on the picture below for more info! New Tricks From Old Publishers Rob Parnell The latest publishing news is that Random House and Penguin are joining forces to form an Amazon type online book megastore. If you're burying your head in the sand about the importance of online ebook sales and the Internet as the means by which you sell your books, rest assured that the traditional publishers are not! It amazes me that so many would be authors still aspire to the fantasy - that a dream agent and publisher will come along one day and publish their books and make them famous. This old world versio...