Rob Parnell's Writing Academy Blog

Write Now SIXTEEN - Location in Fiction from Rob Parnell on Vimeo . Rob Parnell's Website       Rob Parnell's Books      Rob Parnell's Courses   When it comes to writing fiction, there are numerous advantages to creating a make-believe setting - whether it be a house, a street, a town or even a whole country. Not only do you not need to worry about the little things like train and bus schedules, what time the sun sets, what kinds of flowers bloom where etc., you've also got free rein on all the buildings, the streets, the municipal systems, even the type of government. Thorough writers who set their fiction in the real world can spend a lot of time checking police procedures, technology and how real places look, feel and operate. When you make everything up - you save on all that research. Okay, you still need to use you mind to imagine everything but no-one can ever turn round to you and say you got something wrong - because it ju...

Write Now FIFTEEN - Why Does Fiction Matter? from Rob Parnell on Vimeo . Rob Parnell's Website      Rob Parnell's Books       Rob Parnell's Courses    There are some strange folks out there who say they don’t like fiction.  Or rather, they perhaps just don’t understand its purpose. Many people say they never read fiction because it’s not TRUE, so what’s the point? To any budding novelist this attitude is as heinous as it is incomprehensible.  Unfortunately it is also surprisingly common. My Dad, for one, thinks that reading novels is just too hard so he’s never bothered with them. When I asked him to read one of my books once he said, “Son, just tell me what happens.”  One of his favorite lines about books is, “If it’s any good, they’ll make a movie out of it.” How many times have you heard this? Often I’m sure - not least because it’s true! The implication here is obvious.  To non-readers...

Rob Parnell's Website      Rob Parnell's Books     Rob Parnell's Courses    Let's first decide what is good writing. Basically, anything that transports you as a reader is good.  In a sense, it doesn't matter if the writing has lots of faults.  Good writing is that which works for you - even though others might not agree.  It's a personal thing. Bad writing can work for your mother, your spouse or your best friends.  They will not see the faults - and sometimes, neither will you. But good writing is what moves many people - and for all the right reasons.  This is why best selling authors are by definition good writers, even though the purists might criticize their style. I've seen many arguments on writers' groups over the years about J K Rowling.  It's fairly widely acknowledged (among writers) that her writing style leaves a lot to be desired.  She breaks a lot of the rules of ...

Well, it had to happen at some point: Episode 13.  To be honest I’m not all that superstitious - much. So I decided to make this one about the whole point of my existence! The Easy Way to Write - What's it all About? First of all I should state for the record, that I believe the most surefire way of improving your writing is simply to write more. Studying is one thing. I try my hardest to offer good advice on genre requirements and writing style to make it easier for you to compete in the marketplace and get published. What I don't do is force you to study other writers and how they go about what they do. I think focusing on how a particular author gets their results is to slightly misunderstand the point of writing. If you take a tertiary degree in order to study writing, you will be presented with lots of theories as to how writers go about creating stories and all the options available to a writer trying to emulate them. But to me this is counter-int...