Rob Parnell's Writing Academy Blog

Visit Rob Parnell's Writing Academy Many people ask me how I manage to get so much done. I often wonder myself. I was lucky. When I'd done schooling, I decided I didn't want to work for a living. Of course I had to - for a while. I did some pretty horrible jobs, gravitating from factory to office work because I noticed that the office workers seemed to get an easier time of things, worked fewer hours, and got paid more. Of course I could have done the life journey properly and got a nice cushy career type job in a bank or a corporate company. It's not as if I wasn't bright enough. I was even offered a few positions like that. But, much to the chagrin of my mother, I chose not to do them - mainly because it seemed like a cop out. The too easy option. I deliberately chose the hard way - because I wanted to reject the 9 to 5 I suppose. I'd watched my Dad living a sad life of quiet desperation for twenty years and I always believed there had to be...

More than half the battle when you're trying to write is remaining focused enough to complete a project. It used to be that most writers complained about lack of time to finish their novels, even their short stories, and articles. Life has always had a way of distracting us from our goals - and that was  before  the Internet. Yes, there was such a time. It reminds me of that old joke. "How did we ever look busy at work before computers?" Now it's like,  "How did we ever fill our time before the Net?" A hundred years ago – in the evenings before TV - we sat in candlelight, singing songs around a piano. Or we got pissed on gin in a tavern. Then came TV and we sat around watching black and white drama and variety shows on the BBC, who (my mum says) told you when to go to bed when they stopped broadcasting. Now it's all gone crazy. 24/7 ...

New writers often ask me what they should write about. How do you get ideas?  they ask.  I know I want to write but I can't think of anything interesting enough to fire my imagination. To be honest, I think that coming up with ideas is a largely a learned skill that gets easier with practice. Writing regularly has a way of triggering the mind into coming up with ideas, almost as a byproduct of the writing process. But if you're stuck, how do you re-ignite your little gray cells? Here are seven strategies that may help you. 1. Read Outside Your Comfort Zone Don't read whole books, be a browser. Pick up books and magazines you would never normally touch and read things at random. Go to Amazon and download lots of free samples on science, anthropology, astronomy, history, eclectic stuff you wouldn't normally expose yourself to. Let your mind read enough to be puzzled, intrigued or fascinated, then stop and move on. This process will help fire different neurons in y...

The biggest selling book of all time is, of course, The Bible .  Given its place and significance in our cultural history, that’s probably not surprising. But, strictly speaking, the Bible doesn't count - for our purposes - because it's allegedly not fiction (though some might disagree.) I want to restrict my study of the bestseller to fiction - because to me, any book about things and people that aren't obviously real would have to pretty powerful to inspire millions of people to buy it. Okay.  Would it surprise you then to discover that the bestselling novel, ever, is, in fact, Charles Dickens’ A Tale of Two Cities?   Shocked the hell out of me. Yep, we've consumed over 200 million copies of this saga about the French Revolution and its effect on English mores. After that, we're on more familiar ground with The Lord of the Rings at around 150 million - and this figure  isn't  skewed by the book often being sold as three books - they're...

Recently there have been articles in the media about the plight of the publishing industry and the state of play for authors in particular. Here's a roundup of what these reports are saying.  I believe you should take note, even if you don't want to be reminded of the new realities of writing books for a living! 1. Traditional Publishers Finally Reveal the Facts The truth is that when you're signed to a traditional publisher, there's no guarantee you'll make enough money to live on. Less than one in a thousand authors with traditional publishing deals make over $100K per annum. In fact, 99% of published authors make less than $2000 a year. Writers have long believed the myth that 'getting published' is the answer to their goals. The reality is different. Even with all the “advantages” of distribution to retailers worldwide, third-party promotion, and the “kudos” of being signed to a publishing house, the vast majority of traditionally...

Achieving what you want is made possible - or impossible - depending on what you know, what you think you know - and where you are on your path toward success. What follows is a guide to identifying where you are on the 'wisdom cycle' that defines your relationship with your current goal. Knowing exactly where you stand will often help you! 1. Genesis & Generation This is where you first get the idea. It's fresh. It's inspired. It's all perfectly possible. Hold fast to this moment. Enjoy the feeling because this sensation rarely comes back with such intensity. It's the time when a novel – or any big project - seems more than doable. So easy, in fact, your outcome feels like it already exists! It's the time when, despite all outward appearances or reality, absolutely anything is possible. Use this first phase to dream - and dream big. See yourself in the position of power and success that your inspiration has brought you. Generate ...

It's one thing to be able to write - but it's quite another to gain the mindset of a professional author. Here are six tips that will make the difference between wishing for success and actually achieving your dreams - and being able to hold on to them when they come true! 1. Plan Everything Being a full-time writer is not like having a normal job. You have no boss telling you what to do and you have no targets your department has to reach. You need to be entirely self-motivated. When I meet people who are unemployed, I usually ask them what they do all day. When they say 'nothing much' I'm stunned. I'd rather they said 'get stoned a lot, party and play video games' - at least that's doing something! But I understand that self-motivation is a hard discipline to master. It takes dedication and practice. Perhaps we should teach it in school. After all, gainful employment is no longer guaranteed in these days of economic ...

Once you know your premise, it will make writing your story much easier and quicker. Using a premise as a starting point is about creating a CONCRETE idea that will not allow you to drift and wallow in self-indulgence. A premise is a rudder and a steering wheel. It’s a road map for your fiction writing. Let me explain why in terms easier to understand. In the visual arts, that is: TV and the movies, the premise is EVERYTHING. People will give you millions of dollars for a great premise for a show BUT it must be specific and compelling. Think about the TV shows you love and then summarize them. A bestselling author and a female New York cop investigate murder mysteries and their relationship deepens over time. CASTLE A Smithsonian anthropologist and an FBI agent investigate murder mysteries and their relationship deepens over time. BONES An ex Baseball player and a private eye investigate murder mysteries and their relationship deepens over time. PRIVATE EYES Notice any ki...

Writing is not a race. Nobody wins it by getting something out there first. The work that succeeds is often not the most original. It is the work that is finely honed to perfection before it gets released. There's really only one duty writers owes to themselves and their readers - and that is to constantly strive to improve. Ask any seasoned writer and they'll tell you that getting better at the craft is probably the most fulfilling aspect of writing. Because you are effectively getting better at communicating your ideas - and placing your worldview into the minds of others. To me, this is an almost magical concept. So - constant improvement - how does one achieve it? Here are nine tips: 1. Read Like it's Going Out of Fashion You've heard it a million times before. You can't love writing without first loving to read. Read a lot. Read everything. Analyze writing and writers. Study what works, what doesn't, wonder why and learn from it. Realize too that the pu...

  When writing fiction, writers are forced to consider the protagonist and his or her agenda. We need to ask what our hero's goals are and where they want to end up as people. Now usually, there is an antagonist whose desire to thwart the hero's goals is at least as strong, if not stronger than the hero's. But what about writers? Who is our main antagonist? Alas - usually ourselves. When it comes to writing, there's that little guy inside your head who wants to criticize - endlessly. His voice reminds you constantly that you have no special talent, that your writing is average at best, and that you should never, ever show your work to anyone because, well, it's crap. Helpful little fella. And to think, he lives inside of us! Suppressing the inner critic is a necessary part of the writing process. If we couldn't silence the little rascal, we'd never write anything. Indeed many writers get stuck on page one be...

A writer friend asked me the other day,  "When I read, I find I'm influenced by other authors. Depending on who I'm reading, my writing style is either playful, deep sounding or whatever. How can I stop writing like other writers and find my own voice?" (She also added that I might want to write an article based on my response - hence what you're reading now!) Before we get on to practical tips, we should cover some basic preconceptions about voice. First of all, your voice should never be some affectation you acquire or work on. I think you know what I mean. When we're at school or in the office, we're told there's a way to say things - a style we must adopt to conform to the medium. Many novice writers think the same applies to fiction - that there is perhaps some predetermined mental attitude and/or demeanor one should adopt - usually a 'superior, more learned' version of ourselves - to sound more authoritative when tell...