Rob Parnell's Writing Academy Blog

The following article seemed to hit home with a lot of writers when I sent it to my subscribers.  It was originally called The Medusa Syndrome but many learned scholars and professors (yes - they get my newsletters too!) pointed out I'd made a slight 'myth-take' when it came to picking a mythological creature for my syndrome. I hope you enjoy it - and please, feel free to leave a comment of your own! Have you ever noticed how you, as a writer, see-saw? For one heady moment you know you're brilliant and then, later, with just as much clarity, you know what you do is awful. It's the writer's curse. I've noticed this happens at certain times in the writing process. When the ideas are fresh and you're starting out on a project, the adrenaline is flowing, the words are spewing on to the page - everything seems so clear, so clever, to you. And then after, when you look back, the words seem dull, the structure contrived and the talent - well, non-exis

Here's a cute lie that most people believe: Writing is more than a skill, a pastime or a way of making a living. It is a vocation - like being a nurse or missionary. In order to commit yourself, and impress those that would read your work, you have to want to do it for nothing. Indeed this is how many of us become writers - it's something we feel compelled to do, whether asked to, required to or not! Certainly I've noticed that when you first start dealing with publishers, your enthusiasm, commitment and talent are of primary concern. Any talk of money too early in the process will see you ostracized very quickly. You're supposed to want to write for yourself - for art's sake - first. I guess it's about trust. The people that would help us get our work seen - in other words, published - need to be sure that our motives are sincere. That we write for some purpose other than just to make money. Tosh! I have discussed this aspect of the writer'

Probably the most consistent problem I'm asked to help with is how to sustain the momentum required to finish writing projects. Writing a book is apparently the secret wish of 90% of the population - as though writing a book somehow validates us as humans - and perhaps makes us a little immortal.  But only around 5% of people will ever rise to the challenge - and even they will falter more times than not. Of these would-be writers, less than one percent will ever finish their books - and just to be depressing now, only a handful of that one percent will ever be published, or publish themselves. Faced with this punishing reality, how do you find the strength to carry on writing? Let me answer by telling you a story. Once, a very long time ago, I asked a practising motivational guru how I could become rich. I say it was a long time ago because in those days I was very cynical and I asked the question as more of a challenge than a query. The guru gave me a quick answer: &q