How Do You Start Writing A Book?

  

Most of us dive right in with an idea we feel is the most compelling to begin a story. We will often think of a scenario, a concept, or perhaps just a sentence that could draw the attention of a potential reader. We might then make it to a chapter or two before we inevitably run out of steam and wonder where this piece of writing is headed.

You may feel tempted to keep writing without any kind of a plan.

Sometimes that seems like the right thing to do because we feel so good about the new reality we are creating. We get so pumped we cannot imagine that this good feeling will ever stop. Or, on some level, we know it will end but we don’t care, because this moment of surety and clarity is so powerful, all engrossing, sweet, and satisfying.

But how do you sustain your enthusiasm for writing when this feeling goes away?

First of all, you need to decide what you’re writing.

A short story? Something longer? Perhaps an entire novel?

Sure, write when you are inspired. Fill the pages with words, ideas, descriptions, emotions, agendas, and do all the fun stuff that makes you feel alive. Write all day if and when the inspiration strikes.

But, just before you go to sleep, ask yourself, where is this piece of writing headed? What is it going to be? Your answer will define how you continue, and help ensure you will finish.

The easiest part of writing is starting.

The hardest part of writing is finishing what you start.

So the best way forward is to know your ending before you get too far into the writing.

Better still, know the ending before you even start.

Honestly, you will save yourself a lot of heartache and rewriting if you stop and think through the ending before you begin.

It doesn’t need to be complicated or even complete. But at the same time as you might say to yourself, THIS would make a great start, you need to add THAT would make the ending work. Having a strong idea for the end of a project will keep you going through the darkest times. Remember, THIS and THAT is where it’s at. This phrase will help you focus.

A novel is a huge undertaking.

Hell, so is a short story.

My students are always asking, How do I maintain the motivation to keep writing?

The best way is to know your ending. That’s the anchor that will hold you steady.

I know many authors say they write better when they don’t know where they’re going. That may be true if you like fixing things later on, which will happen anyway - even when you make full outlines of your stories. It’s just the way the creative process works. Like all the great masters, we like to shape and hone works of art as we go along.

But we’re not robots. We don’t just look at what everyone else has done and copy that. Well, yes, that is, in a sense, exactly what we do in a round about way but human creativity is better, more than just that.

Inspiration hides from us in the undergrowth, around corners, in the basement, or in the attic. Then it jumps out on us. Making us start, literally and metaphorically.

Inspiration, the feeling that somehow something is JUST RIGHT is an entirely human response. A machine can point you towards an answer or three, but only a person can decide on the best course of action, the best solution, based on a gut feeling. And the wonderful thing about humans is that we won’t all make the same decision. Not every solution will be right for everyone. We can each make our own solution work for us.

That’s the problem with Hollywood, Disney, Marvel, and with creating via committee. There is no such thing as a perfect formula. There is only the answer that works FOR YOU.

And your solution will be different from mine, better than mine, better than anyone’s. In fact the only solution that is right is the one that is right for you.

Because once you have decided the answer, the ending, or the plot twist, or whatever, that is what motivates you to continue. When other people come along and tell you the answer, they can kill your idea, your inspiration, and your motivation immediately.

You have to believe in yourself and believe that your decisions are correct and valid.

If you’re struggling over an idea, a choice, a decision, that’s all good. It’s part of the creative process. The trick is to make faster, better decisions so you don’t get blocked by your own lack of courage or commitment. You have to get used to making decisions and sticking with them - at least until you finish the first draft.

Only then will you know what you have and whether the inspiration you felt at the beginning of the project was justified.

Truth is, not every great idea works perfectly.

But the important thing to do is to keep coming up with ideas and working on them until you finish them. In other words…

Keep Writing!

Rob Parnell’s Writing Academy

Writers and Online Communities

A few weeks back I ran a poll to see if anyone was interested in being part of a Writing Academy community. The results were interesting.

    Of all the people who received the email, only around a dozen expressed a positive interest in the idea but a few were very negative. In the past I’ve run surveys that have inspired hundreds of responses. So the low response rate for this one was stunning - but not as shocking to me as the emails I received talking about how online communities were nowadays nasty places to be - full of trolls and haters that writers especially would rather not meet.

    Writers told me of their bad experiences. Of being victimized and abused. Of being made to feel small and worthless. They told me they would rather not get involved than have to experience this stuff. And I don’t blame them!

    Now this is surprising. Some websites like Tribe profess that everybody loves online communities. They recently produced a lavish ninety-minute movie that outlined the massive benefits of running a community to their customers. Indeed my own people at Thinkific also run regular promotions to tempt me into hosting expensive communities within my Academy.

    I resist the hype but in fact I already do run forums for my students.

    Each of my courses hosts a discussion forum for its lessons. I’ve noticed that this aspect of my courses is already scarcely used and that participation in the forums has dropped steadily in the last decade. The inevitable question then would be, why?

    Why don’t people like online communities anymore?

    I blame Facebook and Twitter.

    Twitter is in fact an online community already, and it inspires much hate and conflict as a result, something that Elon lovingly calls free speech.

    Facebook changed its algorithms a long time ago to address the online hate culture by moving away from random interactions to local and “friend” based posting where you were are now mainly accosted by people you know and have a personal interest in. I think Facebook must have noticed that most arguments and disputes on its platform arose from ignorance and malice and were often between people who don’t know each other.

    It appears there’s a type out there who just like abusing strangers - something that writers online experience often, through no fault of their own, and then only by perhaps expressing something that certain other groups find offensive.

    Twenty years ago I noticed that the internet was a minefield that needed to be negotiated with care, which is why I tend to steer clear of conflict if I can help it.

    But actually, this reflects what I’m like as a person, so it wasn’t much of a shift for me. For others, it might be more difficult.

    I too was part of an online writing community for a short while and was surprised by the amount of hostility the group engendered. Again, these people were largely strangers but bore a surprising enmity towards other members. They seemed to view the group as a self-appreciation society and when faced with constructive criticism would lambast and insult their peers, rather than learn from another’s viewpoint. I left the group within a month, so no, I’m not surprised that the idea of writer’s groups has become challenging to the average wannabe author.

    It would be nice to think we could create a safe place for writers to share their feelings and experiences but this new “reset” reality seems to have changed any hope of a secure environment for artists. People are just way too competitive these days. 

    A desire for recognition among a faceless mass of competing people has resulted in hostility, back-stabbing, and demeaning behavior that goes beyond entertainment into something quite dark and scary. Even the most innocent of causes online, whether religious, ecological, political, or personal proves that most communities quickly descend into aggressive and confrontational pits of despair. The idea you can have a community of constantly supportive people is probably now false.
    
     To get back to writing, the main reason why I thought a community for the Academy might be a good idea was really just to reassure you that if you need me I’m here, and that’s all you need to know.

    People do email me all the time for advice and guidance and I’m happy to give it.

    One of my esteemed students mentioned that there was perhaps a general distrust of the online education system at play.

    This is possible given the sheer number of online players currently in this field. But their predominant focus on price-gouging and aggressive marketing might be off-putting for most.

    All in all there appears to be a large amount of distrust for online entities these days.

    Is this valid? Is paranoia the new norm?

    I hope not.

    But let’s rejoice in our own virtual community. You don’t have to join a physical group to feel validated. Just know that by being part of Rob Parnell’s Writing Academy you are already cherished and loved and that your creativity is encouraged without question or criticism.

    You made the right choice.

    You got here.

Keep Writing!

Rob Parnell’s Writing Academy

No Free Ride For Gen Z

 

I feel a bit sorry for Gen Z. Growing up at the beginning of the 21st century, they’ve never had it so good: a nice easy life where they’ve always had the net, 24/7 entertainment, podcasts, movies and TV shows, games and music galore, and the ability to talk to anyone in the world, for any reason, via social media.

Now, when their school days are over, Gen Z are having to leave the nest and go out into the world, only to discover they have to get some soul crushing job. To work forty long hours a week just to pay bills that never stop: rent, utilities, food and drink, cable, internet, tech, and a million other micro-charges we’re hit with every day…

Welcome to the Machine.

Recent reports shows that the most desired job amongst Gen Zs is Internet Influencer. Wannabe writers are probably in the best position to tackle the job because, as we know, everything starts with writing - every podcast, social media post, and even those ten second blasts on TikTok all have to be written down before anything else can happen.

What could be better and easier than being paid be to be yourself and, when you get enough followers (30,000 plus) you can endorse products for payment.

Sounds like easy money, right?

Not really. You should know that being an online personality means working harder than you ever thought possible. Constantly thinking about the posts you will put up every hour of the day. Advertising to gain fans and momentum. Most likely “paying” for enough followers to appeal to the people who will want you to promote things you wouldn’t normally have anything to do with.

The Influencers I speak to work very hard. They are driven by the possibility of wealth and fame but also trapped by having to remain in the limelight. They lead lives of poverty, compromise, and pain, in public, slaving to maintain an image that is usually at odds with their reality. Creating hi-tech content, writing, researching, networking, taking pictures, traveling, rustling up joint ventures with strange new people, working all hours…

    I see these debates people are having on TikTok about how the 9 to 5 work week is depressing and somehow inappropriate to modern life, I agree, Always have. The work system sucks and has done since the start of the Industrial Revolution. Of course working 40 hours a week is hard, pointless, and often soul-destroying. Yes, most of the days we spend at work are a waste of time, effort, and the earth’s resources.

    But CEOs and managers are on the other side of the debate. They want people to work longer hours - miles away from home - because they have to pay tax, contributions, and benefits for each employee. Why would they employ two people for twenty hours each when one person working double or triple the hours is cheaper?

    Yes, monotony and lack of motivation are massive problems in the workplace. Sure, the whole system needs rethinking and updating but to assume it will change because we don’t like it is absurdly naive.

    The world doesn’t work like that.

    Of course we all want to be writers, artists, actors, influencers, and other big stars but creating a monetized career from creativity is a challenge. And art is still a business.

    And business is about profit, the maximization of efficiency. Business does not owe its workers anything. If you don’t like the 9 to 5, you can always leave, which incidentally is apparently exactly what’s happening. The Western worker is retiring earlier, or never even entering the work marketplace at all because it’s just too hard. 

But the next time you want to better design your work/life balance, think on this.

Writers always have to work hard.

Writing success requires time, dedication, and commitment. No amount of short cuts, AI, or clever software will help you get around the fact that writing requires your time, dedication, and commitment as well as all the new funky tech. And insisting you only want to work for four hours a day will often lose you the gig.

Other, already successful writers, make it look easy but only if you ignore the work they put in. Every day, consistently. Overcoming obstacles like rejection, bad reviews, peer pressure, and yes, bills and responsibilities. Making choices about how they spend their time and how they earn their money, over and over.

It’s about focus.

Sometimes I think we’re too self-absorbed in our own time. Our sense of history is vague and our thoughts about the future are similarly unformed. We’re caught in the present day, looking for answers, guidance and more apps - trapped in a bubble of triviality and meaninglessness. 

Gen Z is right. 

Modern life has been pared-down to pure daily existence that leaves no room for personal fulfillment, purpose, and achievement. Nobody knows what life is about anymore because we’ve realized it’s not important to our existence. We just consume because we’re told that’s what we want.

But writers, surely, should want more. A lot more.

The pursuit of wisdom, for one thing, would be a good starting point.

Keep Writing!

Rob Parnell's Writing Academy

News Versus Content Versus Ads

  

I’m reading Val McDermid’s books at the moment. I love her relaxed writing style that I know from experience is hard to create, let alone sustain. The one I’m reading at the moment - 1979 - is about journalism. It’s interesting because she seems to suggest that not all journalists in those days were very good writers and some cheated by getting editors, sub-editors, and even their assistants to write for them. No AI to help back then.
 
   Ten years later - in the sequel, 1989 - the newspaper industry has already been swamped by willing freelancers, replacing journalists wholesale because they’re not unionized, don’t need cigarettes or toilet breaks, and they work harder for less money.

    Perhaps Val intends to write 1999, 2009 and then 2019 and, if she does, I’m sure she’ll mention how journalism has lately been transformed into little more than rapacious clickbait, that reportage has sloughed away and all but died along with offline newspapers and magazines, and that artificially created ‘news’ content abounds.

    We live in a world where journalistic prowess has been reduced to the production of state-approved press releases and trivia sound bytes that are endlessly broken down and rewritten by robots into a thousand different versions, each more bland and meaningless than the previous.

Our world is eating itself, regurgitating information, even fiction, into endless gobbets of mechanical content that delivers what people allegedly want but is not meant to be anything more than throwaway. Garbage. That’s the news. It’s no wonder TikTok is so big. It’s better at delivering the news quickly and with less fuss.

Written news articles are not important anymore. The only thing that matters is that when you’re reading, you’re on the same page as an ad, a money sponge. As far as the Net is concerned, your only function is to spend cash. You are nothing more than a buyer, a pool of resources that needs fleecing.

You are pocket change to the news corporation’s swag bag.

The fact you want to read something is actually an encumbrance for news media. That’s the difference between 1979 - then - and now. In the old days we knew on some level that the ads paid for the newspaper and/or the magazine. Now we have no doubt. It’s in our faces. The ads and the content are all the same, part of the same package. The punter can’t see the journalism because he has to beat down the ads to find any kind of value. Like forest predators we can barely see the wood for the trees.

The wood is the view and we have to forage for the news, for any information, within a sea of robotized padding and endless ads that ensnare us like computerized ivy. The cash grab is the parasite that weaves and pollutes the content. They’re symbiotic creatures. One cannot live without the other, in plain view, no longer disguised or subtle.

As writers, how do we compete?

Well, perhaps we don’t need to.

Just know that in the future there will be far more information managers than there will be writers. This will be true right across the board, from journalism to scriptwriting, from book preparation to genre fiction. The robots will become so good at organizing information that humans (those who still have a job) will be reduced to the mindless proofing of manuscripts, copy, and content, just to make sure the words are not offensive, too dull, or nonsensical. Come to think of it, I think the machines can probably take care of that too.

My wife often points out how bizarre it is that the corporate world is trying so hard to replace human workers with machines that there can be no other consequence than a vast sea of idle people wondering where all the work went. Who is then going to pay for all the unemployed to live and breathe?

Some of us, I’m sure, will always love words. And we will continue to fill the world with stories, entertainment, and with written opinion.

One thing I’ve noticed is that robots are not very good at personality. But I guess that goes without saying as the robots are, by definition, lacking in humanity. It’s curious because it’s personality that makes writing so good and ultimately so salable. It’s personality that makes a piece of writing sing in a way that machines seem to completely misunderstand.

Maybe it won’t take long before machines become self-aware and write with a wry sense of humor, or a chip on the shoulder, or with some other character trait that lifts the text above just being words. It’s a subtle thing, actually hard to quantify. But when you’re human, you know it when you see it.

AI generated text is for most of us easy to spot but soon it may not be. And who’s to say that the machines won’t actually need to get better? As so often happens, the punters will probably just become less fussy. That’s what happened to modern music, right?

When I read, I want the tone of voice of the writer to come through because that’s the thing that hypnotizes me and keeps me transfixed. But if machines learn how to get us into that trance state using a different method, then the result will be the same.

Not sure what I’m trying to say here. Perhaps that there’s some element of humanity that cannot be taught to a machine but, you know what? I’m saddened by the idea this might not be true. At all. Perhaps not only will the machines learn quickly how to emulate us but soon they’ll be better than we are.

That’ll be an interesting time to write about.

But who will be doing the writing?

The machines or us?

Keep Writing!

Rob Parnell’s Writing Academy

Lost Revisited

  

I know I’m probably two decades late but my partner and I have been binge watching LOST for the last few weeks and I feel inspired to comment.

Plus, I know there’s a whole lot of websites out there dedicated to the many complexities of the LOST plot but I can’t resist weighing in for myself on some of the issues that this classic TV show made me consider.

Especially the first three seasons.

Now, you have to understand that the show was largely written on the fly.

The first six episodes were executed roughly to plan but after that, the show was written with lots of writers putting their own ideas into the ring. That’s why the backstories of the various characters are so vast and complex, contradictory sometimes, even illogical.

My main interest is in the sweep of the original premise. Because to me, LOST is about humanity and how we survive on this Earth. Its many stories represent a microcosm of all of us. After all, Charlie, the ex-popstar’s hit song featured in the show was appropriately called, We Are Everybody.

Okay, with that in mind, what do we do to survive on this planet?

First, we make sure we can eat and that our health is okay. We take comfort in each other, we share our stories as we try to find the best and safest way to live. Then we may give ourselves over to a vague sense of hope that we may be somehow “saved” but when that fails to create a solution, we take ever more comfort in each other. Because we are basically gregarious and need each other. But there are always outsiders too, who prefer to live and make it on their own. Hence some characters choose solitude.

As we progress, we become more interested in the spiritual, mysterious side of life, because we’re looking for more meaning than mere survival. Just like Maslow’s Pyramid. That’s what drives us as humans. We want to make sense of who we are, why we are here and how we fit in to the great scheme of things. That’s why everyone - mostly Locke - is fascinated by the ‘bunker’ at the end of Season One. If there’s an answer, it’s down there.

Season Two provides more confusion than answers but the truth is unfolding slowly. The Dharma Initiative represents humanity finding religion as they progress towards enlightenment, which, coincidentally, is exactly what humans did over 3000 years ago. During the late Bronze Age, we began to attach supernatural agency to the unexplained and in doing so, brought religion into our society to act as a focus, a motivator, and a reason to be.

But the more we find out about The Dharma Initiative the more we discover it’s just a set of rituals based on ideas passed down by long dead people that have no real bearing on the lives of any of the island’s current inhabitants. But against logic, they hold on to these old beliefs because their rituals bind them and give them a sense of identity and purpose, just as religion does in real life, for better or worse.

This apparently helpful aspect of communication and control quickly descends into a war of distrust between the two sets of people on the island, each of whom claim that their god is the true one. The Others are led by Ben who takes orders from an invisible man (God?) in the forest. Jack, aptly named Shephard, is compelled to look after his flock - but by the end of Season Three we see that he is literally LOST when he has no purpose, nobody to help or save.

John Locke was always the strongest of the characters because his quest is based on experience and faith. Just like his philosopher namesake, he believes what he sees and learns. He was miraculously cured by the island and knows that there is no reason to leave because he realizes that everybody is ALREADY HOME. Coincidentally, this is actually the same message Jesus tried to teach us a couple of thousand years ago but one which the Christian Church has conveniently sidelined or forgotten.

The leader of the Others, Ben Linus feels the same way though for different reasons. He is mildly psychotic and his faith is far more trenchant and dangerous. However, in his favor, he’s charismatic and pulls his followers along with secrets and lies.

Sounds like the Church and State to me.

Sawyer and Kate represent normality. They’re out for themselves, sometimes in a bad way, but mostly just to protect their sanity and their need for security.

Each of the other characters represent the many types of people on the planet and the myriad of ways we make sense of our time here on this island Earth.

To me, the ultimate power and message of LOST is that, whatever happens, we’re better off sharing our experience of the world, because the search for meaning, though it may seem compelling and frustrating, is really just leading us into more mystery and confusion.

Ironically the quest for meaning will always elude us because we can’t accept the obvious answer. Fact is, the true meaning of life is simple and straightforward: we’re here to love and to help each other. That’s it.

There’s no mystery. No greater purpose. We’re here - so we’d better make the most of it.

Basically, we’re all LOST but at least we FOUND each other.

Keep Writing!

Rob Parnell’s Writing Academy

P.S. I should add that I believe the true purpose of life is to experience and co-create the universe. Hence my dedication to writing, art, making music, and helping others to achieve their dreams.