Rob Parnell's Writing Academy Blog

Dear Fellow Writer, Good to speak to you again! Been recording a lot of music this week. Putting together a demo for a young pop star called (name deleted on request) we have in our midst. For a 14 year old he's an amazingly competent singer... and he's giving me a chance to relive my music biz career - this time as a producer. Difference is, the technology these days is amazing. Wish it had been around when I was a kid! Back then, I used two small SANYO tape recorders to simulate double tracking - and almost expired for joy when I was introduced to a monster TEAC reel to reel four track! Of course the down side is that nowadays, you have no excuses. The ability to do 'anything' - and fix all your mistakes with a computer - requires to you to be absolutely brilliant just to compete! Onward. The article this week is about staying on target with your writing - and a secret that is so simple, you'll just know it's true when you hear it! Keep Writing! Rob@eas...

The way to feel good about yourself, your life and the work you do is to keep yourself in a positive frame of mind. Read uplifting books and articles - stay away from the bad news in the media - and surround yourself with affirmative influences. Too many people want to tell you the sky is falling in. These Henny Penny types waste your time and creative energy warning you of all the things that can and will go wrong. But just like the Henny Penny character, these people bring the worst scenarios upon themselves. Focusing your mind on the positive not only creates better results, it's easier and less stressful to produce successful outcomes. Your creative spirit is precious - and always right and good. Use it liberally and your life will begin to blossom into a magical adventure. Probably the single most important issue writers faces is the ability, even the inclination sometimes, to finish what they start. We all know how this works. We have a great...

One question I get asked all the time is, "How do I write when I'm not inspired or have nothing to say?" Many new writers feel good about what they do and can work on pieces of writing because they are inspired. But many times they are taken aback when the inspiration fades and they are left with the 'task' of simply finishing a story, an article, a book, or a novel. It can be quite alarming to feel like a writer, know your writing is good, but dread picking up where you left off on that manuscript! Rest assured, this is normal. It's not possible to be inspired, excited and even happy writing all of the time. Sometimes the work just has to be done. Here are a few tips on maintaining your enthusiasm for writing. Develop Multiple Projects Diversify your writing portfolio. Be open to new ideas and commit to 'having a go' at different types of writing. Sometimes, when the idea of finishing a large project is too daunting, a sense of achie...

The author John Braine once said, "A writer is someone who counts words." Do you? You should - because it's a sure fire way of getting around writer's block -and a good way of keeping yourself on track. Having specific word counts to aspire to, will keep you writing more - and for longer.  You'll have more to show for your efforts, more to submit, and consequently more work coming in.  Your writing success is directly correlated to your word count. Last night I was talking to a writer - well, someone who wanted to be a full time writer - and she told me she'd taken a year to get to her manuscript to where it was now.  I asked, casually of course, how many words she'd written so far. "Four thousand," she said.  Four thousand!   G'ah - that's less than eleven words a day - what's she doing, I thought, chiseling them in stone? By stunning contrast, Robyn held the whip to me yesterday (metaphorically speaking) and...

Probably the most consistent problem I'm asked to help with is sustaining 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 more 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. Faced with t his 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: "Want to be ric...

Here's the 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! Robyn and I have discussed this aspect of the...