Rob Parnell's Writing Academy Blog

It's always bothered me that if you're seen as a struggling artist, you have no credibility to the world around you.  Friends, family and the state in particular regards you as some kind of pariah. If you leave school and don't immediately get a job you're seen as a waster - what we call a bludger down here in the US of Oz. Okay so there are lots of people who don't want to work these days.  Plus we have a welfare system in most countries that allows us to live without working, at least for a while, just. And while I don't condone sponging off the state, I do support those who want to create books, film and music for no initial reward in the hope of hitting the big time. After all, not wanting to waste 40 to 60 hours a week to make a living is to me a sign of complete rationality.  I'm just surprised there aren't more people out there who don't rage against a system that requires them to work in jobs the...

It's easy to feel negative. The media is always telling us we're on the brink of economic collapse - that it's only a matter of days before the biggest slump since the 1930s Depression takes away the value of our property, our savings and our livelihoods. Many would-be writers are tightening their belts, ignoring the call to write in favor of the day job. They're giving up their dreams in droves, convinced that it's all too hard... Uh, did I miss something? Doesn't anyone remember basic economics from school? I thought it was well known that economic activity goes in seven year cycles - apparently something to do with the sun - and that boom and bust years are natural and inevitable. Smart stock market people know there's never a bad time for investors - there's just alternate opportunities. While some stocks slide, others climb. When the market is overpriced, it adjusts itself by devaluing. When stocks and interest rates are high, people ...