Rob Parnell's Writing Academy Blog

While the best characters have elements of real people to make them believable, real people rarely make good fictional characters. They are often flat and full of minor contradictions that make them non-credible to a fiction reader. No, fictional characters need to be more than real. They are often essentially an amalgam of credible traits that are easily recognizable as human 'archetypes'. When constructing your stories, you should think not so much in terms of who your characters ARE but WHY they're in your story. You'll then be in a much better position to understand them and their purpose. Indeed, taking this notion on board will also help you describe them well and keep their actions and motivations in check. Because, as I've said many times, there is no story without characters - and when constructing story plots, characters come first. You should know your characters like your best friends - actually better than your best friends - BEFORE you use t...

There's really only one way to achieve success in writing and it's very simple to learn: to keep writing! I know this is my call sign - but I chose it for a reason.  It's based on my experience of watching thousands of writers over the years.  The truth of it is very basic. That is, the Universe favors those who do not give up. It's obvious really.  If you set out on a path and commit to it, many things in the world need to change for you to accomplish your goals. People around you need to think of you as a writer.  Publishers, agents and editors need to know that you are a writer.  They need to see you working and taking your craft seriously. You need to be building a catalog of work - articles, short stories, novels, non-fiction work, e-books, websites, blogs, anything that proves that you live your life through writing. The Universe needs to see you improving - and wanting to improve - so that it can then do its bit: creating unseen con...

There are so many dos and don'ts nowadays for writers to absorb that it's a wonder we don't all crack under the strain. How are we suppose to get inspired - and write from the heart - when at least 90% of what we might want to put down on paper is considered bad practice or dull, ineffectual writing? When starting a new story, for instance, and you find yourself describing the weather or including oodles of back story - or now apparently too much detail of any kind - what are we supposed to do? Stop and start again? Wait for a more inspired thought? Keep beating ourselves up until we're better writers? I would suggest none of the above. Because if you let all the constraints and possible criticisms get to you, you'll most likely end up blocked - and writing nothing. Show Don't Tell I had an email from an esteemed subscriber this week who asked me a question that seems pertinent to this issue. Here's the gist: "I've been read...

Rob Parnell In a few of my articles recently I have suggested that the path of the modern writer may not always lead down the traditional walkways of novel writing, journalism or indeed any of the more familiar routes a writer might want to take. There are new opportunities of all kinds. The Net, for one, with its need for constant content and marketing material. Offline too there are a myriad of writing jobs - many of which I explore in Easy Cash Writing. For the committed writer there are always new and varied avenues to pursue. In the spirit of which, we ventured into the world of TV yesterday, when we visited an executive from a certain funding body to pitch some ideas we'd had for TV shows. I won't mention our contact's name, not because it's a secret or because we're being coy, but because these people don't like it when you bandy their names around (especially not in a public forum like a blog). The last thing a TV exec wants is to be seen to be endorsing...

Rob Parnell The best part about getting away to foreign climes is the way it can help adjust our perspectives. When we see through different eyes, we grow - and this can only help our writing. Once in a while we all need to get away from the everyday routines we fill our time with. We need to experience new things, taste new foods and walk in new locations. The aspect of Singapore that struck me most was the sheer volume of people - and the fact that they all seem to be out shopping in the middle of the night! Robyn will tell you that I spent the evening after the Art of Story workshop rhapsodizing over the crowds - and admittedly, the potential market for any new business, including my own. There again, as a writer, I don't get out much. We spend our time locked away in our little house in Morphett Vale, flexing our mental muscles, rather than interacting with a lot of 'real' people. We work hard basically - but much of our lives happen in our imaginations! It was nice to ...

Rob Parnell Many people email me to ask about short story markets. Where are they? And where have they all gone? The market for magazine length (2000 to 5000 words) short stories has dwindled almost to vanishing point in the last fifty years. Nowadays, unless you're already famous, you can't get short stories published at all it seems. There's the New Yorker, a few SciFi monthlies - and the odd woman's magazine - where the competition is savagely fierce, and that's about it. Basically, the short story market has crashed. The advent of our high speed, high tech world has left the short story on the platform, waving at the departing train of progress. The short story has been replaced by newer markets like TV, movies, computer games and true life (ie reality) based magazine 'confessions.' All very sad. But is it? Instead of bemoaning the death of the short story, writers need to adjust their worldview and move with the times. Many writers are reluctant to atta...

Rob Parnell This is probably the least understood phrase for new writers – probably because it seems to go against logic. Writers tell stories right? No. Good writers show stories. To me there’s really only one thing you need to remember when it comes to showing your stories, and that is a quote from Graham Masterton. He said: “Don’t tell your story. Be there.” Basically, it doesn’t matter how good your writing is. If you’re telling the story you are distancing your reader from it. Here’s an example of telling: Jason knew he had to go to the Dentist. His teeth hurt so much that he told his mother about it. She suggested he call Dr Evans, a man who had looked after the family’s teeth for years. He made the call and arranged to be at Dr Evans surgery at three o clock. That would give him plenty of time to do a few errands – and be back in time for tea. This is completely passive because the information is being related from the omniscient, non-personal viewpoint. In order to ‘sh...