Rob Parnell's Writing Academy Blog

I borrowed a book from the library once, written by Ray Bradbury, called "Zen in the Art of Writing". It was so packed with great writing advice I could barely believe it. Writers often wonder about inspiration - and how to get good ideas for stories. And often, when writers start out, they wonder what kind of writer they're going to be - and what kind of stories they will write, and in which genre. Mr. Bradbury had some advice on both of these issues.  In the pages of this book, he explained what helped him. He said he wrote at least a thousand words every day of his life since he was twelve.  Great.  We like to hear that all the best writers have this simple habit ingrained. He'd been reading a lot of science fiction since he was a kid he said and naturally thought he was destined to be an SF writer. Trouble was, in his early twenties, he wasn't having much success with his SF stories.  Editors complained that his work was derivative and not very ori...

Write Now EIGHTEEN from Rob Parnell on Vimeo . Rob Parnell's Easy Way to Write           Rob's Video Courses          Rob's Books on Amazon Sometimes I rework stories. I wrote one while I was in the UK and later rewrote it to set the story in Adelaide - where I now live. I thought it might be a fun thing to do. What struck me when I read the original through was how clever it was. Don't take that the wrong way. I'm not bragging or anything. I don't mean that it's a superb piece of writing - and I'm just brilliant! But just that I'd forgotten how cleverly I'd introduced the characters. Being a murder mystery, it was important to set up hooks and false clues at the beginning of the story, so that the reader wouldn't quite know what was going on. I introduced one character, Patrick, a musician, as he's injecting himself. You're supposed to think he's a drug addict. It's only later you realize he...

The Easy Way to Write Short Stories That Sell:  The Movie from Rob Parnell on Vimeo . The Easy Way to Write Short Stories That Sell: The MOVIE  will enable you to plan, write, submit, and sell your own commercial short stories, whether you want to get published by magazines, e-zines and/or in anthologies, or whether you prefer to go it alone - and start making money soon from your self-penned stories on Amazon Kindle. The course focuses on attaining a professional author's mindset quickly, so that you can immediately begin to get inspired and become proficient enough to write commercial short stories for the marketplace. There's one hour and fifty minutes  dedicated to inspiration, genre conventions, instruction on characterization, plotting, structure, and fast writing. "Master the Art of Short Story Writing with The World's Foremost Writing Guru" * Harness your imagination quickly * Acquire the writing habit easily * Discover how to make yo...

Write Now SEVENTEEN from Rob Parnell on Vimeo . Rob Parnell's Website       Rob Parnell's Books      Rob Parnell's Courses   There's a profound difference between a preacher and a commentator, a politician and a journalist, a spin doctor and a critic.  And what is that? One word.  Agenda. The main reason why we don't always trust preachers, politicians and spin doctors is not that they lie - though clearly they sometimes do - it's just that they generally only give us one side of the truth.  The truth as they see it. In effect, their agenda dictates the message. A preacher will tell you only he has the facts - and you'd better listen to him or watch out... A politician may want you to believe his version of the state of the economy - so he will deliberately withhold contrary facts, distort any opposing argument and/or belittle his detractors - sound familiar? The modern spin doctor will point...

Write Now SIXTEEN - Location in Fiction from Rob Parnell on Vimeo . Rob Parnell's Website       Rob Parnell's Books      Rob Parnell's Courses   When it comes to writing fiction, there are numerous advantages to creating a make-believe setting - whether it be a house, a street, a town or even a whole country. Not only do you not need to worry about the little things like train and bus schedules, what time the sun sets, what kinds of flowers bloom where etc., you've also got free rein on all the buildings, the streets, the municipal systems, even the type of government. Thorough writers who set their fiction in the real world can spend a lot of time checking police procedures, technology and how real places look, feel and operate. When you make everything up - you save on all that research. Okay, you still need to use you mind to imagine everything but no-one can ever turn round to you and say you got something wrong - because it ju...

Write Now FIFTEEN - Why Does Fiction Matter? from Rob Parnell on Vimeo . Rob Parnell's Website      Rob Parnell's Books       Rob Parnell's Courses    There are some strange folks out there who say they don’t like fiction.  Or rather, they perhaps just don’t understand its purpose. Many people say they never read fiction because it’s not TRUE, so what’s the point? To any budding novelist this attitude is as heinous as it is incomprehensible.  Unfortunately it is also surprisingly common. My Dad, for one, thinks that reading novels is just too hard so he’s never bothered with them. When I asked him to read one of my books once he said, “Son, just tell me what happens.”  One of his favorite lines about books is, “If it’s any good, they’ll make a movie out of it.” How many times have you heard this? Often I’m sure - not least because it’s true! The implication here is obvious.  To non-readers...

Rob Parnell's Website      Rob Parnell's Books     Rob Parnell's Courses    Let's first decide what is good writing. Basically, anything that transports you as a reader is good.  In a sense, it doesn't matter if the writing has lots of faults.  Good writing is that which works for you - even though others might not agree.  It's a personal thing. Bad writing can work for your mother, your spouse or your best friends.  They will not see the faults - and sometimes, neither will you. But good writing is what moves many people - and for all the right reasons.  This is why best selling authors are by definition good writers, even though the purists might criticize their style. I've seen many arguments on writers' groups over the years about J K Rowling.  It's fairly widely acknowledged (among writers) that her writing style leaves a lot to be desired.  She breaks a lot of the rules of ...