Rob Parnell's Writing Academy Blog

Thanks to everyone who voted for me on the Critters 2011 poll. Much appreciated. I think we made it to Number One again! Woohoo, as Homer says - Simpson, not the famous Greek writer. This week I'm going to do the one thing that modern physicists apparently hate most - to try and equate quantum mechanics with self help. I say 'modern' because before Newton, scientists included lots of free thinking alchemists and philosophers who saw no conflict in mixing metaphysics with scientific practice and experimentation. Ironically, Newton himself wrote more about astrology, numerology and alchemy than he ever did about gravity. You'd think that scientists everywhere would learn from his example. Anyway, recently I've been reading a lot about the latest theories on quantum mechanics - you know, all that stuff that says that at the smallest point of existence, there seems to be nothing rational going on - nothing we can record 'properly' anyway. It seems nowadays quant...

How are things? Good I hope! I need a favor. I need you to vote for me on Critters . Last year the Easy Way to Write was voted Number One Writer's Information Source - and I'd really like us to get there again. Will you help? You just need to go here , scroll down till you find "Rob Parnell's Easy Way to Write" and vote. Pretty please - I'd really appreciate it! Thank in advance. Have you noticed that if you work in an office and have the temerity to criticize a system or a set of procedures, your boss will often counter with the suggestion that you write a report. I know. This used to happen to me a lot - when I worked nine to five. My own fault of course. I shouldn't have opened my mouth in the first place! Actually I used to like writing reports. One, they gave me an excuse to write. Two, I could analyze the system, the problem or the sets of procedures and then come up with improvements or solutions to offer to management. Reports are often the only wa...

Many people email me and ask if they need a college degree or a set of special qualifications to be a professional writer. The answer is a resounding NO! Writing is not like other ways of making a living, especially if you want to be freelance - that is, independent. Your education, while potentially a useful advantage, is not a prerequisite to success. In fact, I 've noticed that the more writing qualifications a person has - or aspires to get - the more difficult it seems for them to keep inspired enough to pursue a professional writing career. Which seems odd but not really... Writing is about creating, and loving the act of creation. Yes, it's about being a type of mini-god. It's about being continually inspired. And most times an inspired writer is a thousand times more compelling to read than any kind of formally educated writer. Have you ever noticed how dull a scientific or philosophical thesis can be? Have you thrown away a non-fiction book by a professor or a doct...

So - we made it to the end of the year.  I hope last year was all that you wanted - and needed - from your present life. We often think that the new year is a time to recycle all those old resolutions.  I think this can be a mistake.  Because we then send a message to our brains that goals and ambitions are to be confined to January - and forgotten when the year gets under way! The time to make resolutions is every day.  Just five minutes in the morning - say at nine o clock - spent making a short list of the things that are important to you - bearing in mind the long term, as well as the short, will pay huge dividends when it comes to reviewing your progress towards your dream life. Year's end is really only a time to ask: Am I living my dream life?  And if not, what can I do to make that happen by the end of next year? Usually any kind of success these days implies self promotion... Writers are often expected to self-promote, either thr...

It seems the longer time goes on, the more traditional publishers are shutting their doors to new authors.  Writers I speak to are getting their manuscripts back sooner and more frequently with those customary rejections these days, even if they've had publishing deals in the past. Anyhoo, where I live, South Australia has more than its fair share of successful writers - Sean Williams, who writes Star Wars novels, for one.  DM Cornish, whose Monster Blood Tattoo trilogy has a Hollywood option.  My wife, Robyn Opie, is the author of 85 internationally published books.  Janeen Brian is the proud author of 75 picture books, the list goes on. Wannabe professional writers should find this encouraging. Of course a lot more writers find success online these days, being independent and carving a niche as an authorpreneur. My subscribers often complain about how long it takes to gain some traction as an independent author. But don't forget it's never be...

  Many writers swear by critique groups. They rely on them for good solid feedback from a wide variety of other writers - because it's helpful, confidential and, best of all, it's free. But many new writers join critique groups for the wrong reason. Actually, it's not so much wrong - and it's common enough - but it does hamper what you might get out of judgment by your peers. Namely, newbie writers usually only want one thing, and that is: validation. It can come as a great shock to new writers to venture out into the world - to finally summon up the courage to show their work to other writers - only to discover that they are not universally and immediately acknowledged as a genius. I have seen this phenomenon over and again. New writers come down to our own crit groups and read their material. You can tell they most times only want one response - to be told that their work is brilliant! Any other gentle criticism from group members can result in a ...

I hope you're well and happy and that your writing is going well. Most of you will know by now that I send out a free newsletter every week - usually on Fridays. But I'm not sure everyone will know why. Fact is, I have a dream... I've always known I wanted to write. I actually started writing before I could read properly. I've kept a diary of my private - and not so private - thoughts since I was around five years old. I don't know why, but it always seemed logical and somehow important to record my insights in written form. I guess that's how most writers start out. Later, I wrote plays, short stories, movie scripts, even novels as projects that had to be fit around the rest of my life, working to pay the rent in whichever place I found myself. Mostly London, UK, as it turned out - where I submitted manuscripts and played music to earn a crust for almost two decades. Over that time, I read as many books about writing as I could find. I took cours...