Rob Parnell's Writing Academy Blog

Dear Fellow Writer, Probably about a year later than everyone else we watched The Social Network the other night. Enjoyed it. Beautifully shot with one of Jim Jannard's RED cameras I do covet. Clearly the sub text is the irony that a guy with no real friends would set up the biggest 'friend' site on the Net. I don't know how true the film is to reality but I'm willing to believe its basic premise - that nerds, and their obsessions, are now set to rule the world! What puzzles me about the Net is how free web sites with no real profit to show for themselves, like Facebook, can be valued so astronomically high. Five to seven billion - for a website? Give me a break. The 2000 dot com crash (remember that) proved that Net sites were routinely overvalued - and yet we seem to have learned nothing - and continue the myth that hits mean profits for free website owners. Ask any writer trying to get traffic to their book site and you'll di...

Dear Fellow Writer, Ideas are plentiful. Artists know this and exploit the fact. The real problem an artist, writer or musician faces is how to filter those ideas into a creative and original whole. It's the ideas that an artist rejects that defines his or her art, their vision. And it's your instinct that helps you make the decision whether to use or ignore an idea. YOUR instinct alone. Artists suffer critics like dogs suffer fleas. They're irritating but, like all parasites, they can't exist without the host. Don't let critics, or any kind of negativity, undermine your confidence and faith in your abilities. Your vision is unique, original and valid. Keep Writing. Rob@easywaytowrite.com Writers! Click here to get published free by Magellan Books. THIS WEEK'S ARTICLE: How to Show and Not Tell Rob Parnell Many writers get confused over the difference between showi...

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...

Isn't technology wonderful? Currently I'm penning this newsletter to you in my car. It's warm outside and Robyn's in a meeting - she'll be about an hour. Enough time for me to put together an article and then relax with my Tarot book and cards. I've been seriously studying the Tarot recently. I find some of the insights into the human condition fascinating - and good research into some of the finer points of motivation that helps bring good fictional characters alive. Onward... Keep Writing. Rob@easywaytowrite.com Writers! Click here to get published free by Magellan Books. THIS WEEK'S ARTICLE: Directing Your Writing Rob Parnell For anyone who doesn't feel they have enough control over their life, or enough motivation to write sometimes, I recommend directing - either plays or videos, even short movies. The discipline required to direct a visual project is not only ...

Dear Fellow Writer, I hope this missive finds you well and happy - and that your writing is all that you want it to be. I've been casting my latest play this week. Twenty five actors, singers and dancers. It's funny because it's the dance part I'm most excited about at the moment - the idea of transferring my writing into movement seems like a fabulous, previously unexplored, opportunity. I'll keep you posted on how the play goes - it's due for curtains up in July. Keep Writing. Rob@easywaytowrite.com Writers! Click here to get published free by Magellan Books. THIS WEEK'S ARTICLE: On Hay House Rob Parnell Hay House must be every self help writers ultimate publisher. Their author list reads like a hall of fame: Wayne Dyer, Esther and Jerry Hicks, Don Miguel Ruiz, Doreen Virtue and, of course, Louise Hay herself, whose Heal Your Life books, you could argue, singlehandedly paved the ...

 Creative people often get bitter about what's not happening. The trick is to know that you have always had total control of your destiny. You make things happen, you decide, you control. When things don't work out it's because either we don't have as much control as we thought we had - or we perhaps we really haven't really tried to exert it as much as we could have. And it's wondering why we didn't try harder that we need to deal with, rather than blame the universe - or others - for not responding as we wished. Do you believe you're entitled to success? Nothing happens without good reason. Some people get rich and famous. Some people don't. Some people live lives of quiet desperation, or an existence of silent rage. Some people have a lot to give. Some people can't let go of what they have. Some people's light shines so bright they can't hide it. Some people live in a place so dark that their light can't esc...

Dear Fellow Writer, Still here - just three more performances of Are You Being Served? to go and then I'm looking forward to a rest - at least a whole day to ourselves - before the inevitable onslaught of new projects and TTD (Things To Do!) Weeks like this I find myself singing the old Bon Jovi song, Sleep When I'm Dead... Oh, by the way - quick reminder - my one day sale of Easy Cash Writing ends at midnight tonight: (Click on the image!) Keep Writing. Rob@easywaytowrite.com Writers! Click here to get published free by Magellan Books. THIS WEEK'S ARTICLE: The Cosmic Ordering Service Rob Parnell "Take it easy, have fun, and everything else will follow." That's the advice of Barbel Mohr in her new book, The Cosmic Ordering Service , which I couldn't help picking up to read recently. It's actually barely a book at 100 pages - and is more a collection of notes ab...