Rob Parnell's Writing Academy Blog

Dear Fellow Writer, The secret to success is consistent action. Small steps taken every day toward your chosen goal will take you much further than short, random and generally unfocused spurts. Talent is really just the empirical manifestation of a craft practiced often and to your own satisfaction. The more you practice, the more talented you appear to outside observers. Take charge of your future by deciding on your desired outcome and work on it, in some way or other, every single day. In case you missed it, here's a free PDF for you to download - 10 Writing Tips - to help you improve your craft - and your talent. Keep Writing! Rob@easywaytowrite.com THIS WEEK'S ARTICLE: Once Upon a Time Rob Parnell Gustave Flaubert apparently took five years to write Madame Bovary - not a bad feat considering it's still regarded as one of the most 'perfect' novels ever written. Flaubert was famous for w...

Dear Fellow Writer, Another week, another week of wonders... Robyn and I are getting married tomorrow. Yay! Of course a lot of people think we're already married - we've been together forever already - and now we're making it permanent. We're also starting a new business venture too: RnR Books Film Music. More on that soon. Suffice to say both the marriage and the business are all part of the glittering prize - or 'the undiscovered country' as the incomparable William Shakespeare called the future. Here's a free PDF to download - 10 Writing Tips - for you to help us celebrate. Keep Writing! Rob@easywaytowrite.com THIS WEEK'S ARTICLE: The Undiscovered Country Rob Parnell I often wonder about how much of the future we can know. And whether knowing our futures would actually help us anyway. Probably not - after all, if you could see everything t...

Dear Fellow Writer, Good to speak to you again! Been recording a lot of music this week. Putting together a demo for a young pop star called (name deleted on request) we have in our midst. For a 14 year old he's an amazingly competent singer... and he's giving me a chance to relive my music biz career - this time as a producer. Difference is, the technology these days is amazing. Wish it had been around when I was a kid! Back then, I used two small SANYO tape recorders to simulate double tracking - and almost expired for joy when I was introduced to a monster TEAC reel to reel four track! Of course the down side is that nowadays, you have no excuses. The ability to do 'anything' - and fix all your mistakes with a computer - requires to you to be absolutely brilliant just to compete! Onward. The article this week is about staying on target with your writing - and a secret that is so simple, you'll just know it's true when you hear it! Keep Writing! Rob@eas...

Dear Fellow Writer, Greetings on this Labor Day weekend. Finally got my computer back. Not with all the data intact of course - that would be way too much to ask. But at least my favorite computer and its big fat screen is back and it works. At least that's something - a wonderful thing, really. I hope life - and your computer - is treating you well and that your urge to write is intact and filling those blanks pages with ideas! In today's article, we ask: why don't critics automatically see the positive? My Easy Writing System is still the best and most effective way to launch your own fiction writing career. Learn how to easily write the kind of fiction that publishers want. Go here now for details. Keep Writing! Rob@easywaytowrite.com THIS WEEK'S ARTICLE: On Criticism Rob Parnell Cynicism is rife. The urge to criticize and find fault is endemic. In many ways this can be a go...

Sad news this week. We had to put one of our dogs to sleep yesterday. And not the one that’s been sick these last 18 months. No, the other, younger one, the one we thought was fine, suddenly got too ill to fix. I didn’t want to let him go. I hadn’t finished loving him. Be happy on the other side, Buzz. I’ve decided Buzz will be a character in my latest graphic novel project. I hope he’ll appreciate the tribute. Today we look at ten easy ways to improve our writing. Ten Quick Tips for Writers Rob Parnell These top tips will help you maintain enthusiasm for your chosen craft and make sure you have the mindset to improve and succeed. Read All writers are readers first. Writing is how we give back the pleasure we’ve experienced. Good writers don’t read less as their career progresses, they read more, because seeing what everyone else is doing is an important part of staying informed – and relevant – not to mention being entertained and often inspired. Write Seems ...

Update: Apparently all of my business files – including the hundreds of manuscripts submitted to Magellan Books – are sitting in a storage facility somewhere unspecified while my computer hard drives are being fixed. But I did manage to get the computer I’m working on now up and running. It’s actually less than five years old but seems ancient – its fan makes as much noise as if it were powered by steam! But at least this laptop works (as long as I don’t unplug it) and I can answer emails again and put out today’s newsletter… Of course the hardest part about using a different computer is having to load all the software you’re used to using – and remembering all those darn passwords! Onward. This week’s article is: Inspiration – where does it come from? I gave a talk last Friday about inventing fiction stories. One of the exercises was to come up with new characters on the spot, with a view to creating a plot around them. What became clear was that most writers...

My laptop blew a fuse the other day so I’ve had to take a kind of enforced holiday this week. Apologies to the people who might have been expecting me to do things for them - like review their MSS, etc - this week. I should get the computer back soon – though Dr PC have warned me I may have lost everything on the hard drive. Again. Hmm. C’est la vie. I guess it’s what we used to call a clean slate... I’ve been drawing pictures and recording music in the mean time. You know me. I like to keep busy doing at least something... We’re giving a two hour talk on Character, Agenda and Plot this afternoon at the local U3A. Should be fun. Outlining Vs Story Telling MR James, the famous short story writer, used to be a teacher. During the long evenings before the invention of television, he would entertain his students with the ghost stories he planned to write. That is, until he realised one day that telling his stories was getting in the way of his wr...