Rob Parnell's Writing Academy Blog

You don't need me to tell you that self-publicity is a writer's secret weapon. Bear in mind that when you decide you want to be a published author, it's most likely going to take you anywhere between two to five years to see your books in print - that's the reality of the traditional publishing world. Even if you go the faster route - by self-publishing, then it's still a good idea to give yourself a two to three year period to really get to grips with your new career. So why not use that time to build a following?  Why wait until the last minute to start your promotional activities when the Internet is a perfect place to get people reading your writing, and getting to know and like you through a regular blog? It's not as if it costs anything - except your time - so you have no real excuse, do you? Where to Start Go immediately to Blogger.com and register a blog spot for yourself, either using your own name or some other phrase that ...

Believe it or not, 'how to write an essay' is one of the top search terms on the Internet. I guess because there's a lot of panic stricken students out there who need this information in a hurry! See the article below for guidance. Rob Parnell's Low Price Courses Super Success 101  - everything you need to know about productivity, achievement, getting rich, and securing the life of your dreams. $10  The Easy Way to Write Short Stories That Sell - the title says it all. $12 Become a Freelance Writer  - 59 easy ways to make money writing. $10 Secrets of a Freelance Writer - 96 ways to make more money writing. $10 Achieve Your Dream - how to get anything you want, almost instantly. $10 How to Write An Essay First of all, you should rest assured that compared to any other kind of writing, school essays are a breeze.  You don't need to be particularly bright or skilled to pull them off. You just need to be able to read the qu...

Time is the writer's enemy.  Finding it - and using it effectively - is the quest of all writers, whatever their level of expertise. Many people have said to me that writing a novel in 30 days is a great goal but that it assumes that you can write around 2000 to 3000 words a day.  Fine in theory.  But how long it takes to write that much varies with the individual. 3000 words may take some writers all day - and if that's the case then it can be impractical to write for eight hours, seven days a week until you've written a first draft. As you probably imagine, I, too, have lots of commitments to juggle in order to find time to write fiction - so how did I manage to write the first draft of a new novel in just under two months recently? I tried an experiment - one that I think might help you. Instead of writing flat out until the novel was finished, I knew I would have to allocate just a little time every day. Ten minutes here, half an hour ...

Before I get into the article, just wanted to update you on a couple of things. I was going to do a news letter last week on the road - I did some establishing shots but what with looking after the pets and the weather, I seem to run out of time.  Shame - because I keep meaning to film stuff in new locations, just to mix things up and bit and make them more interesting to watch... Anyway, lots of new stuff coming up: just finishing off a video course on productivity called Super Success 101 .  Look me up on Udemy and Vimeo for my latest video courses. Plus a new novel - All the Right Reasons  - coming to Amazon soon! And: an album of my best songs: Never 2 Late  - which I'll be releasing later this year - with much to do and fanfare!  Look out for news about that too. Okay, here's the article! Writing a Blockbuster - The Formula My subscribers often ask if I know of any successful writers that 'showed' how they took their first drafts a...

How are things? Good I hope! We're travelling today - moving up state and having some personal time. Feeling bad about leaving behind my novel -  All The Right Reasons  - that needs fixing!  Also, I'm half way through making a video course called  Super Success 101  - a masterclass on productivity, goal setting, and so forth. Had to put a hold on that too. Ah well. I suppose we can't work all of the time! In today's article - which is just text (I have my camera with me but finding time to film is tricky so far!) we look at writing as a past-time and ask, " Are we nuts?"   If you'd like some free books on writing from star Amazon author, Katie Weiland, go  HERE : or here:  http://digitalfreedom.ontraport.com/t?orid=4768&opid=1 Plus, some crucial info on how to make more money when self publishing  HERE Keep Writing! Rob Parnell Your Success Is My Concern The Easy Way To W...

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...