Rob Parnell's Writing Academy Blog

As part of the roll out of my new Writing Academy, I want to give you access to a FREE fiction writing course. It's HERE.  And it's FREEEEEEEEE! If the above link isn't working use the one below - click or copy n paste: http://rob_parnell_writing_academy.thinkific.com/courses/free-easy-writing-advice Enjoy! Rob@easywaytowrite.com Your Success is my Concern Rob Parnell's Writing Academy What to Look For In a Writing Mentor First of all, you have to decide what you need. Look at your writing critically, decide where you are deficient, define the areas where you need to sharpen your skills, and outline the specific writing goals you want to achieve. And by specific, I mean  very  specific. Is your problem grammar, characters or plotting? Sentence construction or style? Maybe it's motivation or just finding the time. A good mentor can help in all these areas - as long as they know what you need. When...

You've finally made your pile.  People respect and admire you.  You've got the cars, the house, the kids' education is taken care of, you're taking your holidays in all the best places and... what then? Most people don't think past the 'getting'.  They just assume their lives will be so fulfilled by being rich that it won't matter what they do with their time when they get there. Common sense should tell you that it's not going to be like that.  It's human nature to always want more.  So what's the answer? Well, here's a rough guide to living life AFTER success! 1. Move On Up You're gonna have to set bigger goals.  Achieving what you want is good yes but, guess what, only for about 3 seconds.  Life can only be fulfilling when you're in need of something - when you want something so much it pulls you out of bed every day. 2. Move On Out You've got to take bigger risks. ...

There's really only one duty a writer has - and that is to constantly strive to improve. Ask any seasoned writer and he or she will tell you that getting better at the craft is probably the most fulfilling aspect of writing.  Because you are effectively getting better at communicating your ideas - and placing your world view into the minds of others.  To me, this is an almost magical concept. So - constant improvement - how does one achieve it? Here are nine short tips: 1. Read Like it's Going Out of Fashion You've heard it a million times before. You can't love writing without first loving to read.  Read a lot.  Read everything.  Analyse writing and writers.  Study what works, and what does not, wonder why and learn from it all. Realise too that the published writing you see has probably been worked and reworked over and over to appear effortless.  Don't assume professional writers get it down perfe...

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...