Course Description


Topic: WRITING SHORT STORIES

Level: Beginner

Duration: 4 hours approx

Delivery: Text, PDF

RPWA Certificate: Yes


Now on Rob Parnell's Writing Academy, The Easy Way to Write Short Stories That Sell will enable you to plan, write, submit, and sell your own commercial short stories, whether you want to get published by magazines, e-zines and/or in anthologies, or whether you prefer to go it alone - and start making money soon from your self-penned stories on Amazon Kindle.

The course focuses on attaining a professional author's mindset quickly, so that you can immediately begin to get inspired and become proficient enough to write commercial short stories for the marketplace.

Included are over FIFTY personal VIDEO lectures on inspiration, genre conventions, instruction of characterization, plotting, structure, and fast writing, plus many text-based mini-courses that explore creative writing in more depth. Also included is an up to date listing of available (paying!) short story markets.

"Master the Art of Short Story Writing with The World's Foremost Writing Guru"

* Harness your imagination quickly

* Acquire the writing habit easily

* Discover how to make your stories more commercial

* Learn the habits of professional writers in just a few hours

* Begin a new career as an author

* Finally understand the needs of mainstream publishers and editors

Discover the reality of a writer's life, taught to you by the author of over thirty bestsellers.

This course will take you on a thrilling journey, from acquiring the working writer's mindset to thinking of compelling ideas; from learning how to structure stories for maximum effect to correctly formatting and submitting your stories to editors and publishers.

At the end of this course you can expect to be able to write commercial short stories easily and perhaps begin a whole new career as a freelance, paid author.

Rob Parnell has been teaching writing for almost two decades. That experience has been synthesized into this unique course, then specifically designed and structured to help the beginner move from wannabe writer to professional wordsmith.

Starting with an introduction to the writer's mindset, the course first focuses on mental preparation, ideal time management, goal-setting, and the importance of strong self-belief. There are pre-designed templates to aid in your understanding of these issues.

In part two of the course, we look at inspiration and getting ideas, finding subject matter for your stories, as well as providing a clear guide to the fiction genres: romance, thrillers, horror, fantasy, and science fiction.

In the third section, Rob Parnell reveals the tips and tactics of professional writers with crucial guidance on the creation of protagonists, building empathy, character motivation and agenda, dialogue, story setting, style, tone, description, point-of-view, plotting and much more. You will also discover the 7-Step Story Generator - a tool that allows you to develop and test any fiction idea. Plus, learn the ideal 5-Point Story Structure as well as how to easily create templates on which to hang commercial short stories.

Along the way, there are text-based courses on character creation, plotting, and a special presentation of The Art of Story, a downloadable resource that fully explains the more technical aspects of ideal story structure. Rob also hosts a section on writing software, presenting the solution to any writer's needs.

In part four, we explore the actual writing: how to write fluidly, without blocks, for maximum impact. How to create arresting opening paragraphs and compelling text. And, how to edit professionally for submission and publication.

In part five, discover how to find and approach paying short story markets. A full market listing is available with the course. For those who want to self-publish, and start making money immediately, Rob presents crucial advice on formatting and publication through Amazon Kindle.

This course is fully mentored - Rob is available on-line throughout your course journey to answer queries, offer guidance, and give support. Your very own writing guru is just a click away (via the Academy Console.)

At the end of this course, you will possess a clear understanding of the short story marketplace and will therefore be ideally placed to compete in this exciting and fast-growing new career opportunity. At the very least, you'll be able to write fabulous short stories that people will love and admire!

Your Personal Instructor Rob Parnell

Rob Parnell has been teaching online since 2002, helping writers turn their passion into profit. As the proud founder of The Writing Academy, an online school dedicated to student success and authorial excellence, Rob has guided countless aspiring writers toward their dreams. With over thirty #1 best-selling books covering genre fiction, freelance writing, motivation, productivity, wealth-building, and even health and fitness, Rob knows what it takes to thrive as a creative professional. Whether it’s writing, composing music, or creating film projects, he speaks from experience—helping students navigate the path to success with his down-to-earth style and personal touch. Many say it feels like Rob knows them like a friend! A lifelong writer since the age of five, Rob writes every single day—without fail. His passion lies in thrillers, often with a supernatural edge, spanning short stories, novels, screenplays, and adult detective fiction. His works include the acclaimed Purge detective series and the Sherlock Holmes: Zombie Slayer books. Other novels include Heresy, Immortal Flame, Kindred and Willow. Beyond writing, Rob is also a musician, composer, singer, media producer, and budding filmmaker. He is ecstatically happy to be married to Robyn Opie Parnell, his soulmate and a best-selling children's author. Together, they live in a beautiful country farmhouse nestled within the stunning Flinders Ranges, surrounded by miles of untouched beauty—and their beloved pets: Wally the dog and their cats, Jessie and Iggy (so named because he’s “The Wild One”).

Course curriculum

    1. Written Introduction

    2. Introduction to Short Story Writing

    3. Who Am I to Run This Course?

    4. It's All About Mindset

    5. What Tools Do You Need To Succeed?

    6. Mental Preparation

    7. MENTAL PREPARATION TEMPLATE

    8. Quick Writing Exercise

    9. Time Management

    10. Self Belief

    11. SELF-BELIEF TEMPLATE

    12. Goal Setting

    13. GOAL SETTING TEMPLATE

    14. Subject Matter

    15. SUBJECT MATTER TEMPLATE

    16. Genre

    17. Scope

    18. Getting Ideas

    19. The 7-Step Story Generator

    20. Characters & Character Creation

    21. Creating Protagonists

    22. Character Motivation & Interactions

    23. Story & Setting

    24. The 5-Point Story Structure

    25. SHORT STORY TEMPLATE

    26. Style & Tone

    27. Point of View & Tense

    28. Plotting & The Twist

    29. Building a Short Story Template

    30. Story Length

    31. All Hail Scrivener!

    32. The Opening Paragraph

    33. Fast Writing

    34. The Second Draft

    35. Polishing

    36. It's All About Presentation

    37. Dealing With Rejection

    38. Rights and Payment

    39. Kindle Publishing

    40. Conclusion

    41. Short Story Market Listing

    42. Fiction and Writing Resources by Rob Parnell

    1. SCRIPT for 5 Point Plot Plan

    2. SCRIPT for 7 Step Story Generator

    3. SCRIPT for All Hail Scrivener

    4. SCRIPT for Building a Short Story Template

    5. SCRIPT for Character Creation

    6. SCRIPT for Conclusion

    7. SCRIPT for Creating Instantly Compelling Characters

    8. SCRIPT for Fast Writing

    9. SCRIPT for Formatting

    10. SCRIPT for Genre

    11. SCRIPT for Getting Ideas for Short Stories

    12. SCRIPT for Goal Setting

    13. SCRIPT for Lecture 5 - Mental Preparation

    14. SCRIPT for Lecture 6 - Time Management

    15. SCRIPT for Lecture 7 - Self Belief

    16. SCRIPT for Lecture 8 - Goal Setting

    17. SCRIPT for Lecture Four - Tools

    18. SCRIPT for Lecture Three - Mindset

    19. SCRIPT for Mental Preparation

    20. SCRIPT for Mindset

    21. SCRIPT for Plotting and Your Twist

    22. SCRIPT for Point Of View and Tense

    23. SCRIPT for Scope

    24. SCRIPT for Self Belief

    25. SCRIPT for selfpublishing

    26. SCRIPT for Story Creation

    27. SCRIPT for Subject Matter

    28. SCRIPT for The Opening Paragraph

    29. SCRIPT for The Second Draft

    30. SCRIPT for Time Management

    31. SCRIPT for Tools

    32. SCRIPT to Presentation

    33. SCRIPT to Story Length

    34. SCRIPT to Style and Tone

    1. Editing for Success

    2. The Hero's Journey in Fiction

    3. The Art of Story Powerpoint - in pdf

    4. The Art of Story Complete

    5. The Elements of Style

About this course

  • $313.00
  • 81 lessons
  • 2 hours of video content

Reviews

5 star rating

Excellent!

Joe Santiago

Rob, This is a wonderful course! I received so much out of this course I began applying your recommendation and exercises immediately. I’m well on my way to...

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Rob, This is a wonderful course! I received so much out of this course I began applying your recommendation and exercises immediately. I’m well on my way to writing one short story every week. Thank you!

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5 star rating

I thought the title described the course to a T.

Alex Grose

Great content, covering all aspects of short story writing.

Great content, covering all aspects of short story writing.

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5 star rating

The Easy Way to to Write Short Stories That Sell - The Cl...

Vimala Nambiar

Excellent course. Enjoyed it very much.

Excellent course. Enjoyed it very much.

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5 star rating

The Easy way to write short stories

Ineke Kruger

This is a lot of information to consider when writing a short story. I think it was worth it. I learned new things and refreshed the parts that I know about ...

Read More

This is a lot of information to consider when writing a short story. I think it was worth it. I learned new things and refreshed the parts that I know about already. It is worth the time and money to clear the way to writing good short stories.

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5 star rating

The classic course, easy to follow.

Sean Kavanagh

This is a great course if you want to start writing with the short story. Excellent !!!

This is a great course if you want to start writing with the short story. Excellent !!!

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5 star rating

Let's call it clarity

Bill Bowling

Good going. Cleared a few things up for me. Thanks, buddy.

Good going. Cleared a few things up for me. Thanks, buddy.

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5 star rating

Five Stars

Leona Niccum

5 star rating

The Easy Way to Write Short Stories That Sell

Janice Kaat

Well put together. I liked the way Rob used various ways to teach the course. The videos were clear, The PDFs were great for me to retain the details, The Po...

Read More

Well put together. I liked the way Rob used various ways to teach the course. The videos were clear, The PDFs were great for me to retain the details, The PowerPoint was a new way of looking at it. I'm glad that we were given templates for the exercises. I'm going to go for it. Thanks Rob.

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