The Amount of Writing I Have Done and My Skill as a Writer Grows Every Day. – Inventing Reality’s Newsletter for Sept. 10, 2024

Writing Motivation: The Amount of Writing I Have Done and My Skill as a Writer Grows Every Day
Push your inner critic out of the thoughts. Yes, writing is a lot of hard work and doesn’t always go as planned. But you have a vision, one of yourself as a published writer whose books are loved by readers and snatched up by eager fans. Keep a clear vision of what awaits you, and your motivation levels will rise. READ MORE

Writing Tips: How to Build Your Story’s Setting
All too often, writers give their story’s setting short shrift. Yet, setting – the place and time of your story – can create a vivid world that pulls in your reader. It can establish mood, tone and milieu. It can drive conflict in a story and help develop your character. It can highlight themes and even be a “character” in your story. My book Build Your Story’s Setting aims to help writers think of their story’s place and time in ways that elevate the tale to a new level. It begins by defining setting and its role in a story. From there, it moves on to the craftsmanship of describing a setting. Lastly, it looks at incorporating setting into your story’s plot and using it to reveal character while establishing theme. SEE BOOK

Writing Tip: Downgrade Your Minor Characters
Not all characters in your story are created equal. Some are of the utmost importance while some are fairly insignificant. Which ones should be those minor characters? READ MORE

Writing Course: Mastering Show Don’t Tell
Do you want to write more vibrant stories? My online course Mastering Show Don’t Tell teaches how to identify and fix all the places where telling – or exposition – rears up in your writing and dulls it: backstory; info dumps; backfill; vague descriptions; irrelevant character details; emotional states; motivational tells; narration; summarizing; poorly written dialogue; and more! Length of course: 15 lesson readings and quizzes, total of 2-3 hours. Homework is up to the student. CHECK IT OUT

Self-Publishing Tip: Should I Copyright My Manuscript?
You’ve just put the finishing touches on your book and are about to send it off to an editor, a literary agent, or maybe even a publishing house. Seemingly countless hours of thought and sweat went into your novel or nonfiction book, and it’s pretty good stuff, if you do say so yourself. But then a dreadful thought comes over you: “What if some slimeball tries to steal my work and pass it off as his own?” READ MORE

This Week’s Podcast: Three Alternatives for Your Story’s Climax
At the climax of a story, the main character typically overcomes the problem that she spent much of the tale attempting to resolve. For example, if the story was about a treasure hunter obtaining a priceless, ancient artifact, then she would do so in the story’s penultimate scene, also known as the climax. Following that achievement, the story essentially is over with only some loose ends to tie up. Of course, the main character doesn’t have to succeed. LISTEN TO PODCAST

Book Marketing Tip: Offer Valuable Content to Increase Sales
When promoting your self-published book, consider offering additional valuable content. This tried-and-true technique can drive readers to a service you provide or to other books you are selling. READ MORE

Client Spotlight: “The Marks of the Feather” by Imee C. Nudas
Earlier this year I had the privilege of editing multiple drafts of Imee C. Nudas’ fantasy long poem, The Marks of the Feather. Imee came up with a winner! Written in decasyllabic quatrain, the story of Maximus and Layna begins tragically when they are cursed by a dark spell. While their lives seem forever changed and their fate determined for the worst, nothing would prepare them for when their paths cross. Suddenly, they find themselves enthralled in a magical world bewitched by each other’s wondrous gifts and indelible mark. But will the mark be powerful enough to alter their fates and vanquish the dark spell they are under? CHECK IT OUT

$25 Off Your Next Edit!
For being a newsletter subscriber, please take $25 off your next edit with Inventing Reality Editing Service. When scheduling your edit, be sure to mention you’re a subscriber and give the email where you received this newsletter. Minimum order of $200. Offer expires Sept. 17, 2024. SCHEDULE EDIT

My name is Rob Bignell. I’m an affordable, professional editor who runs Inventing Reality Editing Service, which meets the manuscript needs of both aspiring and published writers and offers a variety of self-publishing services. During the past 15 years, I’ve helped more than 350 novelists and nonfiction authors obtain their publishing dreams at reasonable prices. I’m also the author of a novel, the Storytelling 101 Quick Read series, four children’s books, more than 25 bestselling hiking guidebooks, and even a book of poetry. Several of my short stories in the literary and science fiction genres also have been published.