Plotting Your Book: Conflict – The Heart of Every Story
A good plot is about at least one character under adversity. Conflict typically arises from the characters’ perceptions, needs and wants. As each character has an urgent personal agenda, your plot really is a synthesis of its individual characters’ efforts to achieve their agendas. READ MORE
Writing Tips: Get Better at the Craft of Writing
You’ve written a short story or a novel. You keep receiving rejection slips from editors and publishing houses … and now you’re not sure it’s good enough to self-publish. You know the story needs a rewrite, yet you don’t know how to improve it … besides, work or school is hectic, the house needs to be cleaned, and the kids demand your attention, so who has time? … But we bet you can find just 7 minutes a day to achieve your dream of getting that story published. If you can, 7 Minutes a Day to Mastering the Craft of Writing is the book for you. This practical, how-to guide will take you step-by-step through improving your story and fiction writing skills – with just 7 minutes of work required a day. You’ll complete short, skillful exercises that allow you to rewrite your novel or short story as you read this book, all the while getting the encouragement and motivation needed to keep you going. SEE BOOK.
Writing Tip: Avoid Answering-the-Phone Cliché in Your Story
One common way writers slow stories is with the answering-the-phone cliché. This cliché consists of detailing in your story all the trivial steps and dialogue that goes into answering a phone call. READ MORE
Self-Publishing Tip: Sketch Your Paperback Cover Before Building It
When creating your book’s cover, always first sketch what it will look like. This is your cover’s blueprint. When following a sketch as you gather the materials needed to bring your design to fruition, you’ll save yourself time by not having to redo work if you’re just pantsing it. READ MORE
This Week’s Podcast: Avoid Card Tricks in the Dark when Writing
No one likes a show off. Unfortunately, one way novice writers slow their story is by saying “Look see what I can do!” When they use such authorial cleverness for no purpose other than to show off, they’re guilty of using “card tricks in the dark,” a term coined by American science fiction writer Lewis Shiner. LISTEN TO PODCAST
Book Marketing Tip: Where to Find Reviewers for Your Book
When other readers and writers give good reviews of your book, it will translate into additional sales. Perhaps even more importantly, it increases your name recognition, raising anticipation for and sales of your next title. The challenge then is to find reviewers. READ MORE
Client Spotlight: “I’m an E.L.F.” by Rava Watkins
A recent editing client of mine has published her literary fiction novel. In Rava Watkins’ I’m an E.L.F, Chelsea Davis and Seth Calloway are brought together by a tragic accident that sets the stage for their intertwined lives. The story delves into their emotions and highlights themes of love, forgiveness, personal growth, purpose, using gifts to inspire others, and the enduring power of love as they embark on a transformative journey of healing and self-discovery. I’m an E.L.F. is a captivating story that explores the complexities of human emotions and the resilience of the human spirit. CHECK IT OUT
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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 Jan. 21, 2025. 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 400 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.
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