How to Form Your Story’s Basic Structure – Inventing Reality’s Newsletter for Jan. 21, 2025

Plotting Your Book: How to Form Your Story’s Basic Structure
In every story, something happens. These events form the structure of your tale. Plot, then, is the drama and action through which characters come to life. READ MORE

Writing Tips: Overcome Writer’s Block and Self-Doubt
Suffering from writer’s block? Self-doubt about your talent? Has creative writing lost its joy? With Writing Affirmations: A Collection of Positive Messages to Inspire Writers, you can reclaim the pleasure of writing and pen the book you’ve always dreamed of. Respected and award-winning author Rob Bignell offers uplifting, meaningful phrases that can be read out loud or internalized weekly over the course of a year. Writing prompts and tips follow each affirmation, giving you the inspiration and motivation to keep writing. When you’ve completed this book, you’ll be able to say “I am a writer” with confidence! SEE BOOK.

Writing Tip: Don’t Leave Reader in Fog with Vague Descriptions
As a storyteller, you want to draw readers into your tale so that they vicariously live out the action. One way to achieve that is by providing evocative descriptions of the setting or action. Not providing that likely will leave readers in a fog, in which they cannot clearly visualize where the story occurs or what is happening. READ MORE

Self-Publishing Tip: Paperback Cover Consists of Three Major Parts
A book’s cover – perhaps wrongly – tells the reader a lot about the pages that follow. For many of them, a poor cover hints at unprofessional writing. So invest a little time working on the full cover, even though you’re a writer. To begin, you’ll need to know that a paperback cover consists of three parts – the front cover, the back cover, and the spine that goes between them. READ MORE

This Week’s Podcast: Crack a Joke – but Only for a Good Reason
Just as in real life when humor is used to ease tension in social situations or to bond with another person, so jokes and comedy serves a purpose in your story. Unfortunately, a lot of novice writers don’t quite know when to inject humor into their fictional tales. The result is they either miss opportunities to use an effective narrative tool or they misuse (and quite often overuse) it. LISTEN TO PODCAST

Book Marketing Tip: Preparing Your Book Reading, Presentation
If you’re a little anxious about speaking in front of a crowd for a book presentation, that’s understandable; public speaking is one of the biggest fears people have. But with a little preparation – and after you’ve made a few public appearances – you’ll soon find that it’s actually a lot of fun! READ MORE

Client Spotlight: “Life Transforming Generosity” by Wadid Daoud
Wadid Daoud, an editing client from a few months ago has released his first book, Life Transforming Generosity. Daoud starts with the simple maxim, “It is more blessed to give than to receive.” Though an old saying, for many people it sounds counterintuitive. So Daoud decided to put it to the test by being more generous. He soon discovered that generosity has little to do with oneself but everything to do with transforming the lives of those who you show it to. That in turn transforms who you are. This is the true story of that man’s journey into a life of generosity. Daoud manages a variety of businesses including welding, real estate, and investments. A graduate of Letourneau University in Texas, he now resides in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. 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 Jan. 28, 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.