Think of Plot as Set-up, Build-up, Pay-off – Inventing Reality’s Newsletter for Jan. 28, 2025

Plotting Your Book: Think of Plot as Set-up, Build-up, Pay-off
One way to think of a story’s plot is in three parts – the set-up, the build-up and the pay-off. What do those three parts involve? READ MORE

200+ Writing Prompts That Lead To Stories
You’re stuck on what to write so check out some writing prompts to spur your creativity. But they don’t help you out of your writing rut…sure, there are some neat ideas, but none of them actually lead to a story. That’s because writing prompts all too often miss a key element: conflict. Conflict is the heart of every story, and without it you’re just writing a journal entry. My book Storystarters presents more than 200 writing prompts centered on exciting and interesting conflicts for your protagonist to solve. The prompts are divided among more than 50 topics and pit your story’s hero against nature, another person, society, God and himself in various scenarios. Don’t settle for prompts that at best make interesting writing exercises for middle school students – instead opt for prompts that will get you writing something publishable! SEE BOOK

Writing Tip: Give Your Character a Distinctive Voice
Especially if the protagonist is narrating your story, that character’s voice must stand out. It must be distinct and intriguing. The reader should want to follow your protagonist not just to see how he solves the story’s problem but because the character, through his voice, is interesting. READ MORE

Self-Publishing Tip: How to Format Your Paperback’s Title Page
When formatting your paperback for self-publishing, you’ll start with the title page. What should go on it? READ MORE

This Week’s Podcast: Use conflicts addressing story’s central problem
As developing a story, your main character must face conflicts as attempting to resolve the central problem that set the story in motion. These conflicts, however, must always relate to that central problem. Such conflicts are called complications. LISTEN TO PODCAST

Book Marketing Tip: Entice Readers with Excerpt from Next Book
If you’ve already started writing the next book you plan to publish, the back of the one you’re about to release is a great place to promote it. You might do that by offering readers an excerpt of your next book. This is particularly popular among novelists. READ MORE

Client Spotlight: “The Threadbare Chronicles” by J.Y. Taylor
An editing client of mine from last fall has published his first book! J.Y. Taylor’s family story tells how his parents survived the Great Depression. Raised in rural Virginia, they were undereducated and not able to visualize a clear path forward, as they struggled to endure the hardships and adversity that lay ahead. Unbowed by these difficulties, they began a path forward, stumbling at times, but amazingly able to right the ship just in time to take the next laborious step ahead. 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 Feb. 4, 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.