Hint at Protagonist’s Intentions on Opening Page – Inventing Reality’s Newsletter for April 1, 2025

Plotting Your Book: Hint at Protagonist’s Intentions on Opening Page
The opening page of your story always should include your protagonist’s intentions, meaning the step he plans to take to deal with the story’s main problem. READ MORE

Writing Advice: Using a Writing Process When Writing Nonfiction
One of the biggest mistakes aspiring authors make is denying that they’re following a process when writing a book. These writers often say they write “from the seat of their pants.” Yet, every writer goes through five basic steps if they finish and publish their nonfiction book. Understanding those five basic steps can help authors identify why they’re having trouble writing. Maybe their book idea isn’t very good. Possibly they haven’t thought through it enough. Maybe they’re not revising it efficiently. My book Following a Writing Process for Nonfiction takes you through the five steps of the writing process. Among the many topics covered include brainstorming story ideas, outlining the book, drafting it, revising, and formatting. SEE BOOK

Writing Tip: Avoid Small Talk in Your Story’s Dialogue
There’s little room in a novel or a short story for small talk. Small talk doesn’t move the story forward, as it rarely ever shows a character attempting to achieve a goal. Because of that, small talk makes for mind-numbingly dull writing. READ MORE

Self-Publishing Tip: How to Design Your Book Cover’s Background
Sometimes when self-publishing, the artwork you’ve selected doesn’t fill the entire cover. In that case, the background of your document that you’re building the cover on will show. You’ll want to select a background that works well with your photo and allows readers to easily see your title and byline. READ MORE

This Week’s Podcast: Improve Writing’s Texture by Avoiding Repetition
One of the quickest ways to ruin a story’s texture is to repeat the same word between sentences and paragraphs. LISTEN TO PODCAST

Book Marketing Tip: Tips for Setting Up Your Book Presentation
Many book authors are happy to simply do what they enjoy most, which is write. You also have to promote your published books, though, and a time-honored way of doing so is by making public presentations, such as signings and readings at bookstores or other businesses that might carry your titles. READ MORE

Client Spotlight: “The Paradise” by Michael Sedloff
In a dingy Los Angeles neighborhood diner, two strangers over a month of breakfast conversations uncover deep, dark fears and failings. Their volatile exchanges bring them closer, push them apart, and in the end give one a fresh start in life and the other a legacy. The impressive dialogue in this book is among the best I edited during 2023. 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 April 8, 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.