How to Build a Scene for Your Story – Inventing Reality’s Newsletter for June 17, 2025

Plotting Your Book: How to Build a Scene for Your Story
When penning a story, concentrating on its smallest chunk – the scene – marks a good approach. Rather than be overwhelmed by the complexity and multiple layers of the entire story, focusing on this basic dramatic unit makes writing more manageable. READ MORE

The Best Guide to Promoting Your Book!
My book 7 Minutes a Day to Promoting Your Book is a practical, how-to guide that takes you step-by-step through implementing a simple but effective marketing plan for your book – with just 7 minutes of work required a day. You’ll complete short, skillful exercises that allow you to publicize and sell your novel or nonfiction title as you read the book, all the while getting the encouragement and motivation needed to keep you going. SEE BOOK

Writing Tip: Establish Characters’ Intentions in Every Scene
Characters’ intentions drive your plot. When they are the focus of your writing, your story has action, tension and suspense because some characters will oppose and even temporarily thwart your story’s protagonist. The consequences of that action sets up the next scene. When those intentions aren’t the focus, the story drifts with irrelevant scenes, and character development suffers. READ MORE

Self-Publishing Tip: Self-Published Authors Usually Don’t Need EIN
Authors who self-publish generally don’t need an Employer Identification Number (EIN). Should you ghostwrite books or freelance, however, you probably will need one. READ MORE

This Week’s Podcast: How to Find Lit Agents, Publishers for Your Writing
Once you’ve written your novel or short story, the question arises of where to you send it. If following the traditional publishing route, the answer depends on what type of work you’ve written. LISTEN TO PODCAST

Book Marketing Tip: Build a Website to Promote Your New Book
When an editor or marketing expert tells you to get a website for promoting your book, you probably have one of two reactions: 1) “I can’t afford that” or 2) “I haven’t a clue how to do that; I wouldn’t know who to contact, and I can’t build one myself because I don’t understand anything about web page design or this html code I vaguely recall is needed to construct a website.” This editor is here to tell you that there’s no need to worry. For very little money, you easily can build a website with just limited knowledge of how they’re constructed or how they work. READ MORE

Client Spotlight: “Shooting at Shadows” by Forest McMullin
A recent editing client of mine, Forest McMullin, has published his second book, the thriller “Shooting at Shadows”! Ethan McGuire’s relentless pursuit of explosive stories has cost him his family, his integrity, and now–possibly–his life. While documenting the rise of white supremacist movements in Western New York, Ethan encounters a world of neo-Nazis, heavily armed survivalists, rogue FBI agents, and violent criminals, all with something to hide. But when a crew of ruthless bank robbers starts hunting him for photos he doesn’t even know he has, the stakes turn deadly. As his enemies close in and his family becomes a target, Ethan must expose the truth–before it buries him. READ MORE

$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 June 24, 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.