Stop Weighing Down Passages with Adverbs – Inventing Reality’s Newsletter for March 31, 2026

Craft of Writing: Stop Weighing Down Passages with Adverbs
Adverbs are words that typically describe a verb (Though they also can describe adjectives and other adverbs, which can be a real symptom of a bloated passage.). READ MORE

How to Devise Your Story’s Plot
When writers come up with a great story idea but don’t know how to develop it, usually the problem is one of plotting. Understanding story structure – i.e. plot – would be extremely helpful in developing their story. My book Devise Your Story’s Plot is all about understanding the basic rules for constructing your story. It examines plot’s role in storytelling, the importance of conflict in plotting, and the five traditional elements of a plot. It also looks at some common plot pitfalls. The structural guidelines outlined in the book work for any genre, whether you’re writing a serious literary piece or penning in any of the escapist genres from romance or science fiction to mystery or fantasy. By the end of this book, with a little imagination tossed in, you should be able to construct an impressive plot. The book is available in paperback, audiobook and Kindle ebook. SEE BOOK

Writing Tip: Draw Readers into Story with Great Opening Lines
Among the most important words in your story are the ones that begin it. Those words should get the reader to ask, “What’s going on here?” so he keeps reading. In a short story, the author usually only has a couple of sentences to make this happen; in a novel, a couple of paragraphs typically is the limit. READ MORE

Self-Publishing Tip: First Sketch then Build Your Ebook Cover
Before designing your ebook cover, sketch what it will look like. This is the blueprint that you’ll follow. Creating a sketch to follow as you gather the materials needed to bring your design to fruition means you’ll save yourself time by not having to redo work if you’ve just pantsed it. READ MORE

This Week’s Podcast: Tips to Ensure a Successful Book Reading/Signing
As developing your story, maintaining a sense of tension is vital. Without dramatic tension – a feeling of uncertainty in the reader about how the main character will solve (or even if he will resolve) the central problem – the story will be flat and vanilla. Creating tension involves controlling the story’s pace. LISTEN TO PODCAST

Book Marketing Tip: Develop Marketing Plan to Increase Sales
Marketing your book can become a full-time job that yields few immediate results. This cuts into your limited writing time – and you still need to work, raise your family, and maybe even attend school. The best solution is to develop a marketing plan and then limit your work on it to a few minutes a day. READ MORE

Client Spotlight: “Blissfully Unremarkable” by Tom Sodergren
A recent editing client of mine, Tom Sodergren, has published his first book, “Blissfully Unremarkable: A Taste of the Mid-Century Heartland, from Hot Dish to Cold Oleo.” A memoir of sorts, it is humorous culinary and cultural romp through the mid-century heartland, a tale of how the lessons learned by Great Depression children became instincts that they carried over to parenting in the 1950s. A chapter from the book was runner-up last year in the Preservation Foundation’s annual nonfiction writing competition. 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 7, 2026. 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 425 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.