Scour Fragments from Your Writing – Inventing Reality’s Newsletter for April 28, 2026

Craft of Writing: Scour Fragments from Your Writing
Fragments should be used rarely. While they can be used for rhetorical effect, for that to be successful, the fragment needs to stand out from the rest of the text – and it won’t if your manuscript is full of incomplete sentences. READ MORE

Writing Advice: Mastering Point of View
For beginning writers, point of view often is the most difficult element to master. Without really understanding the role point of view plays in storytelling, aspiring authors frequently select the wrong one. Sometimes they prefer to write or read a specific point of view, so they just go with that, even though it’s not the best choice for their story. My book Mastering Point of View addresses those and many other issues writers face with this element of fiction. It examines the three main points of view – first, third and second – and the different forms each one can take. It looks at when using a specific point of view is to a story’s benefit and when it’s to the story’s detriment. It also discusses how to select your viewpoint character and why a consistent point of view is vital. SEE BOOK

Writing Tip: Strengthen Story with Man vs. Himself Conflict
Perhaps the most profound conflict a character can face is coming into conflict with himself. Conflicts in which the protagonist faces off against other individuals or society often result in characters that represent ideals and concepts. But the character that first must deal with his own foibles to overcome a villain or oppressive values has learned something. He has grown as a character and become a better human being. Ideally, your readers will grow with this character, making his triumph more lasting in the readers’ minds. READ MORE

Self-Publishing Tip: Create a Document to Build Your Ebook Cover
Just as construction workers follow blueprints, so should you when creating your ebook cover. Begin by establishing the cover’s size. READ MORE

This Week’s Podcast: How to Avoid Copyright Infringement
Though you’ve finished writing your book, it still might not be ready for self-publication, if only for legal reason, specifically copyright infringement. LISTEN TO PODCAST

Book Marketing Tip: How to Improve Quality, Sales of Your Next Book
There’s no doubt that marketing and the quality of a book’s content go hand-in-hand where book sales are concerned. Yes, marketing can turn a bad book into a success and clearly a lack of marketing can mean a great book goes unnoticed. But at least in the case of the former, even a bad book eventually will suffer as customer reviews pile up against it. READ MORE

Client Spotlight: “The Glorification of Sarah Furano” by Sammy Juliano
A long-time editing client, Sammy Juliano, has published his latest novel, The Glorification of Sarah Furano. In this fourth novel of his critically-praised northern New Jersey series, a vow made in a 1901 Jersey City tenement echoes through five generations to reach Sarah Furano’s son: Never be weak again. 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 May 5, 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.