Turn Passive Passages into Active Writing – Inventing Reality’s Newsletter for May 5, 2026

Craft of Writing: Turn Passive Passages into Active Writing
So you’ve written a scene packed with action, ripe with conflict, and filled with tension – but every time you read it, the writing feels flat. The problem may be that you’re writing in passive rather than active voice. READ MORE

How to “Show Don’t Tell” 
Read any writing tip article or book, and one piece of advice you’re sure to see is “Show don’t tell.” For many new writers – and even established ones – showing rather than telling is downright confusing. Just what does an editor mean when she notes “Show don’t tell” on your manuscript? Mastering Show Don’t Tell looks at how to identify and fix all the places where telling – or exposition – rears up in your writing: backstory; info dumps; backfill; vague descriptions; irrelevant character details; emotional states; motivational tells; narration; summarizing; poorly written dialogue; and more! BUY BOOK

Writing Tip: Place Dialogue Attribution in Right Spots
During my years of editing, I’ve found that dialogue often gives beginning fiction writers trouble. In an effort to make clear who is speaking, the writer often ends up slowing the story’s pace and making for a clunky read. READ MORE

Self-Publishing Tip: Commonly Asked Questions
Here are the answers to a few questions about self-publishing that I often receive from clients and readers of this newsletter. READ MORE

This Week’s Podcast: Finding Writer’s Holy Grail: ‘A Place to Write’
One of the obstacles facing beginning writers is finding a place where they actually can write. Too often our responsibilities and modern civilization’s many distractions don’t allow for a moment – or place – of peace and quiet in our lives. Yet, just such a place where we can put our fingers to keyboard or pen to paper for a while is necessary if we are to write. LISTEN TO PODCAST

Book Marketing Tip: Potential Locations for Book Presentations
Once you’ve decided that a public presentation is a good way to promote your book, you’ll need to find some spots to hold your event. Identifying those locales can help you determine what kind of presentation (book signing, topical presentation, etc.) you’ll make and place you on the path for contacting the right people to set up such an event. READ MORE

Client Spotlight: “Common Sense Inventing” by Roger Brown
I edit nonfiction as well as fiction manuscripts, and one of the former that I recently handled was Roger Brown’s Common Sense Inventing. Written for inventors, the book delivers a practical, no nonsense approach to getting your product licensed and on the market that works. Roger Brown is a successful national award winning Serial Inventor with numerous products on the market. Most of them he invested less than $100 and in some cases as little as $10. Using only an NDA (non-disclosure agreement) and a sell sheet, he found success in the toy, tool, kitchen, eyewear and nuclear industries. This book is a practical guide that explains how you can do the same without going into debt. 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 12, 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.