Category Archives: Newsletter

Plotting Your Book: Consider Using Counterplotting in Your Novel One solid plotting strategy for a long novel – though it also will work in a novella or a long short story – is to split the main characters into two groups and alternate the focus of scenes or chapters between them. The two groups then reuniteContinue reading “Consider Using Counterplotting in Your Novel – Inventing Reality’s Newsletter for July 8, 2025”

Plotting Your Book: What is a Scene and a Vignette in Fiction?A major division of a story is a scene, in which a dramatic action occurs, usually involving the same characters at a single locale. Stories typically consist of several scenes, all of which correspond with the opening, rising action, climax, falling action and denouement. READContinue reading “What is a Scene and a Vignette in Fiction? – Inventing Reality’s Newsletter for July 1, 2025”

Plotting Your Book: Use Reversals to Increase Suspense in StoryAs your main character attempts to resolve the story’s central problem, he should suffer reversals. Reversals occur when the main character’s effort to solve the crisis actually worsens the situation so that the problem is more difficult to rectify. READ MORE Marketing Tips: How to Build YourContinue reading “Use Reversals to Increase Suspense in Story – Inventing Reality’s Newsletter for June 24, 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 toContinue reading “How to Build a Scene for Your Story – Inventing Reality’s Newsletter for June 17, 2025”

Plotting Your Book: Establish Characters’ Intentions in Every Scene Every time you start a story, you want to quickly establish a problem for the main character to solve and their intention of solving it. Maybe a hacked up dead body is found, and a detective intends to bring the murderer to justice. Possibly a divorced womanContinue reading “Establish Characters’ Intentions in Every Scene – Inventing Reality’s Newsletter for June 10, 2025”

Plotting Your Book: Allow Main Character to Experience Crisis of FaithA man vs. himself conflict often elevates a story’s suspense and depth. When a character must face a confrontation with himself, most readers can relate to him. Because of this, many writers introduce a crisis of faith into their story. READ MORE Self-Publishing Advice: How to Upload Your PaperbackContinue reading “Allow Main Character to Experience Crisis of Faith – Inventing Reality’s Newsletter for June 3, 2025”

Plotting Your Book: Utilize Both Internal and External Conflicts All stories center on conflict; arguably, the whole point of a story is to resolve some type of conflict. One way of thinking about conflict is to divide it into categories – internal and external. READ MORE Self-Publishing Advice: How to Design Your Paperback CoverMost potential readersContinue reading “Utilize Both Internal and External Conflicts – Inventing Reality’s Newsletter for May 27, 2025”

Plotting Your Book: Build Rising Action Scenes Around ConflictAnytime you’re writing a scene in the story’s rising action, you’ll want to treat it as a short story in and of itself. That means focusing on conflict. READ MORE How to Format Your Paperback: Easy to Understand, Practical TipsYour paperback needs to look good. Readers depend upon a clean,Continue reading “Build Rising Action Scenes Around Conflict – Inventing Reality’s Newsletter for May 20, 2025”

Plotting Your Book: Basic Guidelines for Your Story’s Rising ActionWhen developing the rising action section of your story, there a few simple guidelines to follow. Ensuring these guidelines aren’t violated will help keep the story moving forward and increase the dramatic tension. READ MORE Everything You Must Know to Self-Publish Your EbookYou’ve written a book andContinue reading “Basic Guidelines for Your Story’s Rising Action – Inventing Reality’s Newsletter for May 13, 2025”

Plotting Your Book: Establish Tone During Story’s Opening LinesEach story expresses an emotional climate or tone; creating tone involves a complex array of techniques such as diction, pacing and color. READ MORE Self-Publishing Tips: How to Upload Your EbookFor those new to self-publishing, uploading your ebook often is a complex and frustrating process. Unfamiliar termsContinue reading “Establish Tone During Story’s Opening Lines – Inventing Reality’s Newsletter for May 6, 2025”