Author Archives: jerrydunne

About jerrydunne

Writer

The struggle to finish that first novel

Posted on February 3, 2015

Copyright © 2015 Jerry Dunne I get a fair few e-mails from people telling me they’re about to give up on trying to finish their first novel (or have already given up) and can I offer them any advice on … Continue reading →

Posted in Miscellaneous, Writing fiction | Tagged | Leave a comment

Pace the story

Posted on October 31, 2014

Copyright © 2014 Jerry Dunne Narrative pace concerns how fast or slow the plot movement feels to the reader as they make their way through the story. Good pace enables the narrative to offer a feeling of smooth and constant … Continue reading →

Posted in Thoughts on children's fiction, Writing fiction, Writing short stories, Writing short stories for the middle child reader | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Well-structured dialogue

Posted on August 31, 2014

Copyright © 2014 Jerry Dunne Dialogue is a powerful tool in the development of character, conflict, humour, drama, tension, suspense and pace. But dialogue must be handled skilfully in order to accomplish any of its objectives. Without a proper understanding … Continue reading →

Posted in Writing fiction, Writing short stories, Writing short stories for the middle child reader | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

The plan: a bird’s eye view

Posted on July 26, 2014

Copyright © 2014 Jerry Dunne Before reading this post it is a good idea to read, The 3 act plot structure for the short story, if you do not understand the 3 act plot structure. This plot structure works as … Continue reading →

Posted in Writing fiction, Writing short stories, Writing short stories for the middle child reader | Tagged , | Leave a comment

From stereotype to complex character with speed and ease

Posted on May 31, 2014

Copyright © 2014 Jerry Dunne Stereotypes are not real people, as real people are multi-dimensional. All the same, with only a few simple but poignant attributes, a stereotype offers an immediate, energetic and powerful impression. By using the stereotype as … Continue reading →

Posted in Writing fiction, Writing short stories | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Inspiration from inside an empty matchbox

Posted on April 30, 2014

Copyright © 2014 Jerry Dunne This post demonstrates how conflict fuels and develops a story. An understanding of our simple example will help the writer with both good story structure and the search for new ideas. It’s the ideas angle … Continue reading →

Posted in Writing fiction, Writing short stories, Writing short stories for the middle child reader | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

The short story’s storytelling elements

Posted on February 28, 2014

Copyright © 2014 Jerry Dunne Here we examine the short story’s storytelling elements and the restrictions placed on them in comparison to those of longer pieces of fiction. The main storytelling elements consist of character, point of view (POV), plot, … Continue reading →

Posted in Writing fiction, Writing short stories, Writing short stories for the middle child reader | Tagged | Leave a comment