Category Archives: Writing short stories for the middle child reader

A few thoughts on the inspiration behind character development

Posted on March 31, 2015 by

Copyright © 2015 Jerry Dunne Character does not arise in some pure form out of the writer’s imagination. The creative mind is influenced by a myriad of sources that gather in quantity and quality over a whole lifetime and arrives … Continue reading →

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Pace the story

Posted on October 31, 2014 by

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 →

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Well-structured dialogue

Posted on August 31, 2014 by

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 →

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The plan: a bird’s eye view

Posted on July 26, 2014 by

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 →

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Inspiration from inside an empty matchbox

Posted on April 30, 2014 by

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 →

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The short story’s storytelling elements

Posted on February 28, 2014 by

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 →

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The 3 act plot structure for the short story

Posted on January 31, 2014 by

Copyright © 2014 Jerry Dunne The plot isn’t a series of events that move forward in a random way. The events are connected by cause and effect and have a very definite structure to them. The plot for the short … Continue reading →

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