Author Archives: jerrydunne604@hotmail.com

Why writing drama is harder than writing a novel

Copyright © 2017 Jerry Dunne At a mere glance, the idea that writing drama is harder than novel writing may seem astonishing when we consider that most plays are a lot shorter than even a short novel, and that, dialogue … Continue reading

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The structural and dramatic flexibility of a full-length play made up solely of monologues

Copyright © 2017 Jerry Dunne The monologue is obviously to be played by a solo actor, and is usually incorporated within part of a scene, or a stand-alone scene, within a multi-actor play, especially if it is a full-length play. … Continue reading

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Pace the story

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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The short story’s storytelling elements

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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Well-structured dialogue for the story

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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Emotion and the story’s plot arc

Copyright © 2023 Jerry Dunne Before reading this article, you will need to read The story’s 3-act plot arc structure as we specifically cover some aspects from that article here below. * This article explores the idea that the strong … Continue reading

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The story’s 3-act plot arc structure

Copyright © 2023 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. In this way, the plot … Continue reading

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The plan: a bird’s-eye view (for fiction)

Copyright © 2023 Jerry Dunne Before reading this post it is a good idea to read The story’s 3-act plot arc structure, if you do not understand this plot structure. Writing fiction is a very personal and absorbing experience and … Continue reading

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Inspiration from inside an empty matchbox

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, although it’s the ideas … Continue reading

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Exercises for sparking up character for the short story

Copyright © 2014 Jerry Dunne This post is a follow on from Sparking up character in the short story. So now we know we need to find the attitude of the character as related to the idea and plot (or … Continue reading

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