Author Archives: jerrydunne604@hotmail.com

From stereotype to rounded character with speed and ease

Posted on 25 November 2024 by jerrydunne604@hotmail.com

Copyright © 2023 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 →

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Sparking up character for the short story

Posted on 25 November 2024 by jerrydunne604@hotmail.com

Copyright © 2014 Jerry Dunne It is difficult enough to bring character to life in a novel, but a short story offers an even trickier challenge. Many writers need time to build their character and give it energy. They can’t … Continue reading →

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The trickiness of writing the children’s short story (for the middle reader)

Posted on 25 November 2024 by jerrydunne604@hotmail.com

Copyright © 2014 Jerry Dunne Short story writing is a hard discipline just like all the other fiction crafts. But I suggest here that it is trickier to master more so than a novel, though it is much shorter than … Continue reading →

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Intellectual versus emotional inspiration in the creative writing process

Posted on 25 November 2024 by jerrydunne604@hotmail.com

Copyright © 2016 Jerry Dunne I include here a definition of these two types of inspiration, offer a practical example of each from my own work and point out some pros and cons of the two approaches. Of course, inspiration … Continue reading →

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The storytelling elements of the short story and the shorter play have much in common. So how might this be an advantage for the writer?

Posted on 25 November 2024 by jerrydunne604@hotmail.com

Copyright © 2017 Jerry Dunne Introduction The length of the short story discussed here is not much more than 10, 000 words and the length of the shorter play not beyond a 90-minute performance and often shorter. Here I show … Continue reading →

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How to develop original short story ideas from a saying

Posted on 25 November 2024 by jerrydunne604@hotmail.com

Copyright © 2012 Jerry Dunne A good saying often expresses wisdom or truth in a witty or ironic way. Usually, the first clause of the saying sets the reader up for an expectation that is not met in the second … Continue reading →

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How to create a saying

Posted on 25 November 2024 by jerrydunne604@hotmail.com

Copyright © 2013 Jerry Dunne The type of saying we will look at here expresses nuanced truths in an ironic and often witty way. This might sound like quite a lofty thing to try for but it’s not as difficult … Continue reading →

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How to develop credible and insightful short story ideas from a fable

Posted on 25 November 2024 by jerrydunne604@hotmail.com

Copyright © 2013 Jerry Dunne A fable is a short pithy tale consisting of characters that are usually animals, though plants, inanimate objects or natural forces are also used. The characters are anthropomorphized (given human characteristics) and act as props … Continue reading →

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How to write a modern fable for the adult reader

Posted on 25 November 2024 by jerrydunne604@hotmail.com

Copyright © 2013 Jerry Dunne Here we will look at how to write a modern fable for the adult reader. As this is our first attempt, to make it easier we’ll use one of Aesop’s fables, The Ass, the Cock … Continue reading →

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How to develop an original fantasy idea

Posted on 25 November 2024 by jerrydunne604@hotmail.com

Copyright © 2014 Jerry Dunne In this post, I show you how I developed an original fantasy idea for novels for the middle child reader, though the techniques work just as well for fantasy aimed at older readers.  Because of … Continue reading →

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