Dialogue is one of the trickiest things to get right. It requires a good ear, and the ability to make speech sound natural even though it is probably the most carefully constructed, "artificial" component of any fictional work. What I mean: Counterintuitively, dialogue in fiction should not mimic everyday speech. Humans say a lot of…
Quick Tips #3: Show, don’t tell
“Don’t tell me the moon is shining; show me the glint of light on broken glass.” This quote by Chekhov may be familiar to some of you. It encapsulates perfectly one of the rules of good fiction writing: Show, don’t tell. Consider the following: The man was very nervous. He tried not to cry. He…
Dandelion Clocks
I'm delighted to announce that my short story "Dandelion Clocks" has won the 2021 NZSA Graeme Lay Short Story competition. In his announcement on Facebook today, Graeme said: Themes of childhood loss and the possibility of renewal make this beautifully observed and sensitively written story difficult to forget. Thank you, Graeme, and congratulations to the…
Quick Tips #2: Write Small
It's tempting to think you have to "write big" about big issues. It's much more powerful, however, to write quietly; to whisper the most profound things. Even better, to "get out of the way" and let those things whisper their power all by themselves. Often what we leave out - or what we gently brush past…
Throat Clearing
Today I want to suggest one way you can improve your short fiction. Stop clearing your throat. Throat clearing is what many writers do at the beginning of a short story. They set the scene. They ease us in. But as the name of the concept implies, much of it is an unnecessary and ineffectual prelude to the good…
The Girl Behind the Bar
I dug this story out recently. It was highly commended in the 2014 Takahē short story competition. (Takahē is a New Zealand literary journal.) It's one of my favourite pieces of work - perhaps because it takes the reader to Northern Ireland, where I was born. It's never been published, although I did post it…
First Person POV: the risks and rewards
As those of you who visit regularly will know, my first novel is coming out in February next year. It's off to be typeset shortly, then printed. I'm excited and terrified - primarily that as soon as I flick through a printed copy I'll find a typo. These are the fears that keep a proofreader/editor…
Our Father
I wrote this story ten years ago, after my father-in-law (at the time) died. I wanted to somehow make sense of my profound feelings at having witnessed his death. It was published in Takahē magazine (a literary journal) in 2013. Today, on Father's Day, I remember Carl Bosselmann, and everyone who has lost a father.…
The Cover Story
Everything is a bit secret squirrel when you're preparing to have your novel published. The title. The story. The launch plans. How the author managed to write the bloody thing in the first place. (If someone can tell me the answer to that one I'd be much obliged.) One of the most exciting (and terrifying)…
Wordgasms: Show Up and They’ll Come
I've just had a wordgasm. TMI? Hear me out. I've just had the kind of half hour that writers across the world dream of: complete focus, ideas flowing, fingers tapping, two "punch the air" moments, one scream of excitement, a few tears, and 500 pretty good words on the page at the end of it.…
Patricia Bell, Author 