Jerry Bellune

Open with a story

Compelling writers, speakers, preachers and others know to use this secret. I once showed my Seton Hall University students this parody nuclear attack story.

The power of shattering moments

Suspense writer James Scott Bell says all stories, fact or fiction, are about shattering moments. “The characters will never be the same,” he says. The retelling of the story of Mary, the ...

Why not tell it to Mom?

Many of us have problems writing conversationally. As fact gatherers, we often write stenographic reports.

What is compelling writing?

Novelist Josephine Humphreys describes what she thinks news reporters do: Like bees, we fly out to gather news like pollen. She describes what she does in grim, novelistic style: “I’m like ...