I love Paddy’s story Morgan’s Birthday, which earned its commendation because it is full of humour yet serious at the same time. The theme of a normal person plunged into extraordinary events makes for a truly entertaining story. A perfect example of a writer asking ‘what if?‘

I’ll try to get the winners on the site later this month so you can enjoy them as much as I did.

The other writers on the shortlist were:

Meris Shuwarger, US,

Cain Smith, UK

Paul Duffy, Ireland

Andrew Jones, UK

Dion Dhorne, UK.

Fiona says she will be back judging our September competition and there is still plenty of time to enter.

John Dean

As I have mentioned in previous blogs, the creative fiction world has much to thank the US for, because it is credited as the home of the short story. The name of the guy who made it so was one Nathaniel Hawthorne, of Salem, Massachusetts, whose book Twice-Told Tales was published in America in 1837 and is seen by many as the birth of the modern short story.

What much American writing has is one of the most important elements of short story writing, of any writing, indeed, that of getting the dialogue right.

I talk to many writers who say: ‘I can write but I can’t do dialogue.’ For those struggling, here’s an experiment. It’ll make you feel self-conscious but it could be worth the embarrassment. Sit down with a group of friends and chat about whatever you fancy. Get one of you to take notes and come up with the rules of dialogue.

You will find, when you analyse those findings, that a lot of the time, we do not speak in correct sentences, using short, sharp phrases instead, that we interrupt each other, we assume the listener knows a lot about us, we use dialogue to impart information, we can tell a lot about a person in a short snap of conversation and we use body language, talking with our hands, the shape of our body etc. And our dialogue tends to be in character - a person who swears a lot will, by and large, always swear a lot, a person who uses timid non-assertive language will tend to do that in most situations. When they divert from that, the impact could be all the greater.

If you bear in mind those rules, then writing dialogue should become easier. There is another rule, one which relates to the biggest mistake writers make when it comes to dialogue. Do not pack it with extraneous information eg “Good Tuesday morning, William, although everyone calls you Bill, my neighbour of ten years in Acacia Avenue, London, are you your normal glum self, to which we - that is my wife, Gladys, and I - have grown accustomed over the years since your wife, 29-year-old Ellen, left you for a younger man and filed for divorce or has the darkness which seems to routinely enveigle you over the last few days lifted at last, may I ask?”

Ok, over-the-top but it makes the point. If you need to slot in information, find a way of doing it in a subtle way. Back to poor old Bill again: “Saw Bill this morning. His usual gloomy self. The divorce really has knocked him backwards.”

I once taught a class when a writer was trying out radio - a very difficult medium - and the scene was one in which one sister telephoned another to tell her that she had murdered her husband and he was lying on the floor, covered in blood. What opening line would you go for: “I’ve killed him!’ “Something terrible has happened!’? She went for ‘Hello, this is your oldest sister, Hazel.” People do not talk like that. Best make sure that your characters do not do so either.

John Dean

That could mean a line that intrigues or one that gives you the impression that you, as a reader, have arrived in the middle of something, that you had better sit down quietly and let events unfold.

For me, the best writers are the ones who reach out a hand to you, the reader, and say ‘come on, join me on the journey.’ The stories we have had so far this month do that and some of them do it very well indeed.

Here’s to the journey!

John Dean

As a crime novelist myself, I was interested to see how the genre is developing rapidly in Iceland and how many of its authors use their work to make serious points about the state of their homeland.

This brings me back to the reasons why people write. There are all sorts of reasons but one is to shine a light on the world in which we live. That is certainly one of my motivations, is the motivation of all writers, I suspect.

Yes, I write to entertain but I also want to make people think about some of the themes upon which I base my novels. Whether I set a story in an ailing school or on a rundown housing estates, whether I write about a traumatised victim of war or an anguished parent terrified about the effect of drugs on their child, I hope that people will feel that the stories reflect, in a small way, their experiences. For me, that is what makes stories come to life, the sense that they are REAL.

Coming back to our competition, I hope that some writers from Iceland see fit to enter their work - I reckon it would make for really interesting reading and we have not any from that part of the world yet.

The entries are coming in for our September competition and already I can see one or two that will give our judge Fiona Cooper plenty of food for thought. Food for thought? Really must do a blog on the importance of avoiding tired old clichés.

John Dean

Our September competition is now open for entries. We are looking forward to reading them.

John Dean

Joel receives £100.

In second place is the highly commended story by Anne McCreanor, from Glastonbury, in Somerset, UK.

The citation reads: “This story grabs the attention with its beautifully written beginning and the unbearable tension that builds throughout the narrative. The ending is not what you expect and leaves you drained and yet satisfied. Brilliant stuff.” Anne receives £25.

There are two commended stories, one of which is written by Mark Frankel, of London, a previous winner of the competition.

The citation says: “A story that holds the reader in breathless sway, which develops its tension until coming to a climax that leaves the reader feeling as if things will never quite be the same again. A parable for our times.”

The other commended story was by Ann-Elise Cole, from Telopea, in New South Wales, Australia.

The citation reads: “A simple tale told I simply, the art of good writing. Its gentle style adds to a story that is bitter-sweet and leaves the reader with a sense of things unsaid and lives unlived. Excellent stuff.”

On the shortlist were

Susanne Mathies

William Gallagher

Mary Clune

Rita Wild

Jane Bailey

Malcolm Reid

Matthew Adams.

Well done to all of you.

John Dean

It is a delight to receive each and every one of your stories and yet again there is some cracking writing.

Now that we are edging past the holiday season, things should be getting back to normal and we hope to announce the July winners soon.

Still the best part of a week to go if you want to try your hand in the August competition as well.

John Dean