Dominick Dunne was born today in writing history, October 29. Celebrate the writer’s birthday by learning more about his life and contributions to the writing world. Aspiring writers should also use this opportunity as a writing exercise. Look for inspiration today in writing history.

Writing Prompts for Today In Writing: October 29

Please take this opportunity to learn more about Dominick Dunne and his contributions to writing. The author’s writing stems from the murder of his daughter. A horribly tragic event, Dunne kept a journal during the trial, offering candid and moving reactions during and after. 

What led Dominick Dunne to write? Where did the inspiration for his ideas come from? And what helped the writer create his unique writing style? Find inspiration about Dunne, learn more details about his life, and write!

Dominick Dunne Biography

Dominick John Dunne was born in Hartford, Connecticut, on October 29, 1925. His parents, Richard Edwin and Dorothy Frances, were an affluent Irish Catholic family that raised their six children in the suburbs of West Hartford. Richard Dunne a hospital chief of staff and a heart surgeon.

In his senior year of high school, Dunne was drafted into the US Army to serve during World War II. At the Battle of Metz, Dominick Dunne received the Bronze Star for his heroism. Following the war, Dunne attended William College, where he graduated in 1949.

Dunne’s Career in Television

Dunne started his career in the television industry. His younger brother, John Gregory Dunne, was a writer who wrote the screenplay for The Panic in Needle Part. Dominick Dunne would produce the film. 

Following his graduation, Dunne migrated to New York City, where he found work as a stage manager. Humphrey Bogart wound up bringing the author to Hollywood, where he would continue his work in TV production. Eventually, Dominick Dunne became the Vice President of Four Star Television. Frequently in the company of the rich and famous, Dunne was besieged by his addictions and personal demons. In 1979, the author left Hollywood for rural Oregon. Here, he would overcome his struggles and write his first novel, The Two Mrs. Grenvilles.

Dunne’s Tragedy

On October 30, 1982, Dominick Dunne’s daughter, Dominique, was strangled to death by her ex-boyfriend, John Sweeny. The two had a tumultuous relationship, and Sweeny had a record of abuse. On the night of the murder, he confessed to responding officers that he had killed his girlfriend and planned to kill himself. Declared brain dead, Dominique Dunne was taken off life support and died on November 4.

Dominick Dunne attended the trial of his daughter’s killer and on the advice of journalist Tina Brown, kept a journal of the process. John Sweeny would avoid murder charges and be instead convicted of involuntary manslaughter and sentenced to six and a half years in prison, of which he served half his sentence before being released on parole. Dunne was outraged by the verdict and saw it as a grave injustice. His journal would be published as an article in a 1984 issue of Vanity Fair as Justice: A Father’s Account of the Trial of his Daughter’s Killer.

When Sweeny was released from prison and took a job as a chef, the Dunne family discovered his new workplace and handed out flyers revealing his history. He would quit his job. In the 1990s, the father of a woman in Florida contacted Dunne to ask if the John Sweeny his daughter was dating was the same man that killed Dominique. It was. Dominick Dunne’s son, Griffin, reached out to the woman and urged her to reconsider he choice. 

John Sweeny would change his name to avoid future harassment from the Dunne family. In a later interview, Dominick Dunne revealed that he hired a private investigator to continue to follow Sweeny, now John Maura. Eventually, the author came to the decision to not squander his life, and discontinued attempts to keep tabs on his daughter’s killer.

Later Life and Death

Dunne would continue writing for Vanity Fair as he wrote his novels. The Two Mrs. Grenvilles was published in 1986 and began a torrent of literary output aimed at giving voices to victims and speaking truth to injustice. In addition to his literary accomplishments, Dunne would host a crime television series that explored court cases of crimes of passion and greed. The author would report on famous cases, like the OJ Simpson trial, in which he felt a personal interest in following Simpson’s exoneration. 

Dunne revealed he had bladder cancer in September of 2008. However, he continued to work on Too Much Money up until the time of his death. On August 26, 2009, Dominick Dunne died in his home. He was 83.

10 Dominick Dunne Quotes

1. You write about what you have access to, and I have been fortunate enough to have a front-row seat on the rich and powerful my entire life.

2. The best advice on writing was given to me by my first editor, Michael Korda, of Simon and Schuster, while writing my first book. ‘Finish your first draft and then we’ll talk,’ he said. It took me a long time to realize how good the advice was. Even if you write it wrong, write and finish your first draft. Only then, when you have a flawed whole, do you know what you have to fix.

3. I am openly pro-prosecution and make no bones about it. I don’t think there are enough people out there sticking up for victims.

4. People are fascinated by the rich: Shakespeare wrote plays about kings, not beggars.

5. I’ve lived this very dramatic life, with high points and terrible low points. Nothing has been ordinary, and I want to have the experience of the last breath. I want a little drama to it.

6. Parties are the nightly ritual of the sophisticated society.

7. For me, the path of failure exceeded by far the joys of success. My plight was hopeless.

8. I had never attended a trial until my daughter’s murder trial. What I witnessed in that courtroom enraged and redirected me.

9. I don’t understand all about New York society. It’s only when they are in trouble that I’m really interested.

10. I made no pretense of doing balanced reporting about murder. I was appalled by defense attorneys who would do anything to win an acquittal for a guilty person.

Notable Dominick Dunne Books

The Two Mrs. Grenvilles (1986)

Fatal Charms: And Other Tales of Today (1987)

People Like Us (1988)

An Inconvenient Woman (1990)

The Mansions of Limbo (1991)

A Season in Purgatory (1993)

Another City, Not My Own (1997)

The Way We Lived Then: Recollections of a Well-known Name Dropper (1999)

Justice: Crimes, Trials, And Punishments (2001)

Too Much Money (2009)

Today in Writing: October 29 – Daily Writing Exercise

Now that you have done some reading, it is time to write. Aspiring writers should look to the stories from Today in Writing: October 29 and Dominick Dunne’s life for inspiration. Read his quotes and study his articles to understand the author’s writing style. 

Find a topic and freewrite for 10 minutes. Dominick Dunne’s writing was born from a place of tragedy and dispair. However, through this pain, Dunne authored memorable works in the true crime genre and helped make sure others would not befall the same fate as his daughter. Aspiring writers should pay homage to his noble words and start writing.

Don’t let any opportunity to write go to waste. Aspiring writers: Practice your writing today. Celebrate Today in Writing History October 29.