From Take Joy, by Jane Yolen:
“It is the writer’s privilege, really, to order events, to focus on one strand of an existence while ignoring all others. We cannot do this in reality–but we can on the pages of a book.” [p. 134]
“A good plot does not just look forward. It forces us backwards and sideward as well. It makes us look inward instead of outward. Think of plot as a kind of time-travel device. While it goes ahead, it changes what it has passed through; it rearranges where it has been…The plot needs to shadow and foreshadow and back-shadow as well.” [pp 140-141]
“I think really the best thing to be said about plot is: Always something going on.” [p. 143]
About Victoria Janssen
Victoria Janssen [she, her] currently writes cozy space opera for
Kalikoi. The novella series A Place of Refuge begins with
Finding Refuge:
Telepathic warrior Talia Avi, genius engineer Miki Boudreaux, and augmented soldier Faigin Balfour fought the fascist Federated Colonies for ten years, following the charismatic dissenter Jon Churchill. Then Jon disappeared, Talia was thought dead, and Miki and Faigin struggled to take Jon’s place and stay alive. When the FC is unexpectedly upended, Talia is reunited with her friends and they are given sanctuary on the enigmatic planet Refuge. The trio of former guerillas strive to recover from lifetimes of trauma, build new lives on a planet with endless horizons, and forge tender new connections with each other.
