Monthly Archives: February 2010

Isaac Rosenberg, "Break of Day in the Trenches"

Posted on February 28, 2010 by Victoria Janssen

Break of Day in the Trenches The darkness crumbles away.It is the same old druid Time as ever,Only a live thing leaps my hand,A queer sardonic rat,As I pull the parapet’s poppyTo stick behind my ear.Droll rat, they would shoot … Continue reading →

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Excerpt from A War Nurse’s Diary: The Tale of Ragtime

Posted on February 27, 2010 by Victoria Janssen

The following is an excerpt from A War Nurse’s Diary: Sketches from a Belgian Field Hospital, published 1918 and now in the public domain. There’s a whole novel in this story. # That reminds me of “Ragtime.” I must tell … Continue reading →

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Explicit, Implicit, or Somewhere in Between? – Janet Mullany Guest Post

Posted on February 26, 2010 by Victoria Janssen

Please welcome my guest, Janet Mullany! # Explicit, Implicit, or Somewhere in Between? Now and again (oh, I lie. I Google myself all the time) I come across a reference to my first Regency chicklit, The Rules of Gentility (HarperCollins, … Continue reading →

Posted in erotica, guest, romance novels, writing craft | 5 Comments

Basics of the Western

Posted on February 25, 2010 by Victoria Janssen

So, Westerns. What are the basic elements of a Western? There are the two plots: 1) a stranger comes to town and 2) someone leaves town, heading for a new place. A subsidiary plot involves surviving in the wilderness, whether … Continue reading →

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Alleys and Doorways Print Edition

Posted on February 24, 2010 by Victoria Janssen

A while back, my friend Meredith Schwartz edited an electronic anthology titled Alleys and Doorways: Stories of Queer Urban Fantasy for Torguere Press, and I agreed to write an Elspeth Potter story for it. I started that story over twice … Continue reading →

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Realism in Fantasy (Sex) – Cecilia Tan Guest Post

Posted on February 23, 2010 by Victoria Janssen

Please welcome back my guest, Cecilia Tan! # I like the fantastic. I like magic and surrealism and being transported to another world by a book. And as anyone who has read pretty much anything I’ve written knows, I like … Continue reading →

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Paragraphing

Posted on February 22, 2010 by Victoria Janssen

I didn’t really start thinking about paragraphing – consciously – until a couple of years ago. My writers’ workshop was critiquing one of my pieces. I don’t remember if it was a short story or a novel, or even exactly … Continue reading →

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Siegfried Sassoon, "Joy-Bells"

Posted on February 21, 2010 by Victoria Janssen

Joy-Bells Ring your sweet bells; but let them be farewells To the green-vista’d gladness of the past That changed us into soldiers; swing your bells To a joyful chime; but let it be the last. What means this metal in … Continue reading →

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What Happens in the Reader’s Mind

Posted on February 20, 2010 by Victoria Janssen

“A writer’s talking about what he or she is capable of, like a writer’s talking about the worth of his or her own work, is a pretty good way for that writer to start sounding like a pompous poseur. Above … Continue reading →

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Origin Stories – Katrina Williams

Posted on February 19, 2010 by Victoria Janssen

Please welcome my guest, Katrina Williams! # I began to write seriously in the tenth grade, but like all teenagers, would have benefited from looking up “seriously” in the dictionary, despite using the word on a frequent basis. I was … Continue reading →

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