Category Archives: writing craft

Historical Detail in Fiction

Posted on March 2, 2009 by Victoria Janssen

I’ve been putting together my thoughts on how I include history in novels, for example the World War One detail in Moonlight Mistress. The first thing is to create a sense of normality. The characters do ordinary things in an … Continue reading →

Posted in historical fiction, writing craft | 5 Comments

the big bang theory of fiction

Posted on February 27, 2009 by Victoria Janssen

The “Muppet Morsels” glosses on my DVDs of The Muppet Show are sometimes only loosely related to the episode, so it’s hard to remember where this one came from. I paraphrase: “every skit ends with either an explosion or a … Continue reading →

Posted in quotes, writing craft | 2 Comments

Learning Who Your Characters Are

Posted on February 26, 2009 by Victoria Janssen

I am not one of those writers whose characters talk to them, not in the literal hearing-voices-in-your-head way, nor do I like using that as a metaphor for character creation. Probably because I like to be in control. I also … Continue reading →

Posted in writing craft, writing process | 9 Comments

Sex scenes in romance novels: what I like

Posted on February 24, 2009 by Victoria Janssen

Sex scenes in romance novels, I feel, need to move the plot along by encompassing some sort of character change or modulation. But what else makes a sex scene a success? Clearly, it’s one of those questions in which individual … Continue reading →

Posted in reading, romance novels, writing craft | 2 Comments

Synergy in Writing and Research

Posted on February 23, 2009 by Victoria Janssen

A good thing about writing several novels one after the other is that it becomes easier to notice patterns in the way one works. Some things I learned are generally applicable. For example, this time I know stretches of rough … Continue reading →

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Revisions Take Time

Posted on February 21, 2009 by Victoria Janssen

I have rediscovered something, while working on revisions for The Moonlight Mistress: available time to write does not directly translate into wordcount. If I’m writing dialogue or description, but most especially dialogue, the words pile up faster. Word acquisition slows … Continue reading →

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Types of Paranormal Romance

Posted on February 20, 2009 by Victoria Janssen

I first entered writing through science fiction and fantasy, and still read from that perspective when, these days, I read paranormal romance. I enjoy deconstructing the elements of the genre, and comparing and contrasting paranormals to non-romantic fantasy. Maybe it’s … Continue reading →

Posted in genre, paranormal, romance novels, sf/f, writing craft | 2 Comments

Edits in pov

Posted on February 19, 2009 by Victoria Janssen

These examples are from an erotica short story I wrote many years ago, which taught me a lot about point of view. The story started out in third-person past. Eventually, I changed it to second-person present. Have a look at … Continue reading →

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Raymond Chandler, on writing stories

Posted on February 17, 2009 by Victoria Janssen

“A good story cannot be devised; it has to be distilled.” — Raymond Chandler

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Some Examples of Line Edits

Posted on February 16, 2009 by Victoria Janssen

Here are some examples of how I revise, taken from The Moonlight Mistress. Original: Men stood and read the papers under streetlights and in the street itself, blocking wagons whose drivers cursed. Some men cheered, and some shouted angrily. Singing … Continue reading →

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