Category Archives: writing craft

Descriptive Worldbuilding

Posted on August 13, 2010 by Victoria Janssen

When I was writing The Duchess, Her Maid, The Groom & Their Lover, I was doing a lot of my worldbuilding on the spot, whenever I felt something was needed.I do think about aspects of the world before I begin … Continue reading →

Posted in the duchess, writing craft | 5 Comments

Trusting Authorial Voices

Posted on August 9, 2010 by Victoria Janssen

I’ve recently been thinking about novel beginnings, and how it’s common (and good) advice to start with big obvious conflict. However, I don’t think that it’s always necessary to do that. More importantly, I’ve been thinking about why that is … Continue reading →

Posted in reading, writing craft | 2 Comments

Hooks and Anchors

Posted on August 6, 2010 by Victoria Janssen

I recently heard about an article which talked about paragraphing in terms of anchoring and hooking. I didn’t find the article, but this is how I would use those terms. At the beginning of a scene, even if you haven’t … Continue reading →

Posted in writing craft | 2 Comments

Punctuation & Style

Posted on July 13, 2010 by Victoria Janssen

I participated in a panel at Readercon last weekend that was all about punctuation. We were asked to bring examples of prose that used punctuation in interesting ways. I chose examples that I thought used a wide variety of punctuation, … Continue reading →

Posted in writing craft | Comments Off

Adventures in Pronouns – Jessica Freely Guest Post

Posted on June 11, 2010 by Victoria Janssen

Please welcome my guest, Jessica Freely! # Hi everybody and good morning! First of all, I want to thank Victoria for generously opening her blog to me — again. I had a great time last time I was a guest … Continue reading →

Posted in erotica, guest, sf/f, writing craft | Comments Off

Pointing the View

Posted on June 8, 2010 by Victoria Janssen

I recently had Thoughts on point of view, based on a writer buddy’s questions about differences between using first and third person, and single versus multiple points of view.I think a big difference between using a single point of view … Continue reading →

Posted in writing craft | Comments Off

May-Ten-Centuries-Back Vampire Romance

Posted on June 3, 2010 by Victoria Janssen

The May/December romance is one thing. The May/Ten Centuries Back romance is quite another. It’s always disturbed me a little that vampire heroes in romance are so often much older than their heroines. When the heroine is not only not … Continue reading →

Posted in reading, vampires, writing craft | 2 Comments

Vulnerable Vampires

Posted on June 1, 2010 by Victoria Janssen

I would love to see vampire heroes and heroines who are more vulnerable, even, than ordinary humans. I know most readers don’t want to see that, but I do. Vulnerability is what draws me to a character. I want them … Continue reading →

Posted in reading, sf/f, vampires, writing craft | Comments Off

Making the Paranormal Real: Boundaries and Consequences

Posted on May 11, 2010 by Victoria Janssen

This post was originally written for Midnight Moon Cafe.I was a reader and writer of science fiction and fantasy long before I read romance, and in many ways my reading tastes still reflect that early influence. I tend to favor … Continue reading →

Posted in genre, paranormal, writing craft | 4 Comments

Less Is Enough

Posted on May 5, 2010 by Victoria Janssen

There’s a reason stories aren’t made up of eighty percent description. It’s because there has to be room for the reader. Reading is a collaborative exercise, between the writer and the reader. The writer has a shape or picture (or … Continue reading →