Category Archives: writing craft

Backwards Outlining

Posted on March 22, 2010 by Victoria Janssen

I did not come up with this on my own; I got it from Sarah Monette back in 2003. Backwards or reverse outlining is, essentially, seeing what you’ve already done. It’s an aid to structure, and it’s helped me more … Continue reading →

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Romance in Short

Posted on March 16, 2010 by Victoria Janssen

Having written a short romance story last month, I naturally had to think about how to do it. I’ve written many short stories, but I would classify them all as erotica whether or not they were romantic. This was the … Continue reading →

Posted in short fiction, writing craft | 2 Comments

Write Your Bliss

Posted on March 12, 2010 by Victoria Janssen

You can have all the craft in the world but your writing won’t sing if you’re not writing your bliss, your joy, the one thing you love more than anything else in the world.It’s no good to say, “vampire novels … Continue reading →

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The Trapped Protagonist

Posted on March 8, 2010 by Victoria Janssen

Over at the Romance Divas forum for the next three months, I’m serving as mentor to another writer. As a result, I’ve been thinking about plotting and how to plot and how to teach to plot. And how to teach … Continue reading →

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Maintaining Sexual and Romantic Tension

Posted on March 5, 2010 by Victoria Janssen

I think that all Romance plots ultimately involve deferring consummation of the relationship, whether the desired consummation is intercourse, marriage, a marriage proposal, or simple acknowledgement by the couple that they are in love. If a consummation happens at the … Continue reading →

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

Kinesics in Fiction

Posted on March 4, 2010 by Victoria Janssen

The body language of one’s characters of course must have something in common with the readers’ experience, or it won’t communicate anything to them. But how to make descriptions of body language interesting? And reveal character in the specific as … Continue reading →

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Cell Phones Make Life Difficult (For Writers)

Posted on March 3, 2010 by Victoria Janssen

When Tanya Huff’s vampire novels were made into a television series, Blood Ties, the original novels were re-released. The first time I read those books, I’d borrowed them from a friend. This time, I bought my own copies, since I … Continue reading →

Posted in reading, television, writing craft | 1 Comment

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

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 →

Posted in erotica, guest, writing craft | 1 Comment

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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