Category Archives: writing craft

The Perfect Beginning

Posted on February 10, 2010 by Victoria Janssen

As I’ve mentioned before on this blog, this month I’m writing a short story, for submission to a romance anthology. It’s been a long time since I’ve written a short story, because I’ve been busy writing contracted novels for Spice; … Continue reading →

Posted in short fiction, writing craft | 4 Comments

Breaking Chapters

Posted on February 3, 2010 by Victoria Janssen

Chapter breaks are a topic I can muse on indefinitely. This is because, when it comes to writing, I am a geek. I think chapter breaks have several purposes.1. Chapter breaks tell you where to stop reading and go to … Continue reading →

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Choosing Your Paranormal Creature

Posted on January 28, 2010 by Victoria Janssen

This post was originally written for the Paranormal Romantics blog. Vampire or werewolf? Demon or elf? Ghost or ghoul or unknown creature that goes bump in the night? One of the earliest decisions most writers make when conceptualizing a novel … Continue reading →

Posted in paranormal, writing craft, writing process | 4 Comments

Today Through History

Posted on January 27, 2010 by Victoria Janssen

One of the reasons I most enjoy researching and writing about World War One is that it’s a time period rich in issues that interest me. For instance, in Great Britain during World War One, woman suffrage was still being … Continue reading →

Posted in historical fiction, moonlight mistress, writing craft | 7 Comments

Grasping Tentacles of DOOOOOM

Posted on January 20, 2010 by Victoria Janssen

There’s a stage in writing when I’m too busy writing, and thinking about the specifics of the novel, to think about the task of writing itself. Of course I am thinking about writing. I have to be, because I’m doing … Continue reading →

Posted in writing, writing craft, writing process | 10 Comments

Purposeful, Habitual, and Gratuitous

Posted on January 19, 2010 by Victoria Janssen

“As early as 1959 or ’60, I’d noticed that there was something terribly wrong with the female characters in most novels I was reading. Most of the writers (men and women) tended to conceive of their male characters as combinations … Continue reading →

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Werewolves in WWI? Why Not?

Posted on January 13, 2010 by Victoria Janssen

This post was written for Harlequin’s Paranormal Romance Blog. For The Moonlight Mistress, I combined a historical novel with paranormal elements. As you probably know already if you read this blog regularly, the book is set during the early days … Continue reading →

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Tell Not Show

Posted on January 12, 2010 by Victoria Janssen

One of the main pieces of writing advice I’ve received over the years is “show not tell.” It’s good advice. It can remind you that it’s easier for a reader to form mental pictures of characters whom they’ve seen in … Continue reading →

Posted in erotica, the duke, writing craft | 2 Comments

Goals and Deadlines

Posted on January 7, 2010 by Victoria Janssen

This post was originally written for Leah Braemel’s Blog. A writer’s work is never done, and neither is her goal-setting. I have one goal staring me in the face right now: the deadline to turn in the manuscript of The … Continue reading →

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Worthy Transgressions

Posted on January 6, 2010 by Victoria Janssen

People have been talking for a while about how there’s more erotica being published in both print and electronic formats, and how more people are reading erotica and talking about it, and how erotica is getting more and more explicit … Continue reading →

Posted in erotica, genre, reading, writing, writing craft | 4 Comments