Victoria Janssen's Blog, page 108

Siegfried Sassoon, "At Carnoy"

At CarnoyDown in the hollow there's the whole Brigade Camped in four groups: through twilight falling slow I hear a sound of mouth-organs, ill-played, And murmur of voices, gruff, confused, and low. Crouched among thistle-tufts I've watched the glowOf a blurred orange sunset flare and fade; And I'm content. To-morrow we must go To take some cursèd Wood ... O world God made! July 3rd,

Siegfried Sassoon, "Arms and the Man"

Arms and the ManYoung Croesus went to pay his call On Colonel Sawbones, Caxton Hall: And, though his wound was healed and mended, He hoped he'd get his leave extended. The waiting-room was dark and bare.He eyed a neat-framed notice there Above the fireplace hung to show Disabled heroes where to go For arms and legs; with scale of price, And words of dignified advice How officers could get them

Google Grab - Tom Purdom, Guest Blogger

Please welcome my guest, science fiction author and music critic Tom Purdom.#On January 20th I attended the New York workshop on the Google settlement conducted by the National Writers Union and the American Society of Journalists and Authors. The main speakers were Lynn Chu, agent and lawyer, who opposes the agreement; Paul Aiken of the Authors Guild, who spoke in support; and a law professor,

Steampunk Bronze

I recently attended Arisia, a Boston-area science fiction/fantasy/a lof of other things conference. I got permission from Butch Honeck, one of my favorite sculptors in bronze, to post some photos from his dealer room at the convention.Here's a steampunk-style pistol he built (bonus sepia for bonus steampunk-ness!). You can't tell from the photo, but it has moving parts - gears and a chain -

Grasping Tentacles of DOOOOOM

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 it. By the time I reach the point I'm describing, I'm writing intuitively, and I feel like I'm using so many skills at once that I can't describe what I'm doing except with bizarre

Purposeful, Habitual, and Gratuitous

"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 of purposeful actions, habitual actions, and gratuitous actions. A female character, in contrast, would be all gratuitous action if it was a "good woman," with no

Fun with Plot Generators

I'm on my way back from Arisia today, so I thought I'd post something fun. Recently, I went on an internet search for plot generators. Here are some of the most intriguing scenarios that popped up for me.These came from Archetype Writing."The story starts when your protagonist opens the closet to find clothes that aren't his/hers. Another character is an alchemist who believes your protagonist

Louise Glück, "Parable of Flight"

Parable of FlightA flock of birds leaving the side of the mountain.Black against the spring evening, bronze in early summer,rising over blank lake water.Why is the young man disturbed suddenly,his attention slipping from his companion?His heart is no longer wholly divided; he's trying to thinkhow to say this compassionately.Now we hear the voices of others, moving through the librarytoward the

The Duchess, Her Maid, The Groom and Their Lover Excerpt - Animals

#Perhaps an hour later, Camille heard hooves approaching, a horse at a gallop. She ran to the doorway, bridle in one hand and cleaning cloth in the other, determined to see. From a distance it was clear there was no danger; Henri rode Rhubarb, bareback, jumping him over a small bush here and some plant clippings there, letting the stallion burn off some of his energy. Camille found herself

Arisia 2010

I'm at Arisia this weekend. Here's my schedule:Saturday, 11:30 am, Paul Revere BBroad Universe Reading90 minutesSaturday, 2:00 pm, Crispus Attucks"Jack the Ripper and the Historical Character"Katherine Crighton (mod.), Victoria Janssen, Gardner Dozois, Susan Casper, Sarah ClemensSaturday, 10:00 pm, Paul Revere B"The History of Fandom"Victoria Janssen (mod.), Don Sakers, Marlin May, A. Joseph