Victoria Janssen's Blog, page 83

Edmund Blunden, "The Zonnebeke Road"

The Zonnebeke RoadMorning, if this late withered light can claimSome kindred with that merry flameWhich the young day was wont to fling through space!Agony stares from each grey face.And yet the day is come; stand down! stand down!Your hands unclasp from rifles while you can;The frost has pierced them to the bended bone?Why see old Stevens there, that iron man,Melting the ice to shave his

Prose Architecture and Experimentation

Back when I wrote a lot more short stories, I used to use each one as an opportunity for experimentation. This was partly because I feel experimentation is one of the best ways to improve your writing, and partly so I wouldn't get bored.I experimented with different aspects of craft and character. I wrote a story in first-person. I wrote stories in second-person present tense. I tried out a

LeGuin Festschrift

The Ursula LeGuin Festschrift, produced last year for her 80th birthday in an edition of one, will be coming out in print for the rest of us October 21, which happens to be Ursula LeGuin's 81st birthday.You can pre-order (at a 25% discount) here.Contributions include fiction from John Kessel, Andrea Hairston, Sheree Renee Thomas, Ama Patterson, and Pan Morigan, and essays and poetry from Richard

How Many Sex Scenes?

I recently read a contemporay romance and got into a brief discussion about the sex scenes.I'd been perfectly comfortable with the amount of sex that was shown. The story focused on the two characters' relationship issues and issues that were them versus society; basically, Love Against the Odds. So far as sex went, they didn't really have any issues. They were physically compatible from the

The Best Part of Marketing

I'm not as dedicated to marketing my books as many advisors recommend, but I invest some effort because I can't resist the idea that I can find more readers. In particular, I hope to find readers who have never heard of me and who wouldn't necessarily search for a Harlequin Spice novel; readers who might not even know the Spice line exists. Specifically, I felt I had to market because I thought

Wilfred Wilson Gibson, "Breakfast"

Breakfast We ate our breakfast lying on our backs, Because the shells were screeching overhead. I bet a rasher to a loaf of bread That Hull United would beat Halifax When Jimmy Strainthorpe played full-back instead Of Billy Bradford. Ginger raised his head And cursed, and took the bet; and dropt back dead. We ate our breakfast lying on our backs, Because the shells were screeching overhead. --

Edward Thomas, "A Private"

A PrivateThis ploughman dead in battle slept out of doors Many's a frozen night, and merrily Answered staid drinkers, good bedmen, and all bores: 'At Mrs Greenland's Hawthorn Bush,' said he, 'I slept.' None knew which bush. Above the town, Beyond 'The Drover', a hundred spot the down In Wiltshire. And where now at last he sleeps More sound in France--that, too, he secret keeps. --Edward Thomas

Novelists, Inc. Guest Post - The Art of Letting Go

I'm a guest poster today at the Novelists, Inc. Blog on "The Art of Letting Go."Please drop by and check it out!And a Public Service Message:"Call for Manuscripts - Journal of American Culture Special Issue: Love and Romance in American CultureIdeas of romantic love suffuse our lives and guide our emotional experiences and behaviors. Romance comes in various forms of romantic entertainment--books

Writing the Senses

Have you ever done one of those writing exercises to make you think more about using all your senses in your writing?I've at least tried some, but I get bored pretty quickly with exercises, so instead I steal the ideas and try to use them in my normal writing.One thing I feel strongly is that it's not necessary to use every sense in every bit of description. For some writers that may be a

The Nerd Heroine - Louisa Edwards Guest Post

Please welcome my guest, Louisa Edwards!#When I sat down to write Just One Taste, I had only one thought in mind: I want to write about a nerd. And not a nerdy hero, either--I wanted my heroine to be a first class, grade A+++, Wookie-loving, Magic card-carrying friend of Buffy. If you know what I mean, and I think you do.Oh, I had justifications. I wanted to play with themes of emotional