If I didn't have 'romance' in my life, my days would be so different.
Now I don't mean romance in the traditional sense of romance from my partner. I get plenty of that (I'm looking at the bunch of lilies he gave me recently as I type this). I mean the romance of books and the romance community.
Romance is a part of my day, everyday. Even if I give myself a 'non-writing' day, I'm still either chatting to or reading posts from my many, many romance friends on Facebook. My number of Facebook friends would plummet dramatically if the romance component disappeared. Sure, there's plenty of book talk, and writing talk and congratulations and commiserations about our writing journeys, but there's also learning about each other's lives. The women in romance are so very giving and caring and I can't imagine what it would be like if I wasn't a part of that world.
Everything I know about writing romance, I learned from other romance writers. Whether from internal workshops at my local meetings, guest speakers we have come in or the workshops from overseas speakers at conferences. You can't go on this romance writing journey successfully alone and I am so thankful for all the knowledge I have gained from so many fabulous women.
Romance get a bad rap for so many and varied reasons, but reading romance makes me (and millions of other readers) happy because it takes me away from the realities of life. Writing romance makes me happy, even when I'm frustrated and doubting myself, I still want to write.
If I wasn't a romance writer I do have plenty of other things that I could fill my time with (things that get put on the back-burner because I have to give my time to writing) but it would leave a huge hole in my soul.
So, thank you 'romance' for filling my life with knowledge and friends and hours of frustration and satisfaction and enjoyment - and love.
4 comments:
Andra - I totally agree with you about what a wonderful "community" romance writers are - giving and spirited. We are so lucky to have each other. And to be able to practice the craft of writing romance, especially in these trying times, when putting one step in front of the other, or one word after another, is sometimes tedious and painful. I enjoyed your post.
I can so relate to your post, Andra! Belonging to such a wonderful, supportive community of writers is what keeps me going - plus writing is more fun than most anything else I could be doing!
Being a part of the romance authors community has also enriched my life in dozens of ways...and it has proven to me that I can make friends of substance that I never see in person. That has been an invaluable gift during this past year and a half.
Everything you wrote is true for me as well. The Romance author community has been giving, helpful, sometimes challenging, but most often a gift to my life and I'm sure will continue to be.
I also write because it brings me joy. I'm at an age that if I'm not getting joy out of something that takes as many hours as book writing, it needs to be stopped and room made for more of those things that provide meaning in my life. I can't imagine never writing a book again.
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