Sunday, September 15, 2013

Sunday Story

Continuing on from Friday's post with the following questions: Why do I write? and Why do I write
romance?

Reading has been a pleasure for as long as I can remember. Making up stories is the same. My parents always read to us, and my Dad always made up stories for us. My Mum spoke of her father making up stories for her. When I was seven I wrote a story that I think I still have a copy of somewhere in my 'treasures'. I don't know why I kept it, except that it's always been something special. I certainly haven't kept most of my writing.

Throughout my life there have been a few memorable pieces of writing - sometimes not for the best reasons! I had a stint writing poetry, lots and lots of ballads. Some were dedicated and sent to my favourite football team (okay, I was young!). One went to my favourite player - and when I say went, it did actually land in his hands because a friend of mine (although I did question the friendship after I found out! LOL) read it to him and then gave it to him. Thank goodness I only heard this second hand. I would have died of embarrassment!! I entered contests. I wrote short stories, racy things, letters to the editor (and other important people).

I don't think I've ever stopped but I became more focused on writing for work and less for pleasure. And what I did for pleasure was only for my eyes, or select friends. Did time get scarce? I think that although I scribbled on occasion, my writing lessened.

And then I had a few years where my life took dramatic flicks, twists and turns.

After that, I wrote to sort my head out. I couldn't get the muddle out any other way. In doing this, I opened up to my creativity again.

A friend challenged me to write a book. And this is how I ended up in romance. She suggested a Mills and Boon would be easiest because it was short, we had a start and a finish and I just had to fill in the middle. You know what? It sounded so simple.

I hadn't read a Mills and Boon in at least ten years when I started. Romance wasn't a genre I knew, much less read. I think the only books I associated with romance were Mills and Boon. My... how I've changed! How my knowledge has grown!

Romance is in almost every single book in every genre, in some form. It's a universal theme. It's something that makes life interesting. It's fascinating, intriguing and completely weird (in a good way!).

I should know a fair bit about romance because my maternal grandparents were nicknamed 'the newlyweds' when they were in a nursing home towards the end of their lives. My paternal grandparents were not demonstrative in their love but I knew they loved each other. My parents were not like newlyweds in their affections but they showed affection and I knew they loved one another. I've listened to countless friends with broken hearts, or in the early jittery stages of romance. I should know about romance.

But like I said on Friday, I missed something somewhere in my life. I'm not terribly romantic (actually I'm hopeless). I don't even think to do romantic things. I don't easily remember dates or events. I'm missing the romance gene!

I probably write romance for the same reason I write sex - to understand what I missed out on naturally knowing!

Has it helped me? So far I think I'm only doing the sex part, as I don't think my stories are terribly romantic. I'm only starting on the learning, ask me in a few more years!!

How about you, are you a romantic?

No comments:

Post a Comment