Promptly Writing Romances

The question(s) this week: Why do you write romance? What prompted you to write in the romance genre?

“Prompted” is the perfect word.

Actually, never in my life would I have expected to write a romance novel.

Not. Ever.

I don’t know why, since doing soul-searching for this post made me think that, actually, the songs I had written, (and to beat a truly dead horse, won an award for me), were romantic.

However, when the Founding Fox asked me to join the blog I was more than flattered and wanted to jump in, but I nearly didn’t, considering that the banner then described the blog as being written by southern romance writers. Yes, I am actually in Kentucky (and technically born south of the Mason-Dixon Line in Maryland), but I did not a romance writer in any way. My published works had been non-fiction and poetry.

However, I took the plunge and have loved every second here.

I was quite literally prompted into a romantic story when the same Founding Fox posted a photo on another site. I took one look at it and most of a story came to me within twenty seconds; I knew that I would have to write it.

I let everything else get in the way. Frankly, I never thought about writing a full-length book, let alone a romance.

Oh, sure, I had written stories, or started stories, but short ones. This one called for a full-blown novel. (None of those stories had been ‘romances’.)

Then, another (now former) Fox introduced me to a writing challenge, a short one, offered by another friend of hers who needed a prompt. It seemed to be doable: 100 words a day, every day, until there was one last writer standing, (or sitting), and at the end of that rainbow was a simple reward. I figured that I could do 100 words a day to start the story. I needed the prompt and at the time, I really could use the $25.00 Amazon card.

Boy, could I do 100 words! I did 300, sometimes thousands and I was the last one who had not skipped a day. The story took great shape. Characters, I learned, did as they pleased, (or would not do what didn’t please them), and at that point, I knew that I had a novel.

I will get back to that novel. I also have another romance started, one that was prompted by a premise that came to my grandson a few years ago. After he told me the outline he said, “But I don’t know how to write that”. Since he was in his early teens and it involves a married couple, I said, “I will”; I need to finish it.

I have been working on them in my head. I need to finish them ‘on paper’ as it were.

Me, writing romance novels?

Yes, if prompted.

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