Ask us: Conference Edition

While the Playfriends attend the RWA National Conference, we're answering your questions about life, writing, and everything else on the blog. Comments are open and there are prizes to be won!

Claire asks: How did all of you get started writing? Was it something you always wanted to do? Do you write anything besides romance novels?


PC: It sounds cliche, but I've always wanted to write a romance. I didn't start writing until after my daughter was born, though. I'm not sure what the spark was that was different from all the times before that I said I wanted to write, but it felt like the right time. I'm so glad I found RWA and my chapter, Heart of Dixie, at the very beginning. I learned so much so quickly.

As for writing something else, unless you count blog posts and notes to my daughter's teacher, then, no :-)

PM: I never started out to be a writer. I sorta stumbled into it. Actually you can read about my journey to writing romance on our website this month. I've completed one manuscript and I also write short stories for the confessions magazines (True Confessions, True Story, etc).

SP: I actually started writing in elementary school. I'd take our simple writing assignment and manage to spin it into some melodrama. I got my hands on a typewriter in junior high and started pounding out pages. Although all my stories had a romance element, I never really considered them to be romances. I considered them to be thrillers or mysteries because there was always a whodunnit thrown in with my story. When I got older, I realized that the relationship in the story was so critical that perhaps they were more romance than anything else. Since then, everything I've written has had a romance at its core. (Unless you count those miserable technical documents I write for work.)





Insti: I started writing when Sweet Pea was a year old. I think I needed something that was just for me - something that didn't involve drool and diapers. Honestly, I grew up thinking my younger sister would be the writer in the family so it never occurred to me to think about doing it. But when she decided to be a chemical engineer (yeah, as far from writing as you can get) I thought why not? I grew up with a book permanently in my hand and I have to admit sometimes I didn't like the way the book ended. I thought the story should have been different...MY way. So I decided to try it. It was worth the gamble. I found a piece of myself I hadn't realized was missing.

Angel: As with most writers, I started out as an avid reader. All through my teens and into adulthood, I devoured books and received a Bachelor of Arts in English. I also spent a lot of time day dreaming about the characters and what I would have done differently, but it never occurred to me to write a book until a dear friend suggested I attend a workshop for writers. From then on, I was hooked! Now I write romance, short fiction for the Trues magazines, non-fiction articles, and even resumes (for the day job).

Claire, please email us to claim your prize.