“because I love writing romance”

I’m attending RAM (Romance Author Mastermind), and one of the keynote speakers, Lauren Layne, brought me to tears with a very simple statement.

Deceptively simple.

She was talking about all sorts of reasons why we go into publishing. The various goals and accomplishments we want to achieve. The things we want to do.

But sometimes those don’t work out. And sometimes we don’t actually get where we want to go.

And we need to go back to our why.

She said her why is because she loves writing romance. Simple.

And it made me cry, because it’s my why, too.

Why do I do all of this?

Because I love writing romance.

I love love stories. I want to spend my days making these characters think of all the reasons why they can’t fall in love … and then letting them inevitably fall for each other.

I get so caught up in plans and goals and things I want to achieve.

But bringing it back to such a simple why hit me so profoundly because I can always draw on that when I’m feeling down.

Why am I doing this?

Because I love doing this.