love is the key Archives

Love Is the Key: Writing and Reading Romance

I’m intrigued by this phrase: Write to Mission. What does it mean? For you as a reader, for me as an author of romances?

_{Photo by Annie Spratt on Unsplash}

A phrase I hear more often is: Write to Market. This means try to find what is trending/what is selling and write that kind of story.

But I really prefer the first.

But what exactly does it mean? When I invite you into the world I’ve created, what journey do I want you to embark on ? What experiences will you have with my characters?

And I have to ask about the journey I want to go on as well. Where should writing/creating take me?

Part of the meaning of the phrase, write to mission, has to be building my world (my day to day world, my author world, and my fictional worlds) grounded in my values.

So, here I’ll try to list a few of those values.

I believe that love is the key–to everything good. Love is the answer, not only in a good story, but in life.

It’s easy to recognize love in the sweet, joyful times. Those moments of deep and meaningful connection and sharing are exhilarating and exquisite.

But love is also the answer in the middle of difficulties and disagreements. It requires respect, sacrifice, forgiveness, and compromise, but it’s worth it. Because love solves problems. Or, when a problems can’t be solved (and some challenges are long term), love helps us to understand and bear the load. And share the load. It gives us the strength to go on.

And I’m speaking here about both love for ourselves as well as love for others. Honesty and trust, courage, commitment, loyalty, fidelity, serving, nurturing and caring. All are part of love. I believe in these. I hope for these things.

At home and in the world, love conquers all.

These beliefs are the foundation of my life and writing, and the foundation of my stories.

I think you must share my belief in love and my hope that love will win in the end.

I bet you have stories of what love has done or allowed you to do in your life. I’d love to hear your stories of love, in the good times and the bad.

I’ve made this my motto. Actually, the full quote by Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr. is “Love is the master key that opens the gates of happiness, of hatred, of jealousy, and, most easily of all, the gate of fear.

I believe this. I just like to focus on happiness or the journey to happiness in love. I don’t mind taking my characters through the other difficulties on the way to love, but I believe that love ultimately brings happiness–and peace, tolerance, patience, joy, meaning. In all aspects of our lives, on a small scale with those around us and on a larger scale as we interact with the world, we are happier and better if we try to see people through the lens of love.

So, I write romance. Even if I wrote another genre, there would be romance, or at least a strong relationship aspect at the center. I mean, what’s the purpose of a story if there is no love?

And on this Christmas Eve, more than ever before, I remember that Love Is the Key to everything good.

Merry Christmas!