The Mystique of Writing

by Ruth Brown

The following appeared in the March 2006 issue of Smoke Signals, newsletter of the Smoky Mountain Romance Writers. Permission to
reprint is granted to sister RWA Chapters with appropriate credit to author and chapter.

I've been busy with the promotion side of writing and implementing a few business practices that hopefully lend an air of professionalism.

Two such things are getting a post office box and business cards. I mentioned to the postal clerk that I was getting the box for my writing career. I got the same reaction from him as I do from other 'lay' people; raised eyebrows. Sometimes people say "oh really?" or they ask if I have a book or what type stories I write. I love it when they do that. I love the mystique of writing.

To the person that has never written a story, a writer seems like a fascinating individual. Most don't know the difference between a writer and an author though I do tell them I am not an author yet with the stress on yet. I know what they are thinking because I wasn't always involved in this business. I wondered if a writer traveled to great places doing research. I imagined an interesting life one must surely live to come up with plots and all the nuances that charm a reader and hook them.

For me, this mystique is still a reason to write. For a moment, I do get to travel to romantic places and live vicariously through my characters. I'm excited to talk about it to the person that says "oh really?" That little thrill makes all the work worthwhile.

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Ruth Brown writes romantic suspense. For more about her, visit www.ruthlbrown.com.

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