Recently fellow WisRWA member Jody Allen shared an article from another RWA Chapter. The post originated on Murderati (an outstanding blog) and was written by Toni McGee Causey. She titled it Comfort Reading (Click here – now!). The article was so moving, I felt compelled to help spread its message. Perhaps you’ve already read it; if so, you’ll know it’s worth reading again.
Causey’s post brought to mind my step-mother. She’d always worked hard. While still healthy, she’d never found much time to read for pleasure. Then, on one of my later visits, after she had been diagnosed with cancer and was worn down from chemo, I saw a stack of well-read Regency Romances next to her chair – many by Georgette Heyer and Barbara Cartland. As we talked about her love for the stories, her face softened. “They take me away,” she said. We shared a smile.
As fiction writers, we have many reasons to write. Some of us write for recognition. Some of us write for money (still waiting on that one). Some of us write simply to quell those nagging voices in our heads. But of all our reasons, I believe the best reason we have to write is for others.
Keep writing, my friends!
Stringing Beads 
You hit the nail right on the head . Great post!
Best wishes
Maureen
Thank you, Maureen.
Wonderful post, Deb.
Thank you for the gift of summarizing a very important concept for us writers.
I also believe the reasons we write change periodically, but we are overall compelled to get those people inhabiting our heads out into the open and slipping into readers’ hearts.
I’m so sorry about your stepmother, Debra. Romance novels have gotten me through many a dark day. I will be forever grateful to those writers.
Books have always helped me evade from my reality but somehow through the years it has become harder for them to accomplish this. As you said, we become so critical that very few things still work for us.
When I write I try not to imagine the people who might read my stuff, because it can become hard to open and I become too self-conscious. But in editing, I sometimes imagine somebody peeking from over my shoulder and if I still feel embarrassed, then I know it’s not good enough.
Deb, terrific post. I still think Georgette Heyer was a great writer!