Bronwyn Storm

Why do you write romance?

Let me see...I spend all day thinking about love, "researching" my heroes by surfing the internet and looking at pictures of hot guys, "researching" my heroines' wardrobes by surfing the internet and looking at fashion. And when I'm not surfing, I'm thinking or writing about love: how it comes, goes, lasts. So to recap: I spend all day in a dreamland, looking at clothing and men, and then writing about love... AND PEOPLE PAY ME TO DO THIS! Seriously, I'm amazed that more people don't write romance.

What is your writing schedule like?

Wake up anywhere from 5am-6am. Stumble into my study where my fantastic husband brings me a cup of tea. Eat breakfast, check email, take dogs for a walk. Wonder what made me think I could be a writer. Come home, have morning snack, check email. Do a few pages of writing/editing. Have a mid-morning snack. Check email. Re-read my writing. Realize that I'm a hack. Spend 2 hours staring at the computer screen wondering what made me think I could write. Email writing buddies, asking them if they think MacDonalds would hire me. Eat lunch. Check email. Get notes from writing buddies threatening me with physical harm if I don't keep writing. Eat early afternoon snack. Go back to writing. Have mid-afternoon snack. Check email. Putz (because that sounds better than saying, "Go back to neurotic nature and wonder what made me think I could write"). Check email. Wonder when husband will come home so he can tell me that I'm not a writing hack. Husband comes home. I shut down computer

Is the above really true?

BBBWWAAAAHHHAAAHHAA. Of course not. I never shut down my computer.

What was the best advice you got as a writer?

Write.

What would you tell someone who wants to be a writer?

Write. It sounds easy, but anyone who has ever sat down to write a Christmas card, let alone a story knows how hard a task it is. You do start wondering if you're as big a talentless hack as you think you are. And being published doesn't change any of that.

All the writers I know, published or not, have moments when they're convinced their work is crap. And don't get me wrong. Sometimes your work is crap. It's terrible, too many point of view changes, too much tell, you've used the word "gently," 45 738 476 times on one page. That's okay.

To be a great writer, you have to be willing to be a terrible writer. I don't know who said that, but they were right. You can fix your wretched prose, you can read to increase your vocabulary. But you can't do much with a blank page and a crippling fear that your family will laugh at your story, your friends will read your sex scene and wonder what kind of pervert you are, or that you'll try only to fail.

So, do what the rest of us do: write. Write despite the inner-critic, push through the wall--I'm not athletic, so you'll have to insert your own sports metaphor here (y'know, like sink that putt...putt? Wait, isn't sinking a swimming thing?), but you get the point. Write. Write. Write.

What other suggestions do you have for writers?

DO THE WORK. Research your plot, your characters and your story. Make sure you do what is necessary to keep up with the industry and what publishers are looking for.

Understand that while writing is art, it's still a business. BE PROFESSIONAL. Writers, editors, and agents talk to each other. If you're acting like an idiot, refusing to revise your manuscript, bad-mouthing your reps during chats or loops, believe me, people know.

Surround yourself with people who are writing (not just talking about writing). Submit and become friends with rejection. Read a lot. And take time to do nothing.

What is your favorite quote?

"Falling flat on your face is still moving forward." ~John Vorhaus

How long did you write before you were published?

Two years before a short story acceptance, five before a novel acceptance.

If you could rule the world, what would you do?

Ideally, I'd sit down with all the leaders of the various countries and do the following: smack them on the back of their heads.

But pacifists can't hit (though we can slip on the floor and our hands accidentally connect with the back of a head), so I'd just do this: make a law that leaders who want to go to war, have to go to war themselves. None of this sending the countries' citizens. I mean, who the hell came up with that brilliant idea?

I can just see a bunch of men sitting around, smoking their cigars and then one says: "Oh! I know. The next time we have a war, let's send the most physically fit, well adjusted men and women. They'll get shot and die, and then the people at home will have criminals, the aged, the too young and the mal-adjusted to choose for their life partner."

Great, boys. Brilliant idea.