What's the point of writing?

Oooh, that's an ominous title!

But really, the question should be twofold: 
What's the point of writing? And what's the point of writing romance?

Because those are different questions, aren't they? Maybe we can answer both.

Another list, if you will. Because lordie knows I love lists.

#10) We write to keep in contact with what it is to be human. Nuances of behavior, quirks, motives for actions -- writing is studying the details and then depicting humanity, sometimes in its rawest form.

#9) Because a story isn't your story until you've told it. That's right. Everyone has a story in them. But not everyone can get that story on paper. That takes special skills. However, if you can write it and shape it, then that's real power. Wow.

#8) Writing is better than photoshop. You can make readers see or feel anything, with a turn of a phrase or a tweak of a sentence. You can make different readers see or feel different things with that same phrase or sentence.

#7) Conveying information in written form is something that has tied mankind together for centuries. That common thread to record events and people around us continues even today. My carpal tunnel is just happy we don't have to chisel anything to do it nowadays.

#6) Writing gives us hope. Minus that paranormal vampire romance writer who shall remain nameless who flippin' killed off a heroine in one of her most recent books (dude, that is WRONG), romance is otherwise a safe literary venue of hope. There's an unspoken contract in every romance novel: somehow, we'll get a HEA (or HEA-for now, and that's okay too). In a world full of crazy, sometimes you need to read about the endless combinations of ways that hope, happiness, and love still can survive.

#5) It beats the heck out of cleaning the house.

#4) For this writer, the act of creation is catharsis. If every day you deal in suffering, pain, stress, and fear, then writing can morph those feelings into something beautiful. I've said it before: I might not be practicing medicine if it weren't for getting back in touch with my writing roots. Either that or I'd be heavily medicated.

#3) There are nice people who write, too. And we all like to talk about a lot of the same things. Pleasantly. Over dinner and stuff.

#2) There are nice people who read romance. And we all like to talk about a lot of the same things. Pleasantly. Over chocolate and stuff.

#1) Because nothing says, "I'm in control" like knowing you can take anyone who ticks you off and show that person for the total poophead they are. On paper. And then we can exact retribution in the precise manner in which we are not legally allowed to do, here in the real world. Yeah. Take that, jerky pants!

Unicorns and rainbows bonus: Write to make people happy. Write to make yourself happy.

Practical bonus: Write to make money/support family/pay bills. (Sometimes this is possible, but don't count on it until there are years of checks that have come in.....)