Nora Roberts was born today in writing history, October 10. Celebrate the author’s birthday by learning more about her life and contributions to the writing world. Aspiring writers should also use this opportunity as a writing exercise. Look for inspiration today in writing history.

Writing Prompts for Today In Writing: October 10

Please take this opportunity to learn more about Nora Roberts and her contributions to literature. The author’s ability to craft narratives filled with passion and romance has entertained her readers for over 40 years. Although she initially had no interest in writing, the author was an avid reader from an early age. 

What led Nora Roberts to be a writer? Where did the inspiration to tell her stories come from? And what helped the author create her way of writing? Find inspiration about Roberts, learn more details about her life, and write!

Nora Roberts Biography

Eleanor Marie Robertson was born in Silver Spring, Maryland, on October 10, 1950. Both of her parents were Irish, an identity Roberts embraced, calling herself “an Irishwoman through and through.” The Robertson’s were avid readers, and the young author grew up a bibliophile. She would attend a Catholic school for her early education, crediting nuns for instilling a sense of discipline in her.

Nora Roberts Finds Love

In her sophomore year, Roberts transferred from Catholic school to Montgomery Blair High. Here, she met Ronald Aufdem-Brinke, her future husband. Following their graduation, the couple married in 1968, against the wishes of Nora’s parents. 

Nora Roberts did not write much during her youth. However, after her marriage and the birth of two sons, she became a homemaker. Looking for a hobby, Roberts would try her hand at several crafts before turning to storytelling. 

During a blizzard in February 1979, aspiring writer Nora Roberts began her writing career. At her kitchen table, she began to write and would produce six manuscripts. However, she faced repeated rejections from Harlequin Enterprises ULC, the leading publisher of romance novels at the time. According to one notice, her work was well done and showed promise, but Harlequin already had their American writer- Janet Dailey.

Roberts’s Writing Career Takes Off

Nora Roberts would find success as a writer with Silhouette Books. This new publishing company revisited submissions turned down by Harlequin. With Silhouette, Eleanor Marie Robertson published her debut novel, Irish Thoroughbred, in 1981 under the pen name Nora Roberts. 

From 1982 to 1984, Roberts immersed herself in writing, authoring 23 novels. During this time, she would also divorce Aufdem-Brinke. In 1985, she hired a carpenter, Bruce Wilder, to build bookshelves. The two married shortly afterward.

As her following of readers grew, Nora Roberts published Playing the Odds in 1985, which became an immediate bestseller. Over the following decades, Roberts continued to produce vast quantities of romantic novels. Publishing companies had trouble keeping up with her output, so several of her books were published under pseudonyms. The author has published writing under the pen names J.D. Robb, Jill March, and Sarah Hardesty.

Nora Robert’s Literary Sucess

Nora Roberts has authored over 200 romance novels throughout her writing career, attaining massive popularity from readers of the romantic genre. Several of her stories have been adapted for movies and television. The Lifetime Network alone has adapted eight of her works for their TV movies. In 2007, TIME magazine included Roberts in their 100 Most Influential People, reasoning she “has inspected, dissected, deconstructed, explored, explained and extolled the passions of the human heart.”

Inspiration for Nora Roberts

Nora Roberts has experience with passion and romance. From marrying her high school sweetheart after graduation to falling in love with a craftsman she met on the job, Roberts has an insight into the heart. She wrote about what she knew, what she loved, and what she could dream. 

Despite her initial setbacks, Roberts climbed her way to the top of prolific romance writers. Remember Janet Dailey? She was Harlequin’s American writer that kept Nora Roberts from early publication. In 1997, Dailey admitted that she plagiarized work from Roberts. Nora Roberts successfully sued Dailey for plagiarism and donated her awarded settlement to charity.

Nora Roberts Quotes

1. A writer never finds the time to write. A writer makes it. If you don’t have the drive, the discipline, and the desire, then you can have all the talent in the world, and you aren’t going to finish a book.

2. The most important thing in writing is to have written. I can always fix a bad page. I can’t fix a blank one.

3. You can fix anything but a blank page.

4. People and relationships never stop being a work in progress.

5. Nothing worthwhile is ever without complications.

6. Half full, half empty, what the hell difference does it make? If there’s something in the damn glass, drink it.

7. If something isn’t special, then it’s ordinary.

8. If you don’t step forward, you’re always in the same place. 

9. There’s no reward without work, no victory without effort, no battle won without risk.

10. If you don’t ask, the answer is always no.

Nora Roberts’s Writing Style, Romance

Nora Roberts is a highly disciplined writer with a limitless imagination. The author’s ability to produce volumes of intensely romantic narrative is a prolific feat few authors achieve. She has rightfully earned her honor as the first author inducted into the Romance Writers of America Hall of Fame. Her ability to constantly write is an aspect every aspiring writer should look to hone.

Notable Nora Roberts Books

Irish Thoroughbred (1981)

Reflections (1983)

Dance of Dreams (1983)

Sullivan’s Woman (1984)

Playing The Odds (1985)

Tempting Fate (1985)

All The Possibilities (1985)

One Man’s Art (1985)

Summer Desserts (1985)

Lessons Learned (1986)

For Now, Forever (1987)

Rebellion (1988)

Irish Rose (1988)

Irish Rebel (2000)

Today in Writing: October 10 – Daily Writing Exercise

Now that you have done some reading, it is time to write. Aspiring writers should look to the stories from Today in Writing: October 10 and Nora Robert’s life for their inspiration. Read through her quotes and study her novels to understand her writing style. 

Find a topic from and freewrite for 10 minutes. The writing of Nora Roberts deals with a common issue in literature: love. She is constantly inspired and writing her romantic works. In her words, “The most important thing in writing is to have written. I can always fix a bad page. I can’t fix a blank one.” Aspiring writers should look for inspiration in this author’s style and start writing.

Don’t let any opportunity to write go to waste. Aspiring writers: Practice your writing today. Celebrate Today in Writing History October 10.