In a nutshell, SUMMER TO WINTER is about a high schooler who falls in love with her teacher. Eight years later, the two reunite and begin a relationship. Sounds simple? Pure and wholesome? Well, not to some who I told the synopsis to. Without even waiting for an explanation, folks assumed the worst. They assumed a toxic relationship. Something wholly inappropriate had the high schooler and her teacher started that kind of relationship. But they didn't and I wouldn't write that.
I'm not judging other writers for writing about that. Writers we can write whatever (as long as it doesn't hurt or harm innocent people). There's all sorts of ethical and moral issues with writing certain topics. That's not what I'm getting into with this post. What I AM SAYING is most of my story ideas stem from conversations I've had or eavesdropped on, rumors I've overheard, folklore, family history, and the tales read and/or spoken to me or that I've read over time.
When I was in high school, I heard a rumor about a student and a teacher(rumors are great fodder for storytelling. I'd rather turn a rumor into a story idea rather than repeat it) and it went something like this:
A teen girl likes her teacher and goes after him. He rejects her, citing that it's inappropriate. Student tells him she's set to graduate and that she'll come back for him.
The 'story' is when she DID graduate, she went back to see him and they ended up together. In another version, they got married.
Now, did this really happen? A lot of folks have asked me. I don't know. I don't know if this was a true story or made up. So is the nature of rumors.
Depending on circumstances or situation, you may not get the real life drama behind the story, but the 'What If?' is compelling enough to want to write about it!
So this is what I did. I didn't want an imbalance. I didn't want an illegal relationship. I knew about peers who were minors and abused by adults. I didn't want to normalize such in any story I write.
I am a romantic. I love romance. I love romantic movies and shows, comics and graphic novels, I love romance novels. I'm a sentimental person, probably to the point of being schmaltzy. I don't deny it. I like when couples wear the same clothes. I like when a couple cosplays together. I even think it was cute reading about such a couple that the guy crossplays his characters so he can wear the same clothing as his girlfriend. Don't judge me. Don't judge him.
I've even been reading more representative romances, the kind I've always gravitated towards when younger: interracial, intercultural, interfaith, and inter-ethnic.
I also have been reading a lot of webcomics and e-manga that shows LGBTQIA+ romances. The more representative of real life, the better!
So, getting back to my story, SUMMER TO WINTER, I wanted to expand on that rumor I heard from my high school days. I wanted to see behind the scenes. And I wanted it to be a sweet love story with a lot of steam to get the pulse racing. And I love comedies, and life can be hilarious, so that's in there too.
The draft pages I've been posting to my writing group and to my Instagram - I also post the SFW (Safe For Work) pages on Facebook - Hey, my bosses, coworkers, family and family friends are still on there! I don't feel comfortable posting there! - but the rest is received by my Twitter chat group and my Insta followers, and the feedback is intense and mostly positive.
Pretty much in a nutshell, I continue to write the stories I wanted to see on TV, in the theatre, and in books. And I've been getting those stories, but now I'm getting even more that I didn't know I wanted, and that's perfect for me as a storyteller...
Stay inside as much as possible, be safe and take care, Dear Readers!
