Writing Wednesday—What’s with all the boy/girl stuff?
7 October 2009
So at the wedding on Saturday, I got into a discussion with Ben’s aunt about dating in high school. She has two unbelievably beautiful daughters (a freshman and … a seventh grader, maybe?) so this is a personal and important topic to her. She isn’t against dating in high school, but she was telling me about a book by Chad Eastham. He opens his discussion of high school relationships saying, “It will not work.” Ben’s aunt and her girls have had lots of talks about the basis of this book versus what they’ve seen with me and Ben. (For those who may not know, Ben and I met and started dating our freshman year.)
There aren’t a lot of teen romance books on the Christian bookstore shelves. By definition, none of the Skylar books stand-alone as romances either. (The definition of a romance is: Boy gets girl, boy loses girl, boy gets girl back. Gone with the Wind, not a romance. This Lullaby, Finding Stefanie, Jane Eyre, all romances.) But I can practically guarantee there will always be a romance thread in my books.
When I think of high school, my emotion regarding Ben is something I remember clearly. Not every high school relationship is meant to last (I’d venture to say very few high school relationships are meant to last—friendships and romantic alike), but that doesn’t mean those relationships aren’t important. Many of us were shaped—for better or worse—by the people we dated/wanted to date/hoped would notice us back in high school. It’s something I intend to keep talking about, to keep finding fresh angles for.
It’s also something I delve into a bit more in Out with the In Crowd when Skylar is making choices about what she should and shouldn’t give up for Connor. That aspect of the book is something ripped right out of my high school life, when all my instincts said, “I’ve found the guy I’m going to marry,” and the world around me said, “You have lots of growing up to do. It will not work.” I’m excited, and a maybe a bit nervous, to hear the audience response to that come January 1st.
Happy Wednesday everyone!
I know the stats that say “It doesn’t work” but I also find it really amazing that God has led me to all these friends who, like us, met young, fell in love young, married young, and ARE WORKING. Hmm, maybe the experts shouldn’t make blanket statements. ;-)
Posted by Roseanna White on 8 October 2009