Sweethearts Story Explanation

Hey! Vimaro22, here, and now that “Sweethearts” has been completed, I want to post this story explanation for you to read.

Basically, it’s a behind-the-scenes look into how I wrote this story, my ideas about the characters and the plot, the people the characters were based off of, the chapter titles, and all that good stuff. If you want to keep “Sweethearts” a mystery, then feel no remorse in skipping all of these details. However, I’d really appreciate it if you read The Dedications and A Final Note.

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The Plot

“Sweethearts” started off as a semi-autobiographical story. I envisioned it revolving around Emma and Paul solely, but as you can see, that’s not what happened. Rather than just one story about two childhood sweethearts, I brought in other storylines.

Paul and Emma, childhood sweethearts

The biggest one, of course, is the story of Emma and Paul. Though it may seem as though I didn’t always focus on it, it really was always there, floating around. I didn’t want the story to become boring, with everything being about the same two people. However, since they were the whole story, in essence, the majority of the story is about them. The main idea is that Emma, who had moved from New Jersey to West Virginia when she was 5, moves back to New Jersey and starts school. There, she meets Paul. However, she doesn’t realize that Paul was her childhood best friend/boyfriend. Paul, on the other hand, recognizes her immediately. This brought me to a crossroads. There were two storylines I could have followed: number one, have Paul tell Emma immediately that he is her very own Paul and have the story focus on them getting to know each other again, and number two, Paul NOT tell Emma and have his reason being he wanted to get to know her again with “no strings attached,” so to speak. As you have read, Emma found out in a way that Paul wasn’t planning. However, I want to make it quite clear that he DID intend to tell her, but he wanted to do it on his own terms. Obviously, that didn’t work out.

Johnny, supreme homophobe

Another storyline, which I found to be really great to write, is the one of Paul’s best friend Johnny. While I was writing the first chapter, I came to yet another crossroads. You might remember the part where Emma sees a boy staring at her in an “I think you’re pretty, I want to make out with you” kind of way. That, if you remember, was Johnny. I had to decide whether or not I wanted to develop that boy into a more important character, or just let him be as just that random boy. As you can see, I did decide to develop him. This allowed me to give him is own little sub-story, revolving around him being homophobic and having a gay father. I had to choose between making his father gay or his mother a lesbian, and I decided that having it be his father would hit home more. Johnny was supposed to look up to his father, and then when he found out his father’s secret, his perception completely changed. So enters the whole story of Johnny dealing with his father’s homosexuality, and of his dad having a partner. I brought in Matthew and Josh and made them important characters to serve Johnny’s need for a family. I really liked Matthew and Josh, and I loved writing them. As you can see, from the end of the story, things are better in Johnny’s house. Johnny truly began trying to deal with his father and Josh, and Matthew decided not to send Johnny to live with his mother. Things certainly aren’t cleared up, but because this particular storyline wasn’t about resolution, they didn’t need to be.

Paul, the one with the trivial problem

This storyline was the least problematic, and was also the shortest. It focuses on Paul’s problem with his older brother, Christopher. In case it was at all confusing, Paul and Topher were really close when they were younger. But, Topher got older, and he started developing feelings that weren’t there before, obviously towards girls. Enter Topher’s getting a girlfriend, and you have one pissed off Paul. Basically, Paul was just being an idiot and decided that he didn’t like Topher ditching him for a girl. This is where Paul’s coldness towards Topher comes in. Really, Paul was just being a pure jackass. There was no deep emotional trauma that caused Paul’s anger, he just decided to brood for years on seemingly no end. Topher was a fun character to write in. I wrote him as the older brother I wish I had (I am the youngest, and sadly, I have only two older sisters). He’s a really good guy, and he deal’s with Paul’s attitude really well (particularly when he finds out the real reason why Paul was acting the way he was). This storyline was just to bring into the picture some of Paul’s flaws. He really wasn’t the perfect guy, and he had issues. This story was resolved in a fairly short amount of time. I just couldn’t take Topher being so sad all the time!

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The Characters

Emma Carson

Emma, as you might expect, is based lightly off of me. However, Emma is what I am, what I wish I could be, and what I’m thankful I’m not. She’s universal in a way, because I think that everyone can relate to her on some level. She’s intelligent, pretty, athletic, and just all-around a nice person. On the other hand, she gets angry really easily and has a temper. She takes things too seriously. Sometimes, though, she portrays maturity beyond her years. She’s sarcastic and guarded, which is me in a nutshell. Emma started out as me, but she became her own person throughout the writing of this story.

Paul Williams

Obviously, Paul is based off of my own Paul. He’s what I remember Paul to be, as well as I what I would hope Paul is now. I really don’t remember much about him, which made me do a lot of guessing. However, I hope I did Paul justice. He’s basically, as Emma calls him, her knight in shining denim. He’s sweet, funny, smart, athletic, and mature. But, as you can see, he does have his own demons (which you learn about in his own personal storyline). Without Paul, you have no story. Without my own Paul, somewhere out there, “Sweethearts” would not exist.

Johnny Masters

Full name: John Masters. He’s a jerk, no doubt about it. However, sometimes he has his moments where you just really like him. As I said above in the section about Johnny’s storyline, when I was writing the first chapter, I had to decide whether or not to make him into an important character. I’m really glad that I did. I had no idea whether or not he’d cause confusion in the story, but he didn’t (I don’t think), and he played his part well. He’s got major issues, and sometimes you just want to slap him, but he really is a good guy at heart. Johnny is an entirely fictional character. There was no Johnny in my life (though I wish there was).

Steven Crown

Steven is easily my favorite character (besides Paul). Though I love all of my characters, for obvious reasons, I adore him. He’s just an amazing guy, and everyone picked up on it. He is gay, as you have read, but he’s not “flaming.” He’s just a normal guy, who just happens to be attracted to guys. Steven is the gay friend that I never had, and that I wish I had. His purpose was to be a support system for Emma, who definitely needed him. However, I have to admit that in the back of my mind, there was a political message here: homosexuals are exactly the same as heterosexuals…they are just attracted to people of the same sex. Really, this whole story has got my opinion about homosexual couples. You just had to notice it. Anyway, Steven was such a great person to write in. He made me laugh and think, and he’s got intelligence beyond his years. That, I think, is why people love Steven so much. He’s just a likeable guy.

Melina Anderson

Notice that you never actually MEET Melina. She was Emma’s best girl friend in her West Virginia town. She’s really insecure and annoying, and you might wonder why I added her in. To be honest, she didn’t really play an important part. She was just there for flavor. She became the person that you love to hate, and that you are happy you don’t have to deal with in real life (though you may actually know someone similar to her). I added her in just for fun, and just because.

Topher Williams

Christopher, or Topher, is Paul’s older brother. He was not a planned character in the slightest. Since I didn’t plan on having a storyline for Paul alone, I never thought about the possibility of Paul having siblings. However, Topher turned out very nicely. He’s pretty cool guy (I wouldn’t mind having him for an older brother!). There isn’t much to say about him, since I really didn’t develop him. He had his purpose in the story, and he played his role well. I really like his character, but he wasn’t someone that I really wanted to go in-depth with. He wasn’t my main priority. Nonetheless, I’m happy that I added him in.

Matthew Masters and Josh Randolph

I love these two to death, particularly Josh. They are Johnny’s parents, and play a VERY important role in the story. They are gay, obviously, but that shouldn’t mean anything. Well, it should mean something, as that fact plays an important part in the story, but aside from that, my goal was for you to see them as regular human beings, nothing more and nothing less. I wanted you to like them for them, not for the part that they played or the way they handled things in the story. They are essential to Johnny’s story, and they’re very much a pivotal part of the whole outcome.

Any others

I mentioned other people in the stories, such as Alex and Brandon (Emma and Steven’s friends from West Virginia), other students in the school, the parents of Emma, the parents of Paul, and the parents of Steven. However, they were not pivotal to plot, and they were not developed. There is not very much that I can tell you about these people. If you were ever interested in finding out more about these, leave a comment and I’ll message you back giving you the best answer I can.

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The Chapter Titles

You probably noticed the somewhat strange chapter titles for this story. When I first started writing this story, I used completely original titles. However, as I read more stories on FictionPress, I noticed authors using song titles as chapter titles. I really liked that idea, so I decided to do the same. I tried to use songs and song titles that had meaning to that particular chapter. Here, I’ll list the chapter, the chapter/song title, and the artist that did that song. You’ll be able to check out the songs and the artists, just in case you’re interested. All of the songs that were used for chapter titles were chosen off of my iTunes. (Note: I do not own any of these songs. All rights are reserved to their respective owners.)

Chapter One- Spin, by Lifehouse

Chapter Two- At the Stars, by Better Than Ezra

Chapter Three- Downfall, by Matchbox Twenty

Chapter Four- Anchor, Lifehouse

Chapter Five- Behind Those Eyes, 3 Doors Down

Chapter Six- Think About Me, Goo Goo Dolls

Chapter Seven- Feel, Matchbox Twenty

Chapter Eight- Ever the Same, Rob Thomas

Chapter Nine- Rewind, Better Than Ezra

Chapter Ten- Disease, Matchbox Twenty

Chapter Eleven- Sympathy, Goo Goo Dolls

Chapter Twelve- What You Own, Adam Pascal and Anthony Rapp (from the musical RENT)

Chapter Thirteen- Sick Cycle Carousel, Lifehouse

Chapter Fourteen- Name, Goo Goo Dolls

Chapter Fifteen- The Best Thing, Savage Garden

Chapter Sixteen- Affirmation, Savage Garden

Chapter Seventeen- Dizzy, Goo Goo Dolls

Chapter Eighteen- Innocent, Our Lady Peace

Chapter Nineteen- Everything You Want, Vertical Horizon

Chapter Twenty- Do This Anymore, Nickelback

Chapter Twenty-One- Anybody, Jesse McCartney

Chapter Twenty-Two- Seasons of Love, the cast of the musical RENT

Chapter Twenty-Three- Truly Madly Deeply, Savage Garden

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A Final Note

I just wanted to take a moment to thank you, once again, for reading this story. “Sweethearts” has meant so much to me for the past few months, and it’s given me something to work at. It’s been amazing to go through the journal of these characters, and they are all so special to me. Without your support, this story would not have gone on, and I probably would never have finished it. Now that I have, I am so happy that I did. It’s such a feeling of accomplishment. You all are first, and foremost, the coolest people alive for reading and reviewing and liking this story. This story would not exist without you.

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Dedications

All stories have to have dedications, right? Well, rather than dedicating this story to someone at the beginning of the story, I decided to make it at the end. Here you go:

Paul, my sweetheart forever

Paul… I don’t know where you are, what you look like, what you’re hobbies are, or anything like that. I don’t even know your last name. However, without you being in my life, this story would not be around. I would never have the inspiration to create something like this. You are the reason why I was able to create something like this. You inspired “Sweethearts.” Therefore, this story is yours alone and yours forever.

Leah (Mother Grasshopper), my best friend

You were there for me when I first started writing this story. In fact, it was you that got me thinking about writing it in the first place. I can’t thank you enough for your support with this story. You’ve kept reading this story, even when I said that something wasn’t very good or when I said I didn’t like how something turned out. You were there for me. This is why you belong in the dedications…you’re the mastermind behind this story.

Tyler, one of my first readers

All I can say is that you really were one of my first and only readers when I first started writing. I kept sending you the links, and you kept reading and giving me feedback. You told me what you liked, what was funny, what was weird. When I needed help on “how guys act,” you were ready to give advice. Without you, Tyler, I don’t know how this story would have turned out. I thank you for your support.

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I suppose this is it, everyone. Once again, thank you! I love you all.