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| The Original Cover Photo-2010 |
The Foundation
Since I had last finished my screenplay of Friends and Neighbors, it was time to find something new to write about. Since then, I wrote a few unpublished short stories centered in and around Atchison, Ireland, Virginia, Iraq, Manhattan, and Neodesha. While writing those short stories, I never thought I would decide to pull out some old teenage diary entries that were saved in a folder since I graduated high school. Originally collected, it was meant to be written as a book called, The Teenage Love Diaries. A book containing diary entries that centered around eight friends who spent their time in Junction City while attending Junction City Senior High. It was the first book that would be apart of The Junction City Senior High Series. Hence, if you look at the picture, it was originally supposed to say 'The Junction City Senior High Series'. The word 'series' was cut off in the final print. Anyways, I've always wanted to tell a love story that every teenager in high school goes through. Something that is very personal in which everyone can relate to. During my junior/senior year of high school, I had an urge to write a musical that not only focused on social issues of racism, interracial romance, LBGT, abuse, and faith, but something that reflected a story of both an African-American family and a Latino family while living in a small, rural Kansas town in which Junction City can be reflected in a positive way. A story where hardships are overcome with love, faith, and acceptance. While working on the early music drafts, I pulled all of my inspiration from classical music, gospel, jazz, latin-jazz, socca, and Asian music, and begin writing down melodies and interludes. At the time, I asked my friend, Tiffany, to write the lyrics and offer some input. I tell you, she's a great writer. When slowly on the edge of completion, I thought it was great as it is. When I got to college, I slowly neglected to continue writing the story and the musical. Throughout college, those same characters stuck with me, and I pandered on my own reflections, actions, and feelings, and begin writing about the highs and lows in both my high school and college career. I was extremely proud and passionate about Friends and Neighbors, that my mind wandered back and forth on wether or not I should bring the "Teenage Love Story" back to life. I realized that the Teenage Love Story was the prequel to the entire young adult semi-autobiographical saga, and finally, I made the promise to myself to resurrect it from its dusty cobwebs. While taking those old, handwritten diary manuscripts, that's when I started to change the structure and narrative, and make it into a story rather than a diary of teenage thoughts. Hours and hours of re-writing, fixing, and editing went into revamping everything. While writing the story, I also wanted to better my craft in screenwriting, and so I begin to take what I knew and learn from my fellow screenwriting friends and applied it. As of today, I am still in the works of writing this untitled teenage love screenplay/story, and I am now privately selecting who I want to be in it, if it ever becomes an indie film. No promises are made on filming, but soon, I am hoping something will happen. As I walk the halls of JCHS, the stories still remain within the halls and in my head. The music that inspired me to write it, is still there. From the music we sung in choir class, to the cyphers and rhymes we all would do just outside by the flagpole. Every draft, every notebook, every entry, every drawing, and every music composition since 2010 has never been trashed, but placed in a huge binder so I can refer to who, what, when, where, why, and how of the story. The history still remains. I may get a stab in my chest when parts of the school gets renovated, but that doesn't change the common bond these eight friends have shared in the past. I always tell myself that this isn't my story, but it's everyone's.
The Overview
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| The original diary manuscripts plus a music score |
