But there was going to be something different: the romance I had in mind was a gay one.
Gay romance isn't anything new in the YA market (I've stressed this before in my Boy Meets Boy review, where I also went into a brief rant about the unequal representation in mainstream New Adult and Adult fiction), and I have actually written three Bleach Hollow Ichigo (Hichigo) and Ichigo fanfictions featuring that explicitly (one was a one-shot called Beating Heart, and the other was a multi-chapter AU that I'm still incredibly proud of to this day, Claws of a Dragon; the third one is forthcoming). But I had never invented male characters who had feelings for other male characters, and this was a great opportunity to try this out. Plus, I wanted this to be a full-length novel of at least 50,000 words (much like the average length of a NaNiWriMo novel), not under 25,000.
But you may be wondering: why a gay romance, Luke? What was so bad about writing heterosexual romances? My answer to those questions is absolutely nothing, but it has to do with one of the key phrases I've kept in mind while writing this novel.
I've always said several times before that Duet is my most personal novel to date. Every single time I've typed in those words, I have meant it. Duet was partly inspired by my own questioning sexuality, and although it's played rather simply in the novel (Cam doesn't question his sexuality for one minute anywhere in Duet, only what his parents might think), it's been a lot more complicated in real life.
Ever since my later elementary school years, part of my subconscious realized that I wasn't completely straight (it had to do with a lot of factors, but I think everything clicked when a boy in my class spiked up his hair after recess; a part of me liked that). It only grew from sixth grade onward, as I discovered an LGBT community, fanfictions, and the yaoi anime that involved men loving other men, and I grew even more confused when I still had crushes on girls I knew. Yet, every time I read a fanfic, I felt this feeling of undeniable attraction and wanting to be in a situation like that (and not in a situation out of a Maya Banks novel, because those make me want to turn and run).
Even when I was in a "relationship" (we never went out on dates, we only really texted and went to a couple school dances) with a girl I knew from junior high, something didn't feel right. I don't know if it had to do to the fact that I just felt uncomfortable in that situation, or if it was because I knew that there was a part of me that wanted to be in a relationship with a guy. Either way, we are no longer a couple, and I really feel a lot better about not being in a relationship (let's just say there were a couple incidents during the five months or so we were together, and I'm not in the mood to reconnect with her anytime soon).
With Duet, I knew that if I wanted to make it authentic, I would have to channel my sexual frustration and desires into the novel, particularly in some of the more romantic scenes of the book (and yes, I mean that kind of romantic). I needed the book to not just be authentic in its setting, but authentic and real in a way that other kids who still have these questions about where they fall in the sexuality spectrum can read it and relate to Cam's journey in some way.
I think I was successful in trying to accomplish that goal, but what I definitely succeeded in is becoming more confident in how I feel about my sexuality. Although I'm not completely sure where I stand still, I can more freely admit to myself the crushes I have on real people and the crushes I have on fictional characters (and believe me, I do have a fair amount). Plus, I know that I'm going to try and implement LGBT themes into the rest of my fictional work, whether it be in the lead characters or in the ones that are reoccurring. That doesn't mean I won't stop writing anything with heterosexual couples that come down the road, but I want some diversity sprinkled throughout my books to create something refreshing and not generic.
My own feelings weren't the only things that I wanted to implement in Duet. About a month before I started writing it, the idea of a professional piano player falling in love with one of his kind came to mind. This was inspired by my own piano playing experience, as I've been taking lessons for almost nine years. However, the more I thought about it, the more I saw that a person who played piano but wanted to do his own thing would work much better with the story I had planned out. With that, however, I needed to change the love interest and make him a different kind of musician, as I didn't want there to be two of the same person in the story.
That's how Kyle Rose came to be, complete with the guitar he wields, the sleeve of ink on his arm, and piercings that sparkle in his nose and ears. I've always enjoyed writing energetic and happy characters, and Kyle was no exception. From the start, I knew I wanted a somewhat hyperactive character to bounce off a more reserved person, and Kyle was the perfect fit. Not only did I have lots of opportunities for Kyle to help Cam break out of his shell, but I also got the chance to write a relationship that develops gradually and doesn't dissolve into a bunch of cliches (at least I hope it doesn't).
If we're talking about Kyle now, we have to transition to the characters of Duet, and let me just say that the group of people in this story are undeniably some of my favorite characters I have ever written. I may have enjoyed writing about a princess overturning a utopian society with her boyfriend (The Sun and the Moon trilogy) and a girl developing powers with her senses complete with a reverse harem (The Sense trilogy), but those books were more fantastical tales, those people ending up in their own universes after I put their projects aside. However, all of the characters in Duet feel like fragments of my heart and soul, from the shy and sheltered piano player to the flamboyant and flashy leader of a music festival, and just seeing everyone get translated to the page from my head was absolutely beautiful. I always feel like little parts of me are translated in my novels, and I think Duet is where it really started to take shape.
Cam was a fun narrator to write for, and not just because of switching from my typical past tense writing style to present tense (I'm thinking of doing more stuff with this later on). His insecurities and shy nature are inspired off my own worries, especially ones about making friends and opening up. I do have some close friends (my brother included), but I have several people I'm friendly with that I would love to get to know more or reconnect with. Maybe I'll get that chance in the future, and who knows? Cam and Kyle were able to form a beautiful friendship and relationship, so I'll probably be the same.
I've talked before about my love for writing energetic and bubbly characters like Kyle, but for some reason, I've never really made them my main protagonists. I think it's because I love having them observed by people like Cam, and also because I always think there's a reason why they're so happy. Maybe it's because they genuinely feel that way, or maybe it's because they hide their own sadness underneath it all. Either way, I think an energetic lead is forthcoming sometime in the future.
I also happen to really like the side characters. Cam's mom let me get out my frustrations about someone in my extended family (also, I got to write another evil character, which is always fun), and Cam's father played a more important role near the end than I thought he ever would throughout the novel. Abigail and Destiny are sort of like the female counterparts of Cam and Kyle (Destiny's the cheerful fangirl, Abigail's the shy yet confident songstress), but they also have their own identity as well. Abigail's able to restrain Destiny from embarrassing herself, and Destiny...well, she's ten out of ten 24/7. That didn't make her any less fun to write though, because the laughs just kept on coming whenever I would type up her lines.
There was also Xavier, Abigail's older brother, and other small people that were on the sound crew at the music festival that takes place in the novel, They didn't have as much of a role as I'd like, but it makes sense given the amount of characters that I put focus on. Xavier may be given a bit more of a role in future revisions, but I think the sound crew will stay where it is.
However, there are two side characters that absolutely stole my heart when writing this, and their relationship I'm planning on focusing on in a collection of short stories called Hues: Brendan and Ross. Ross was created partly due to the fact that I have a massive crush on Magnus Bane (he was probably my favorite character in the two books I read of The Mortal Instruments series), and also because I wanted there to be someone who was a bright and enthusiastic role model to Cam and Kyle. Sure, he makes sexual innuendos constantly, and he's sexually forward (two sexual tendencies with one stone), but he's a mature and kind individual that ultimately will probably steal the show from Cam and Kyle time to time (whoops).
Brendan, on the other hand, has been labelled as "the typical anime tsundere" by one of my greatest friends (she's also drawing a picture of him with Ross right now, and I can't wait to see it when it's done). I knew Ross needed to have a boyfriend, and when I first mentioned the sound guy in Destiny's texts, an image of a scowling redheaded college student immediately popped into my head. He's moody, gets uncomfortable and embarrassed very easily, but I think one of the best parts I liked about writing Brendan was his loyalty. Sure, he may think Ross can go a little overboard sometimes (and he does call him out on that), but their love is strong enough to combat those weaknesses and fight them. I would love to translate this into their own stories, hence the Hues project. Just a warning, it's going to be way more steamier than Duet ever got, so stay tuned for that.
So now that we've talked about the characters, and my piano playing inspiration, and my LGBT feelings and emotions, there's one last thing I enjoyed implementing into Duet: my passion for music. I love music, and I can name a lot of examples as to why. I love listening to music, I love singing, I love writing songs (as evident by the songs that are in Duet and the ones that I have stored up in a document aptly named Songs for the future), and I love playing music on the piano. In my opinion, music translates stories and indescribable feelings into song, and it unites people together under starry skies and quells the doubts lingering in their hearts.
Because Cam and Kyle are both musicians, I knew that there had to be a musical element to the story to really make everything full circle. That's when the idea of including a music festival came to me, and I'm so glad I decided to put it in, because without it, Duet would be missing an integral piece of its scaffolding. Pride (that name was chosen completely on purpose) was as much fun reading it back as it was writing it (I got to create my own music festival, you guys!), and I got to include several characters and scenes that I'm incredibly proud of (Ross, several fated romantic scenes that I don't think I should spoil, a scene where Cam confronts a rude singer from a band). In the multicolored lights, hotel rooms, and jumping crowds that made up Pride, every character there, in my eyes, reflects just how powerful music is to a community of people that love the same genre, the same artists, or maybe even the atmosphere that they're under. That's the true beauty of song.
And, of course, to make this love of music come around, I have to add the playlist I created while writing Duet. Music's an essential part of creating my ideal atmosphere for writing, and these songs just tie the main themes, characters, and world together for me. Go check it out!
Writing Duet was an emotional five months of laughing, smiling, and crying internally (and maybe getting a little emotional on the outside), but I'm proud of the end product. It's really my favorite piece of work I've written, and I can't wait to revise it to death and maybe someday have it published in a beautiful hardcover so people can have it in their hands. For now, you can read it on Quotev and on Wattpad.
Now, this is Luke Reynolds signing off. Until next time!
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