A Breath of Fresh Air

More Behind-the-Scenes Stuff

I just had the idea to add this page in April 2021 to give you some more insight into the development of my first full-length story! :)

Early Beginnings

One thing I left out from the Fun Facts page is that the first ideas for this story came to me while I was in a narrative fiction course at my university in 2019. We had an assignment to design an interactive choice-based story using Twine and so this was originally going to be a sort of "game" where the player would make major decisions and influence the outcome of the story. I ended up scrapping the idea (until this story as you know it was born!) but here is what I wrote on a class discussion board for my concept:

"In my story, the main character is Evan, a shy 17-year-old gay teenager in the closet. He wants to come out so he can feel happy and free but is worried about the consequences since his parents are extremely conservative. The player will get to know Evan through his internal thoughts about himself, other characters and the environment. I think everyone will be able to relate to the struggle of being a teen and trying to find yourself. The story begins with Evan, his younger brother Isaac and their parents starting a road trip to a beach town in Florida. During the road trip, the player will be able to learn initial information about the characters as well as interact with them. Once the family arrives to their vacation destination, the player will be free to explore the environment and continue talking to family members as well as people at the condo/in the town, including a potential love interest. All seems well until Evan's father Dave finds out through another source that his son is gay. Infuriated and believing that Evan is a "sinner," Dave confronts Evan who has the choice to tell him the truth or lie and say he's straight. What the player chooses, and what he/she chose in previous interactions will determine where the story goes from there and how it ends. I intend to have a few different endings, some "good" and some "bad." I'm actually excited to flesh out the environment as it's going to be based on the real-life tourist town I grew up in (Destin, FL). Since I've been there my whole life, I've always seen it from a local's perspective so it'll be neat to put myself in a tourist's shoes. Anyway, it's the typical touristy beach town. The family will be staying at a condo on the beach, and the player will be able to explore multiple areas including the condo itself (room, pool, beach, arcade, fitness center etc.), a waterpark across the street (snack stand, different slides, wave pool, etc.), and an outdoor shopping center down the street (restaurant, Starbucks, clothing store, etc.)"

Character Profiles

This is what I wrote down when developing the characters!

1. Evan Brooks

Protagonist. Gay (masculine) and in the closet. Dark brown long-ish hair, clear complexion, skinny, slightly tall. Jeans and hoodies, Converse, frequently wears a hat. Hates wearing shorts. 17 years old, but turning 18 on Sunday. Born March 31, 2001. High School Senior and Cashier at Piggly Wiggly.

Not Southern or country in any way. Hates living in Chapel Heights and Alabama in general. Introvert. Very shy, a bit angsty, has social anxiety. Laid back. Lacks confidence. Hates being outdoors. Clean freak. Not a risk taker. In yearbook club. Loves drawing and design; wants to study graphic design in college. Hoping to get into ACAD. Also a skater. Obsessed with chicken strips and chicken nuggets. Likes fast food. Also likes coffee. Loves alternative music. Stranger Things is his favorite show. Scared of roller coasters.

Born and raised in Sandusky, Ohio. Grew up in a happy, caring family and was best friends with his brother, but everything changed when their Dad died in a car accident when he was only 12, leading his Mom to be a complete mess and forcing him and his brother to basically take care of themselves. Mom met Dave on Facebook and moved the family to Alabama when Evan was 13. He was ripped away from all his school friends and got super depressed and his anxiety worsened. To this day he resents his Mom and Dave.