An unexpected love story between a British titled girl and a black American worker boy in the 1800s. Witness their exchange on the serious themes of the century, followed by a series of revolutions!
"You turn on the charm when you want something." -Avery
"Heiress, you wound me."-Jameson
(The Inheritance Games)
Hey, hey!! Sorry I got a little busy with some other YWS things but we can start now! Here's what I was thinking -
We divide the story into 3 parts.
1. Setting up- we cover the story before both the leads start exchanging letters and develop a liking to each other. Their childhood, family and everything that happened till then. After becoming a trained woodsmith, he travels around the world for work. That's when he writes and publishes a poem collection, which the girl reads and gets back to him on.
2. Talking phase- they write to each other discussing their lives, feelings while comparing them to the world events happening around them (slavery, child labor, Charles Darwin, colonialism and women sufferage). We see a real glimpse of who they are as people and the love slowly blossoms.
3. Dramatic closing- The guy not allowed to work in Louisiana and so joins the protests. The girl flees the violence back home for a better life in America and plans to meet him. Inspired by his initiative, she joins the women suffrage. It's almost happy ending but he gets shot at and her relatives here arrange for her to marry a rich suitor. But she'll always carry the memory of this love and the man who transformed her.
For Arc 1, here are some of the poems I was brainstorming.
1. Fleeing the nest- Silas is 10yo and leaving home to learn carpentry and wood craft. 2. Smiles all around- Clara is born, the titled family celebrates a child. Draw contrast between a family with blood of colonialism on their hands and this innocent newborn. 3. These soft hands shape the world- Silas in training. 3. Crates on moon / Eclipsing reality- People begin to talk about a girl heir (Clara), the reality of gender discrimination sinks in. Would be impactful if in a little girl's perspective who doesn't fully understand it yet. 4. Where the dust takes me- Silas has completed learning and now travels as a woodsmith. 5. Suffocating from the air I was raised in- Clara learns the actions of her people towards the world and is horrified. Use the imagery of smoke, since his father owns a factory. 6. Business is pleasure- Against the noise in the background of the world, Silas truly loves what he does. Includes his history as a black man and the struggles he's had. 7. You don't bear black in your heart- Clara reads the poetry collection and reaches out to him as a reader admiring his work and struggle as a man of color. Include how she thinks he's a great inspiration for the other kids just like him.
I can get my 4 poems done by September end latest! Let me know what you think, how much time you'll need and if you had any questions. And you still have complete autonomy over Clara's character, so feel free to edit anything if you think it doesn't work too well! I'm just sharing my ideas / suggestions. I do ask that you discuss any significant changes with me first, so that their conversation seems more natural and the poems complement each other.
Last edited by AlexWrites on Sat Sep 19, 2026 7:01 am, edited 2 times in total.
