Does a writer use the real world to inspire their writing? The simple answer is, yes! But is creative writing an accurate reflection? Or does the writer re-tell the experience?
Those are good questions and I’d say the answer depends on the author. Personally, my writing tends to step away from lived experiences. The world around me is certainly inspiring and The English Teacher’s Magic is definitely a good example since my career as an English teacher was the catalyst.
If you’re curious about some of the aspects of Tea (Pronounced: Tay-ah) and Lothair’s love story and where the idea came from, I’d have to tell you about two of my students. In 2009, I started a new teaching position at a local university. At that time, we had a huge influx of students from Saudi Arabia as the government was sponsoring their young people to study abroad. In one of my classes, there was a young guy (I’ll call him Mohamed) from Saudi Arabia who was single; most of the young men and women were.
A few semesters passed and I found myself teaching Mohammed again at a higher level. Only this time, he was considering engagement. In no way am I an expert on Saudi customs around arranged marriages, but I certainly learned a lot. When Mohammed felt ready for marriage, he told him mom and she began the search. Thankfully, she didn’t need to search far as the young lady (I’ll call her Sarah) she had her eye on was their next door neighbor. In fact, Sarah had been her student, so Mohammed’s mom knew Sarah well.
During the semester, Mohammed had to leave a few times for stages of the engagement process and celebration. It was rather interesting. (Again not claiming any level of expertise.) I grew to understand that once a couple was engaged, they could spend time together and decide if they were a right match. And then, if all went well, usually about a year later the young couple got married.
For the Fae culture and Tea and Lothair, I emphasized the engagement ceremony. The idea was certainly inspired by Mohammed and Sarah’s story, but as the author, I made the engagement ceremony unique to the Fae culture and played with the bonded mates trope. Tea and Lothair’s love story was a lot of fun to write and I enjoyed weaving in re-interpreted elements of engagement culture in Saudi Arabia.
There was something beautiful about watching the love story unfold between Mohammed and Sarah. Fun fact, a year later, I got to teach Sarah and eventually met their first child!
I hope you enjoyed this little peak into the inspiration behind Tea and Lothair’s engagement ceremony. And if you haven’t read The English Teacher’s Magic yet, consider checking it out on Amazon.
K. M. Wray 