Three New Yorks
Abstract
I am driven to write stories set within a larger historical context as my future as a writer continues—so much so, that I am currently working on a novel entitled Three New Yorks. For my Honors Thesis, I wanted to create a project that utilized both my major in Creative Writing with my minor in History to write the first two chapters of my eventual novel. With my history minor, I utilize my appreciation for the events of the past, specifically with a focus on the twentieth century, to define the stories I want to write. By analyzing notable epochs in history throughout my undergraduate studies, I have become very interested in depicting these moments through the written word because I believe there is a connection existing between the position of people today and the actions of people back then. Three New Yorks is a story focusing on three friends—Charlotte Buchanan, Adrianne Weisierski, and Heath "Heathcliff" Carter—growing up in New York City from their teenage years to their early thirties. Beginning in the late 1960s, the three protagonists navigate their futures, both together and separately, while defining the world around them through their own, unique philosophies. This project will be divided into three parts to signify not only the passage of time, but also, to establish their place in time. For my Honors Thesis, I wanted to focus on the first two chapters specifically as the beginning will eventually set the stage for the course of the novel. In the first chapter, we see Charlotte beginning the story by going for a night out in Harlem and using that experience to explain her personal philosophy on the world. In the second chapter, we see Adrianne attending the first NOW New York Chapter Meeting, which will further her journey in creating her own identity as a feminist.