The deadline to submit your creative nonfiction for The Hoya’s Love Locks special issue is fast approaching. If, for some strange reason, you don’t know what this is, here’s a description of the project:
Inspired by the New York Times’ “Modern Love” essay series, The Hoya’s “Love Locks” project will publish submitted creative nonfiction pieces from students, professors and alumni.
The selected pieces will address love in a deeply personal, honest way — in the form of a true story — and explore predicaments that their writers have dealt with in their own lives.
We know that many of you are longing to submit your tales of love and romance, but might need some inspiration to get you started. So we’ve gathered some pieces for you to take a look at.
Perhaps you want to write about love and dating…
“To date is to be vulnerable. Growing up introverted, it took me a while to accept that. Some people might still dismiss the emotional reality of online dating, but you put yourself out there with every message that you send, every heart icon you click, every “like” button you push. Even if you make nothing but a boilerplate message for every icebreaker (which is a terrible idea, by the way), there’s still that little prick of hope, that “maybe” or “what if” in the back of your mind when you send it.”
NYT Modern Love: The Peril of Not Dying for Love
“I learned everything about love from movies. Love had a sexy soundtrack. Love was forever. Love almost always involved rain, stubborn parents and irrevocable passionate sacrifice.
Growing up, I wanted that sort of big love. My favorite romantic formula was the best-friends-falling-in-love pattern, à la Chandler and Monica in “Friends” or Ron and Hermione in “Harry Potter.”
NYT Modern Love: Life Was a Roving Party Until I Grew Up
“If you want to meet an available man who is well dressed, showered and looking good, hang around divorce court. There is one in every town.”
NYT Modern Love: A Forbidden Relationship, From the Other Side of the World
“Although I have little interest in money and survived into my 30s having never owned a proper piece of furniture or fully functioning car, her money was like a wall between us, or rather, between her and the future she seemed to want for herself.
Her family, who either didn’t know or pretended not to know that she was gay, was constantly whisking her away on international trips and vacations. She would Skype me, looking miserable in a sari in front of cinematic backdrops.”
The Hoya: Opting into the Dating Game
“I’ve had friends tell me I’m “so lucky” I’m single because I don’t have to consider a significant other in my future plans. They’re right. The whole world is open to me, and being single is one less factor as I navigate the job hunt.
On the other hand, I’ve never been on a date. (High school doesn’t count.) Cuddling with my reliable yet meaningless hookup, I thought, “I would love real cuddling in a real relationship,” and everything that comes with it.”
Remember, submissions are due by Oct. 30.
Photos: The Hoya
