February Novel Essential Information

Novel Title: Something Changed

Time Setting: 2021

Genre: Life

Minimum Word Goal: 90,000

Timespan: April–June

Location: Vaughan, Ontario

Main Character: Luke Warm

Background Information: 

Born the only son and youngest of two children to a financial executive and his architect wife, Luke’s life can be best defined as average, really. His family size is average, his parents’ occupations — and their statuses within their occupations — are average, and even his school performance is average.

Additionally, like any average Canadian youth, he’s been playing hockey from a young age, and his performance in hockey has even been generally average, which is one of two reasons that are actually prompting him to reconsider his future in hockey — the other is the demoralising lack of success of the nearest NHL club to his home, the Toronto Maple Leafs, who have failed to win the Stanley Cup in over sixty years, and for whom the next sixty years look less than promising.

Yet not everything is completely average for Luke, after all, his family attends church, which may not be too out-of-the-ordinary, except that they don’t go to a Catholic church, and since Vaughan is home to a lot of Italians, Catholic churches are the ones most commonly attended.

To Luke, though, their church is pretty average, which makes it highly boring, and Luke, for one, is at a loss as to why his family even goes, after all, his sister considers it boring too, and both of his parents have also bemoaned having to get up early on a weekend morning, or having to interact with some of the people who attend.

Another thing that isn’t average in Luke’s life is music; in fact, music isn’t even average in his family, as he’s the only member of his family who plays a musical instrument — and he actually plays two.

He acquired an interest in music from meeting his best friend, Finn, way back on his first day of school. Finn’s dad is a composer and multi-instrumentalist who has instruments throughout the house, and if the instruments aren’t being played by someone, then someone is playing recorded music, or even just singing.

Contrasted with the silence of his own home, Luke was drawn to the music, and eagerly accepted the offer to learn music from Finn’s dad, starting with the clarinet. He started playing the guitar a few years ago so that he and Finn can play together, doing their best to imitate their favourite bands and artists.

Indeed, Luke and Finn hope to one day form a band of their own — which is another reason why Luke is contemplating hanging up his skates at fourteen — and to play at concerts someday, but they both are well aware that their parents won’t condone their dropping out of school to do so, thus they haven’t started yet, and won’t be beginning for another three years or so.

As the three-year wait will allow them to learn more and also be able to stock up enough money to support them until they achieve the success they anticipate, Luke isn’t altogether impatient, he also certainly doesn’t expect anything too spectacular or outside of the average to happen until then, but he does sometimes wish life was a little bit more interesting, as three years might not seem so long that way.