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Spotlight True romanceBy Suwitcha Chaiyong, Photos courtesy of Piromya Jaiboon, Sawit Chatkaroon and Project L Amateur authors write words of love
Student romance intrigues young people just as much as it seems to freak out parents and teachers � even though they probably experienced it themselves in the dim and distant past. One group of young writers sees puppy love as a natural and exciting part of life and nothing to panic about. Ni Yai Rak Dek Mattayom (High School Romance Stories) is a new publication that features 11 short stories about student romance, all written by young, amateur authors. The book is the brainchild of Project L, a group that, with support from the Ministry of Public Health, aims to create upbeat and educational publications for young readers. Contributing writers for High School Romance Stories were all found via the Internet. Piromya Jaiboon (Noon), 16, regularly posts her stories on the websites dekdee.com and comeon-book.com. Her story, Soomsam Jing Na Ma Tok Lum Rak Chang Dai (A Clumsy Girl Falls in Love), stands out from the pack as a tale of romance between two girls. One of only two male writers featured in the book is 23-year-old Sawit Chatkaroon (Ice). Ice caught the attention of the Project L crew with a love story posted on his blog called Bangsing Thee Thuuk Luem (Something I Mean to Forget). REALITY CHECKNoon and Ice both like to create their stories from real-life situations. �I create characters that are based on real people,� Noon said. �If I just make them up, they don�t seem realistic.�
Though her characters are based on people she knows, Noon confesses that she has never directly experienced the things that she writes about. �I�ve never had a boyfriend or girlfriend,� she said. �I�m too young to fall in love. My story is about people who aren�t really old enough for true romance.� Ice�s story, on the other hand, comes from direct experience. It relates to his own junior high romance. �I wrote it like a journal, thinking about my old girlfriend,� he said. �I like to write stories based on real life.� TABOO TALESThe young authors both agree that people shouldn�t get too worked up about student romance. Noon thinks that adults can provide useful guidance to young people, while Ice believes that grown-ups shouldn�t confuse love with sex. �Adults tend to automatically relate love to sex, but they�re not necessarily the same thing,� Ice said. �People of any age can fall in love. It doesn�t have to be a problem.�
Some adults accept that young people can fall in love, but many find it harder to deal with if it happens to be a romance between people of the same sex. Noon doesn�t see it as a problem at all. �It�s the person that matters, not the gender that they happen to be,� she said. FREE THINKERSThough they have a passion for writing, Noon and Ice don�t intend to become full-time authors. Noon plans to be a doctor, while Ice is busy running an Internet café and tour business. They both just like to create stories when the mood hits them. �If I became a full-time writer, it would probably turn into a boring job,� Noon said. �I want to keep it as a hobby and write when I want to.� Ice also believes that writing for money would spoil the fun. �Writing is an artistic pursuit. It�s no fun if you have to just create something for commercial reasons,� he said. �I want to write from my heart.�
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The websites dekdee.com and comeon-book.com let aspiring writers post their stories for free. 
