My family will find it funny for me to do a post on Valentine’s Day as a story starter because I don’t read or write romance. But Valentine’s Day isn’t just for romance. I discovered that while writing my YA mystery, A Shadow on the Snow.

The story is set in rural Ohio from the end of January to the end of March. In the middle, I planned a suspenseful chase through a snowstorm. My main character Rae has been doubting the strength of her new relationship with her newly found father. I realized Valentine’s Day was the perfect day for her to come to grips with these doubts because the day honors all kinds of love. And I could set my snowstorm chase then because in Ohio, we get all kinds of wild, wintery weather in February.

Below are some other ideas for exploring more than romantic love on Valentine’s Day.

Stepparents

A Valentine’s Day story could center on a child coming to some kind of friendly relationship with a stepparent. The child could actually be a child, or a teen, or a middle-aged adult who isn’t sure what to make of a widowed parent’s new spouse.

Grandparents

Explore the relationship between a grandparent and grandchild. Or to give the story a better twist, a great-grandparent and great-grandchild. It could be a simple story of the two characters enjoying each other’s company. Or maybe a deeper one in which the grandparent realizes the grandchild has a serious problem and needs to communicate that to the parents.

Siblings and Cousins

Valentine’s Day is a wonderful day for warring siblings or cousins to bury the hatchet. Or for the reconciliation of any family members.

For more ideas for using Valentine’s Day was writing inspiration, click here.

Now it’s your turn. Since Valentine’s Day isn’t just for romance, what kind of different Valentine’s Day story would you write? Or what non-romantic story have you’ve read set on Valentine’s Day?