Purpose: To share and encourage. Writers can express doubts and concerns without fear of appearing foolish or weak. Those who have been through the fire can offer assistance and guidance. It’s a safe haven for insecure writers of all kinds!
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March 4 question - Other than the obvious holiday traditions, have you ever included any personal or family traditions/customs in your stories?
Not yet, but I have plans for several! This one is appropriate for March and is a potential memory for an upcoming heroine.
My parents were Scottish immigrants. When they were growing up there was a bit of competitive spirit with anyone and anything Irish. They were offended if anyone in Canada guessed their accents were Irish, not Scottish.
On St. Patrick's day, we were checked over to ensure we were NOT wearing anything green or remotely Irish in nature. In our school, the tradition was that people could pinch you if you weren't wearing green.
Best friend to the rescue! I stopped at my friend's house on the way to school and she painted my fingernails green. On the way home we stopped there and took the polish off.
No pinches. No upset family members. Win win!
How about you? Any goofy family traditions in your family?
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Updated and edited
I love this writing community!!
I've taken down the Beta Readers request as I now have several volunteers. Thank you!!
46 comments:
Determined not to wear green - funny.
I lived in London for a while and to me there is a big difference in accents between Scottish and Irish.
So funny! But I can see how they'd get annoyed by mistaking Scottish for Irish. :)
I have an Irish author who also would not want to be mistaken for being Scottish. People think I might have Irish in me with the red hair, but I'm a quarter Danish and part German.
Hi,
I remember March 17th, Saint Patrick Day because it was a school holiday in our town and we all wore green. They don't celebrate it anymore but it is a fond memory for me.
Also, I don't know when you need beta readers but I would like to be included for consideration.
Wishing you all the best.
Shalom aleichem,
Pat G @ EverythingMustChange
I'd love to beta read for you!
And I remember those days so well, I had the hardest time finding something green in my wardrobe, wish I'd have thought of nail polish, and a pinch was my punishment.
When I try to speak with an Irish accent, it almost always slips into Scottish. And then to Australian. I should stop trying to speak with accents. :)
I can beta read. I've got your email and will reach out. :-)
Anna from elements of emaginette
That would be a cute scene in a book...best friend painting MC's nails green before school and taking it off after school. I love that!
My goodness. You are on a writing roll at the moment. Huge congratulations.
The pinch tradition is new to me - which I am glad of. I would certainly have been pinched each and every year. My parents were definitely against blindly following the pack...
We had the same St. Patrick's Day pinch tradition in my school. To this day, I still make sure I'm wearing some green on the 17th, just in case. :)
Yeah, the green thing and pinches were a big deal in my school too. Congrats on the book. I will beta for you. thejadedkat@gmail.com
I think there's a huge difference between Scottish, Irish, & English too but not everyone hears the difference :)
They didn't appreciate at all - their noses would pop into the air when they announced their accent was Scottish :P
Exactly!! You've got a fun combination of genes!! Ours are Scottish through and through :)
St Patty's day is always fun!
Thanks so much, Pat. I'll send you an email!
Good thing that you had such a good friend. Awesome that you're writing so much.
Yay! Thanks - I'll send you an email! :)
I was so thankful for my friend every year!!
LOL - I can do a few good phrases in Scottish, but that's about it. I'm so impressed with people who can do them!
Thanks so much Anna!
I almost forgot at the end of the day one year and had to double back to her place :)
Thanks - things are finally coming together :)
It was awful with the pinches - it was a bit of a tough school.
Me too!! I don't wear a lot of green, but I ALWAYS make sure I have a sweater for March!
Thanks so much Juneta! Much appreciated!
Thanks Natalie! I'm hoping to have 2 or 3 romances ready to go by the end of the year - I've been working on them for a while :)
I love what you shared about your parents! I think you can do a lot with character development by using the bit of how offended they'd be if peeps thought they were Irish, not Scottish. :)
Love the green polish! Y'all were clever... and sneaky, too :)
Oh wow, that's a great story! I wouldn't want to get pinched, either.
Mom and Dad are/were fabulous people and would make excellent characters! Other than DWD they do have characteristics that keep showing up in my other characters :)
I'd love to take credit for the Clever but that was all my friend! Sneaky might have been shared :)
Exactly!! I was so glad when my friend came up with her plan!
That is a completely new one. Green isn't my color so I never wear it on St. Patty Day.
I love the nail polish story! It gave me a hearty chuckle. :)
I don't wear it either - but I always, always have a green sweater for March! :)
Yay! My friend was brilliant!! :)
I'm glad you got your beta readers Jemi. Don't get too many or it just gets confusing and your story ends up unrecognizable if you take it all on board. Trust your writing...
Loved your story and it will be a great memory for a MC in your writing. I had almost forgotten about the pinches if you weren't wearing green in school.
Thanks Denise! Great advice - I think I'm at a manageable number. Now, trusting myself is always a challenge! :P
Wasn't that an awful tradition for kids to continue? Crazy stuff!
Pinches for not wearing green... Sounds funny and painful at the same time.
That would be exactly right!! :)
LOL! Can see how your parents would get offended over the accent thing. And I'm amazed you were able to avoid getting pinched with just the green nail polish. People always pinched me in school whenever March 17th rolled around, 'cause putting on green jewelry just wasn't green enough, I guess. XP
I've never heard of the pinching thing before. I like the clever way you got around the situation. As a Brit I can easily tell the difference between Irish and Scottish accents. But I would struggle to place the various American accents.
People are mean!!! I just don't get the whole tradition in the first place!
I don't have a great ear for all of the accents. It's so easy to get mixed up with them all!
Best friends can really help us out!
I tried green nail polish a few years ago- but no matter what I did I couldn't get it off. It absorbed right into my nails! Glad you didn't have that problem. :)
~Jess
LOL - me too! My parents would have had a fit!!!! :)
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