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!!
Determined not to wear green - funny.
ReplyDeleteI lived in London for a while and to me there is a big difference in accents between Scottish and Irish.
I think there's a huge difference between Scottish, Irish, & English too but not everyone hears the difference :)
DeleteSo funny! But I can see how they'd get annoyed by mistaking Scottish for Irish. :)
ReplyDeleteThey didn't appreciate at all - their noses would pop into the air when they announced their accent was Scottish :P
DeleteI 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.
ReplyDeleteExactly!! You've got a fun combination of genes!! Ours are Scottish through and through :)
DeleteHi,
ReplyDeleteI 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
St Patty's day is always fun!
DeleteThanks so much, Pat. I'll send you an email!
I'd love to beta read for you!
ReplyDeleteAnd 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.
Yay! Thanks - I'll send you an email! :)
DeleteI was so thankful for my friend every year!!
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. :)
ReplyDeleteLOL - I can do a few good phrases in Scottish, but that's about it. I'm so impressed with people who can do them!
DeleteI can beta read. I've got your email and will reach out. :-)
ReplyDeleteAnna from elements of emaginette
Thanks so much Anna!
DeleteThat 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!
ReplyDeleteI almost forgot at the end of the day one year and had to double back to her place :)
DeleteMy goodness. You are on a writing roll at the moment. Huge congratulations.
ReplyDeleteThe 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...
Thanks - things are finally coming together :)
DeleteIt was awful with the pinches - it was a bit of a tough school.
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. :)
ReplyDeleteMe too!! I don't wear a lot of green, but I ALWAYS make sure I have a sweater for March!
DeleteYeah, 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
ReplyDeleteThanks so much Juneta! Much appreciated!
DeleteGood thing that you had such a good friend. Awesome that you're writing so much.
ReplyDeleteThanks 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 :)
DeleteI 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. :)
ReplyDeleteMom 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 :)
DeleteLove the green polish! Y'all were clever... and sneaky, too :)
ReplyDeleteI'd love to take credit for the Clever but that was all my friend! Sneaky might have been shared :)
DeleteOh wow, that's a great story! I wouldn't want to get pinched, either.
ReplyDeleteExactly!! I was so glad when my friend came up with her plan!
DeleteThat is a completely new one. Green isn't my color so I never wear it on St. Patty Day.
ReplyDeleteI don't wear it either - but I always, always have a green sweater for March! :)
DeleteI love the nail polish story! It gave me a hearty chuckle. :)
ReplyDeleteYay! My friend was brilliant!! :)
DeleteI'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...
ReplyDeleteThanks Denise! Great advice - I think I'm at a manageable number. Now, trusting myself is always a challenge! :P
DeleteLoved 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.
ReplyDeleteWasn't that an awful tradition for kids to continue? Crazy stuff!
DeletePinches for not wearing green... Sounds funny and painful at the same time.
ReplyDeleteThat would be exactly right!! :)
DeleteLOL! 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
ReplyDeletePeople are mean!!! I just don't get the whole tradition in the first place!
DeleteI'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.
ReplyDeleteI don't have a great ear for all of the accents. It's so easy to get mixed up with them all!
DeleteBest friends can really help us out!
ReplyDeleteI 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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