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note to self: i’ll be there for you, always

written june 6, 2021. Photo by Kristine Cinate on Unsplash I have always looked for myself in other people. I think the idea was that they would somehow hold the pieces of me that I felt were missing. That maybe, if I wrapped my identity up in theirs enough, we would somehow make a whole person. It's not healthy to live like this, but I did it anyway — burning through relationships and searching for something I couldn't quite name. It was never enough, not to be myself, but it was never enough to latch my identity to other people, either. I got close, several times — I thought I had reached the pinnacle of self discovery. I thought I had completed myself. But in the end, relying on other people to help build yourself is never a viable way to do things. It's only recently that I've started to become comfortable with the idea of being enough, as I am, on my own. Several years ago, in this same position, I would have searched for another person to attach my identity onto,

Because I’m Irish: An Unexpected Novel

Back in December of 2011, I told my friend Georgie (fondly known as Pippin) that I was going to write a short story, and I promptly proceeded to do so.

And then I just didn't stop typing.

Little did I know that meager short story would turn into something so much more.

What started as an inside joke between her and I soon grew wings. And soon I had characters, living and breathing. With their own personalities. And their own minds.

Soon, a plot took shape. The title? Because I'm Irish. At first, it was just a story to have fun with, and it still is. But soon I realized that I could have fun and possibly make a decent plot. Before I knew it, I had hit 50K, plummeting Because I'm Irish into the official realm of novel.

After that, though, I started to burn out. Back went Because I'm Irish, onto my unfinished projects shelf. It was a nice diversion to work on for a little while, but I never expected to finish it.

Until yesterday, when I started getting inspired for this story out of nowhere. Over the course of the day, I read my entire first draft. I was enthralled with my own story, which almost never happens. With new fervor and passion for this idea, I decided that I'd finish this book if at all possible. Because it deserved to be finished, I thought. It was a good story, and it needed to be told.

I started working on it again this morning. As I said on Facebook,

The bare-bones first draft of Because I'm Irish is done! Today I started out with 54k and managed to beef it up to 59k by adding a couple scenes. It doesn't *feel* done because I'm still missing a few scenes (including an "official" ending... hehe, that'll be interesting), but I plan to add them during my round of editing. Up next is probably a polish of the formatting so that it looks nice, because right now the document is a total mess. After that, who knows? That's the adventure of writing, methinks.

And so it was that I finished the first draft and officially crossed into the editing stage. I spent some time formatting this evening, and my document looks great now. Soon I'll start working on the plot. I'm both excited and a little nervous to dig into revisions, but who knows? Hopefully, and probably, my plot will be the better for it. And since Because I'm Irish has already sprouted wings, who knows how far this novel may fly? I'm excited to see what God has in store for both Because I'm Irish and myself.

For those who may be wondering, here is a brief synopsis: Fiona Bartulli never expected that a routine trip to Wal-Mart would end in disaster. But then she's kidnapped and forced to spend a day with an Irish boyband, and everything changes. Soon she finds out that, behind all the fame and glory and Crest-white smiles, the band isn't all that they seem. She's drafted in as their new violinist against her wishes. And she's forced to keep a secret bigger than she's ever had to before -- because it may just save her life.

{stats}


started: december 20, 2011
finished: july 7, 2012
finished wordcount: 59,442
page count: 238, double-spaced


And now! On to editing. Ehehehe. Ehe. Ehe.

Comments

  1. YAY for Sky!!

    It sounds very interesting...Irish boy band? Yep. This is gonna be good.

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    1. THANK YOU!

      Um... yeah. I wish you knew how true your statement is... XD It's interesting... very interesting. And hilarious. VERY hilarious.

      Delete
  2. That's a really cool plot idea. Forced violinist... Fun! :) I've had a couple of accidental story ideas... usually they don't progress past the "ideas" stage. I have a lot of trouble boosting my word count past ten thousand on a better draft. Oh well. Perserverance. ;)

    Oh, and I really like your cover!

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    Replies
    1. Thank you! And yes, her being a forced violinist adds a whole aspect to the plot that I love.

      Same here! I have so many plot ideas that never get very far. For some reason, this one was an exception. I'm glad it was, though. Don't worry, you're not alone. A lot of my story ideas haven't been wanting to cooperate lately... at all. In fact, finishing Because I'm Irish was my first writing inspiration I'd had in a long while.

      Perseverance, indeed!

      Oh, thank you!! I'm quite fond of it myself. ♥

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  3. I tagged you in a blog post :D Come see!

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  4. Ooh, this sounds like a really fun story!

    Congrats on finishing the first draft and good luck with the revisions! :)

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  5. Congratulations! That's awesome! :) And I love the cover too, by the way! :D

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  6. DUDE I WOULD SO READ THIS. :D Congrats on picking up an old idea! I... don't ever do that. :P Anywho, if you decide to publish it I would buy it and read it and love it, so. ^_^

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  7. Okay.
    I love the cover.
    I love the title.
    I love the blurb.
    I love the book.
    I want to read the book.
    I want to read the book.
    I want to read the book.

    Your characters are going to have Irish accents.
    A boy band?
    Kidnapped?

    Please, hurry with the revisions.
    I'll buy your book.
    Do hurry.

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  8. I absolutely love the title and the premise of the book. If I saw it in a book store, I would definately pick it up because of the intriguing title.

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  9. The synopsis sounds a bit hilarious! Quite interesting. I absolutely *love* the title! Please finish editing soon & share with your bloggy friends? :)

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  10. congrats on giving wings to a small idea. Love that! And the plot sounds fantastic. Isn't it the best thing to reread your work and actually LIKE it??!! (instead of wanting to delete utterly everything and start again...:P) Good luck with the editing!

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  11. Yay! Congratulations on finishing! And that is the most awesome feeling to read your work and like it. It's rare for me, but beautiful when it does happen. :) Also, your story sounds super exciting. Irish boy bands? Life-threatening secrets? I hope I get to read it someday! :)

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  12. This book sounds great! Like Emii said, please edit fast. I would certainly by this, as well! :)

    notebookfromtheheart.blogspot.com

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  13. SKY! I'M IN LOVE WITH YOUR BOOK! And I haven't even read it yet! lol. It truly sounds amazing, and not your reguler run-of-the-mill, "I meet a boy band" story. You better publish it or something, cause I'm dying to read it!

    ReplyDelete

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