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.