This month's IWSG post.
Created by the great Alex J. Cavanaugh
and co-hosted by
This month's question:
Other than the obvious holiday traditions, have you ever included any personal or family traditions/customs in your stories?
Other than the obvious holiday traditions, have you ever included any personal or family traditions/customs in your stories?
Hmm...I did have to think about this one. Have I? Obvious answer would be no. We don't really have any family traditions. Sounds kinda sad, but it's true. The family did get together every New Year's Eve though and saw the year out with a bang when I was younger. That's about as far as family tradition went. Have I included that in my writing? No.
However, one thing I could add is that I write under my maiden name - Cartwright. Why have I done this? To honour my father's family name, I guess. I'm the youngest of three daughters, and all of us are married. I just felt sad that my family name ended with me so decided a long while ago that if I published, it would be under Cartwright, not my married name.
I treated my dad to a DNA kit for Christmas a year ago, and have since connected with family across the country as well as in Australia. I've discovered that my grandad didn't just have the two siblings I originally thought, but SEVEN. My family has grown extensively and it's been an interesting journey this past year.
So the decision to write under Cartwright is something I'm happy and proud to continue with...
That's wonderful you've connected with a larger family. My maiden name isn't much further up the alphabet than Wolfe, so I never considered it.
ReplyDeleteWhat a fun discovery! I'm getting notices all the time because of my DNA test.
ReplyDeleteI honoured my dad by using my maiden name Nowell. I can relate even though i did have a brother to carry on the name. But it was the name I was born with so it has importance to me, and rightfully so.
ReplyDeleteNice way to honor your family - and you found more of them in the process.
ReplyDeleteWhat an excellent gift and it kept on giving. Gotta love that. :-)
ReplyDeleteAnna from elements of emaginette
That's awesome, a terrific way to carry on ones legacy. :)
ReplyDeleteThat's interesting. I use my mother's maiden name to write romance under to honor her. I'm tempted with the DNA. My father's family is very large.
ReplyDeleteThat's a good way to keep your family part of your writing (and of yourself). I've got three brothers, so figured I could let the maiden name go, though I did consider hyphenating it to keep them as part of it.
ReplyDeleteWow. To go from 2 to 7! That would make for a busy year.
ReplyDeleteI've thought about using my maiden name if I ever try my hand at a YA book to keep the two genres distinct.
That's really cool about the ancestry DNA kit. I've always wanted to try it. I think that's wonderful to write under your maiden name. I was going to start a pen name with my mom's maiden name for that reason.
ReplyDeleteWww.alliebock.com
how exciting to meet new family members and find out more about your history! most people i know who do those tests don’t do much with it...
ReplyDeleteand thanks for stopping by my Beast World campaign at Alex’s
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