Writing Young Adult (YA) Fiction is tapping into the mind of teenagers and young adults from ages 12-18 and understanding their issues, challenges, taboos, and concerns. Here are the tips to write a compelling one.
​

• ​Perspective is the key as creating a vital point of view (POV) in a story connects to the reader. Also, choose an appropriate narrative style, like first-person.
• Find the target audience, within the age group you are writing for.
• Be bold, daring, and expressive to choose uncommon and even taboo subjects.
• Avoid preaching. Just try to present a viewpoint or the expression.
• Give endings that give hope.
• Make compelling drama, fast-pace storytelling, and relevant characters.
• Tap on the challenges and emotions of teens/young adults to reach a bigger audience.
• Use lot of pop culture references, real-life personalities, and stories to show an awareness of what is happening in the world.

Thrillers need enticing, gripping storylines and nail-biting scenes. Here are the tips to write great thrillers.
​

• Start with a scene that raises multiple questions, like who, what, where, when, and why?
• ​A thriller is where crime is already committed or in the process to a character with which people can instantly connect and care for.
• Make the character vulnerable and lovable/relatable, so the reader will care for them when something bad happens.
• ​Build tension between scenes and create hooks for the audience to wait for what happens the next.
• Make the characters and situations complex, challenging, and unexpected.
• Put characters out of their comfort zone to create action and something dramatic.
• Multiple plots are required to create layers in the story to engage the audience towards the end.
• Always show and never tell, so the audience can wait for things happen.​ These elements can make your story a thriller.

​Fantasy writing requires imagination and the power to create a world within a world. Not to mention, that inspiration needs to translate into the craft. Here are the tips for how you can write fantasy below: 
​

• Always start with the plot as the foundation of your process to help you be firm with the setting while brainstorming.
• Creating a world is of the utmost importance with details about characters, infrastructures, culture, language, abilities and much more.
• Make your fantasy relevant to the world and real-life values and challenges.
• Write to create a new world for an audience
• Create rules, boundaries, limitations and tragedies of these worlds
• Always stick to the rules made in the world you create while writing or else it will be unconvincing and immature
• Have conviction in characters and in their motives. Introduce them at regular intervals, not all at once.
  
• Learn from successful fantasy franchise like Harry Potter or The Lord of the Rings

Mariah Carey released her album "Caution" recently, and there's one song "A No No" that sticks out. Besides the "Crush On You" sample (which always sounds good), the song seems like a no-nonsense anthem, and I like it. Mariah Carey is basically saying "no" to situations without benefit.

I think the "no" mentality is helpful. The post picture above says the following: "I don't say no because I am so busy. I say no because I don't want to be so busy."

This year in my business I learned how to say no. I say no because of WIIFM, what's in it for me? I think sometimes you have to be selfish. Each move I make I wonder if it's beneficial to my business. Also, I try to make sure my business goals are aligned with anyone I wish to partner. I don't want to waste my time or the other company's time.

I feel like I owed it to the people that checked my blog to let them know what's been going on. Midway through the year, my business goals changed. I noticed that during my speaking engagements, the adults talked to me more about writing a book than my target audience for my young adult (YA) books. I started off the year promoting my YA books at events, and then I realized I liked editing and reading other people's work more. Consequently, I haven't done any writing or events lately.

Just because I haven't been writing or attending events lately, doesn't mean I won't write again. This year I've been taking time to find my business voice, and it's been very fulfilling. If you're interested in buying any of my books, you can purchase them here or check out my Service link for your writing needs. I hope you'll continue with me on this writing journey. I plan to have more writing events to come.

I was supposed to do a blog about my event "A Most Convenient Read", but I think I'd rather talk about suicide prevention. This week fashion designer Kate Spade and food critic Anthony Bourdain committed suicide. These are just two people, so I can only imagine how many others are thinking about taking their lives.

The mind is a battlefield. I believe we all deal with things that threaten to take our peace of mind. It might feel like we can't win. Still, we have to try.

​I'm here to tell you that you matter. As my fellow blogger Leighann said, "Life is so beautiful with you in it." I know there have been times where I've felt low, and I got help. Talk to your family, friends, or loved ones. Also, there's nothing wrong with getting a professional opinion, too.

"The suicide rate in the United States has seen sharp increases in recent years. Studies have shown that the risk of suicide declines sharply when people call the national suicide hotline: 1-800-273-TALK." (CNN)

I hope I managed to encourage you a little bit. We all go through it, but we can't let our situations beat us. If you or someone you know is ever feeling down, remember to keep going.

Sources CNN, www.ohleighann.com/

Hello, everyone! Happy hump day! It's only a few more days until my event "A Most Convenient Read: Book Reading & Poetry Showcase. (You can purchase tickets here. I'll be reading an excerpt from Savannah alongside Kaleema M, the poet. Kaleema is a good friend of mine. You’ll get to learn a little bit about her, and she plans to put on a show that you don’t want to miss. Since Kaleema will be giving a short bio, I thought why not tell you all a little about me?

My pen name is Roxanne Ridge, but those that know me call me by my real name. If you’re wondering what my real name is, you’ll have to come to the show this Sunday to find out. Or if you peruse my website, my real name is on here somewhere. Roxanne Ridge is what I use for business purposes. Roxanne was the second choice for what my parents planned to name me, so I figured I’d pay homage to that name by using it as a pseudonym. The last name Ridge simply derived from my desire to put some alliteration in my title. Two R’s sounded nice to me 😊

The pseudonym has come in handy. I still have one foot in the corporate world, so a pseudonym has allowed me to do things discreetly. My mom was against me using my real name. Now, that it’s been a while she said I could probably use my real name, but I like the pen name Roxanne Ridge for my books. I can publish my work, and still inform other people on the process of choosing a pen name. It’s been an enlightening journey, and I plan on doing more, so I can keep you all in the know. I hope to see you at my event Sunday. Check the link below!

​http://bit.ly/amostconvenientread

#itsagirlthing was the saying for That's So Girly, Inc's conference, and I was happy to be a part of it. I got to meet the founder Essence Moore, the event planner Nichelle Calander, and volunteers from Goodie Girl Bags. They put together a wonderful event for teen girls (ages 12-17) to do empowering workshops, listen to influential speakers, and arrange donation bags for ladies in need.

​Everyone was dedicated to the cause, which was mentoring young girls. There was dancing and lessons in a classroom environment. The staff there provided me with encouraging words, and the teens seemed to have a good time. It was an awesome turnout, and I hope That's So Girly has many more events.

Check out That's So Girly, Inc. on their Facebook here.
More information on Goodie Girl Bags here.

Today is Friday, March 30, 2018. To some, it may seem like a regular day, but it's my day to transition. I'm transitioning in the following ways: professional life, personal life, and book life. As for my book life, I have you all to thank. Savannah: Stone Sister Series Book One is live!
Savannah is the first installment in my Stone Sister Series, and I’m so happy to debut the book. You all have heard me posting about it, but now the date is here. You can get it on Amazon or on my site here. I appreciate you all and I just wanted to say thank you and Happy Good Friday, everybody.