Welcome to Red Ribbon

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Welcome!

Hey Everyone! Bella here, and welcome to my blog! Here, I plan on posting all sorts of information, from excerpts directly from the final draft of Red Ribbon, to character insights of the three main characters- Natoya, Andrés, and Jess.

I’m excited to share behind-the-scenes insights and updates as we explore the story together.

Thanks for joining me on this journey!

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Natoya D'Angelos - Red Ribbon

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Natoya D'Angelos

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Natoya D'Angelos

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Andres: I don't know... I want to tell her something but I don't know what to say. Jess: Speak from the heart, not from the mind. Natoya: Well... A little bit of the mind helps not to scare her.

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Third times the charm

Natoya: Taking linear algebra six times is crazy. Andres: You know what they say, 3rd times the charm. So imagine- double that charm...

[tenderwatches]

sometimes you need dialogue tags and don't want to use the same four

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This is a literal gold mine.

[mournfulroses]

Janet Fitch, from her novel titled "White Oleander," originally published in 1999

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Reminder that 1999 was 26 years ago.

[write-on-world]

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This is so true

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Life is right now. While you’re waiting for your dream job, your future spouse, your goal weight, a new home, a change in appearance. Life is happening while you are working on mastering a skill, being in the unknown, not knowing which way to go, feeling stuck. Most of life happens in the waiting. Not in the achievements or successes which are nothing but milestones. Don’t wish the time you have away waiting for something that lives in the future. Look around. What does today offer that you might not want to miss?

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Andres: Mysterious, huh? That's your type? Natoya: You know what I mean... Andres: Next thing you know, you're gonna be falling in love with black holes. Natoya, in a school girl mocking tone: "You're so funny. Shut up."

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Sneaky Snippet

Love this section of my text. It really draws out the teenage awkwardness between two individuals. I really wanted to emphasize what Natoya and Jess' relationship was like when they're alone, and forced to small talk. “How were your finals?” Natoya asked as they waited for the baseball game to conclude. Jess shrugged, trying to figure out how she might’ve done on her finals in order to gauge his answer.

“They were fine.” He replied. He wasn’t going to tell her pre-calculus was the easiest out of all of them. She’d probably look at him in shock, yet try to retain it in some sort of way, act cool like her classes were just as hard. He wouldn’t bother telling her about his health and counsel. She'd flip after finding out it was taught at the college level.

All of that would probably blow his cover.

“How do you think you did?” She continued, and he glanced back over in her direction. Her entire body was leaning towards him. He almost wanted to pull back instinctively.

“Probably passed.”

“Oh, come on you’re like the smartest guy I know.” She laughed, and then looked like she regretted what she said. He sharply laughed- as quietly as he could at her reaction. What if he actually did horribly. He laughed at the reaction, then turned back to the playing field.

“Only class I’m really worried about is biology.” He lied.

“I really struggled in that class.” He lied again.

“How about you?”

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Natoya: I just don't understand how a scarecrow won an award. Andres: I guess you can say he was outstanding in his field. Natoya: Andres: I'll workshop that one.

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Sneaky Snippet

Super happy with the rewritten version of Natoya! In the first chapter posted on Wattpad and Royal Road, you can see she's pretty sassy and hellbent on running away. But you know what's better than starting off with a sassy, irresponsible character? Growing into one!

Sneaky little snippet:

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Exciting News- Character Insight

Super thrilled with the way my writing is coming together! One thing I'm particularly proud of is a reoccurring motif I've woven into Andres' story- his relationship with his mom told through text messages.

It's so subtle but meaningful, and when he goes through a really dark moment later in the story, he finds himself looking through their old conversations. I can't wait for you all to experience it!