Family Over Everything by Paige Green Page A

snapped his fingers. “Oh yeah! She used to be fine as hell! That crackhead bitch! What about her?”
    â€œOkay, remember Derrick that used to hustle up Northview back in the day, too? He used to run a couple blocks on the Southside?”
    â€œYeah, I remember that nigga. Didn’t he get murked, though?”
    â€œYeah, he did, but that’s not what I’m getting at,” Jewels said as he tossed the drink back.
    â€œSo, what you talking about then?”
    â€œYou dumb ass, Relisha and Derrick used to mess around. She had twins by that dude. One of those twins is the one that robbed me.”
    â€œOh, shit!” Respect said, snapping his finger. “You know where he’s staying at now?”
    â€œYup, with that woman Melissa on Hazlet. I heard about thatlittle dude a couple of times. He out here robbing motherfuckers with his little right-hand man. But he done fucked with the wrong one,” Jewels said, shaking his head in disbelief.
    â€œSo we hitting him up? Him and his right hand?”
    Rubbing his chin, Jewels shook his head as he got up. Even though he had workers and could hire someone to take Day’onne out for him, he refused. He wanted to stare Day’onne directly into his eyes while he stole the breath away from his lungs. Day’onne had crossed a huge line and he had to be dealt with.
    Jewels didn’t only want Day’onne; he wanted everyone that had any relations with Day’onne. So with that thought, he looked at Respect and cleared his throat. “No, I don’t want just him. I want his entire family.”

CHAPTER SEVEN
    â€œA re you ready, boy?” Ms. Younger asked Deion.
    It was four in the afternoon as Deion sat at his desk with a pen and notebook in his hand. Giving Ms. Younger his undivided attention, he nodded.
    â€œOkay, first thing you need to know about writing a book is that it takes researching, dedication, and patience.”
    â€œWhat do you mean, it takes patience? What if I want them to read my book a couple of months from now? I don’t have patience!” he fussed.
    â€œDeion, you can’t write a book in one month; it truly takes time. Don’t put a time limit on it and don’t rush it. If you rush it, your work will never be good. So remember, patience is the key.”
    Deion nodded, taking note of what she said.
    â€œNext, when you’re writing a book, you want your readers to feel the characters’ emotions but not by telling them how the character is feeling.”
    â€œWhat do you mean by that?”
    â€œFor an example, if you’re writing about a rainy, dark day, you’d say, the day was dark and dull, and lacking of life, God’s scornful cries falling from the sky.”
    â€œSo, I would say that instead of simply saying it was raining outside?” Deion asked, raising his eyebrows.
    â€œExactly! Like I said, that’ll get your reader to feel it!”
    Deion continued to listen closely to every word of advice she offered him.
    â€œOkay, next lesson, when you’re writing a book, you want the words to flow and not force them.”
    â€œHow can I do that?”
    â€œSimply by letting the words come to you. The last thing you want to do is force your words. That’ll make your book weak and your readers will feel cheated.”
    â€œCheated? How could they feel cheated? It’s not like they’ll know if I forced the words or not!”
    Placing her hands on her hips, Ms. Younger scowled at him. “I’m telling you, yes, they will. You want the readers to love and appreciate your writing, not feel cheated and never want to read your work again. What genre are you aiming for?”
    â€œUrban fiction.”
    â€œUrban fiction? Oh, you’ll definitely need to work hard on that genre. I read a couple of books in that genre, so you’ll need to be different and not cliché.”
    Deion continued to jot down everything Ms. Younger