Hello, welcome, and more!

It’s great to have you reading here on my website, right from the beginning—from the beginning of my adventure and the beginning of our 2021. Surprisingly, it feels as though 2020 flew by extremely quickly. That’s certainly not something I would have imagined myself saying midway through the year, but alas here we are.

I keep a yearly notebook, not quite a journal, more or less a book of random things that I’ve found interesting, inspiring, or otherwise important to collect. In last year’s book, at the very beginning of a January entry, I wrote about the type of mindset needed for optimal writing or more specifically, the proper headspace for writing a novel.

To write a book, it takes a vacant mind.

Well boy oh boy, I did not expect to have the complete slow down in regular life that this year provided, but it is with immense excitement and gratitude that I am embarking on this website journey and the more overarching journey of writing YA novels.

vacant

To elaborate, a vacant mind does not mean an empty brain, a head completely lacking in ambition. Rather, to me, it means space. It is space to look within and space to expand, looking outwards and upwards. It is having a blank canvas just waiting to be filled with creativity. Then from that space, both in mind and in time, a project can be born.

It is my hope that in the coming year, you all can experience a little of that space in whatever form you need—whether that’s space for peace, space for goals, or space for growth. And don’t forget to read at least a little along the way!

My content here has a simple purpose: to inspire courage and exploration. You, the reader, are on a journey through the experiences that shape your life, and in my fiction as well as my blog posts and poetry, it is my ultimate aim to show honestly and authentically what it means to grapple with these amazing moments.

grapple

You see, I appreciate the word grapple. Actually, it’s a lot like vacant. At first you think it means one thing—perhaps a difficult task or struggle. But on deeper examination, there’s a nuance to it. There’s action to it. It’s a wrestling, and to wrestle implies a certain sense of two sidedness. I like that because it truly encapsulates the process of growing, of gaining strength. These very processes are good at their core, the virtues attained at the end of the struggle are unquestionable, but there is also an inherent difficulty in the work needed to get there.

Growing through these kinds of moments is how we’re all here, where we’ve made it to today. It’s how characters are formed and why we’re so attached to their stories. They are just like us, growing and changing and grappling, but maybe with some chase scenes and clues thrown in along the way, not to mention way-crazy worlds… Or wait, is that last one us too?

All kidding aside, if this piques your interest or if you’re fascinated by bold and authentic characters, you’ll definitely want to hang out here! Subscribe to the anaiahjyoung.com email list at the very bottom of the page to never miss a post and stay up-to-date on the exciting YA fiction that is forthcoming. I’m so glad you’re along for the ride! Happy 2021!

Anaiah J. Young

Hello, I’m Anaiah! Welcome to my corner of the internet! I’m a writer, editor, and creative who is endlessly fascinated by people, books, beauty, and words—looking at life and its adventures through the lens of the hope Christ has for us. I work with poetry, devotionals, and fiction and love exploring the introspective, the emotional, the beautiful, and the questions life leaves us all facing. I hope you enjoy!