Ally Carter

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NaNoWriMo

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First things first this Monday morning, HUGE thanks to everyone who entered the t-shirt design contest!  I’m not 100% sure how many entries we ended up with but I know it was well over 100.  I also know that this was a contest that required a great deal of work, and I’m incredibly grateful to everyone who took the time to take part!

Now, it’s also almost November which means…

NATIONAL NOVEL WRITING MONTH!  (Or NaNoWriMo as the cool kids call it.)

I get asked a lot about NaNoWriMo, specifically have I ever done it, will I ever do it, do I recommend it, etc?

The answers are Yes, Yes, Yes.

DON’T JUDGE A GIRL BY HER COVER was actually written during NaNoWriMo in 2007.  I tend to do very rough, very quick first drafts of all of my books, so even though most of the time my first draft don’t ‘t usually happen in November, I always do something of the sort.

One of the most important things you can do when you’re learning how to write is to learn how to finish!  Truthfully, starting a book is easy.  Getting all the way to THE END is incredibly, incredibly difficult–especially when you’ve never done it before.  That’s why I think NaNoWriMo is a great program.

Another important thing that I think everyone should remember is that no two writers write alike.  I throw utter garbage onto the page until I have a first draft then I painstakingly go back and spend the next six months or so trying to make it better.  Other writers deliberate and labor and worry over every single word and their final drafts don’t differ that much from their first drafts.

How will you know what kind of writer you are?  By writing.

How will you learn to write?  By writing.

How will you know if this is something you might be good at and enjoy?  By writing.

And National Novel Writing Month is all about the writing.

So I think it’s a very good thing.

 

Have a great week!

Ally

 

ps: I’m afraid I will not be doing NaNoWriMo this year because November will be dedicated to finishing Heist Society 2.  And since it’s a first draft-thing and not a rewrite-a-novel thing it doesn’t really apply to me this year.

 

Comments

  1. NaNoWriMo is pure joy! Literally, I never stop smiling in November, thats how amazing it is! My friend introduced me to it a few years back! I’ve never actually been one of the winners before, but I’m soooo stoked this year I think there is a good chance I’ll finish! I am sooo excited for Heist Society 2!

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  2. NaNoWriMo is all sorts of amazing. I’ve been doing it every year since 07, and I’ve won the last two. Technically it doesn’t quite ‘apply’ to me this year either, as I’m going to -finish- a couple drafts, but I’m still writing 50k, so I’m going to enter the madness this year too! Even if you aren’t doing it this year, I’ll still be rooting for you to finish HS2! Thanks for being such an awesome writing inspiration, Ally. ^_^

    Briana

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  3. WHAT are you supposed to do during NaNoWriMo? Besieds writing, of course. The stuff that the other comments were talking about.

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  4. dear Ally , this isnt anything about the nanowrimo thing but its the only thing i could find that i could comment on….. it sounds random but i have questions for the Q&A thing for Gallagher girls.. BUT it doesnt let me comment! how do i comment on it because i have a question about GG4 !!!

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  5. Go to NaNoWriMo.org and make an account, then set it up and start writing daily when November begins! Looks like it’ll really help, thanks for telling us Ally!

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  6. Cool! I’m writing a novel and it’s almost done. My birthday’s in NaNoWriMo maybe I’ll finish the first draft on my birthday!!!

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  8. hmmm ive never heard of this but i am definetely going to try to write a LOT. i have a story that i love that absolutely MUST be written, but i just procrastinate a LOT. maybe this NaNoWriMo will fix that… XD

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  9. A few of my friends have participated in NaNoWriMo for the past four years. It is a lot of hard work and a lot of fun.

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  11. Thought I would mention to some of the posters here that NaNoWriMo actually has a program for young writers under 17.

    Here’s the link (there’s also helpful writing info here):
    http://ywp.nanowrimo.org/

    Thanks for this post, Ally. I’ve been debating about signing up for my second time around and was actually curious whether published authors found it helpful.

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  12. Thanks for reminding me!!! I’ve been meaning to do nanowrimo for the last three years but everytime I forget about it until thanksgiving… This year I’m going to do it with a bunch of friends so it should be fun!

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  13. I LOVE NaNoWriMo. I’ve done it four years, have won the last two (Last year I got to 50,000 in 15 days, ended with 76,817) and I would definitely recommend doing it, especially for people who have trouble making themselves sit down and write.

    I’m a little scared about this year though… Namely because I’ve decided that I’m going to try to write TWO 50,000 word novels. At once.

    Yeah. It’s terrifying.

    But if I succeed… *maniacal laugh* Nothing will stop me from ruling the world!!!

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  15. Hey, Ally!
    I am totally joining NaNoWriMo!!! I even got an account on it (in case your wondering, my username is: Gallaghergirl. 🙂
    I have always wanted to write a novel, but never had anything to motivate me or keep me on track (which proves something because right now, I should realy be studying for my history test).
    I never even knew about this until you mentioned it You’ve opened up a whole new world to me (sorry for the sappiness)
    Hope you are doing awesome with Heist2 and GG5!
    Love ya, Ally! 🙂

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  16. That’s so cool, I didn’t know that. I now know that NaNoWriMO is the whole month of November. I think the month of November just got cooler. I mean it already has Thanksgiving, great wheater(in my opinoin), and now NaNoWriMo. AWESOME! I hope you are doing awesome with Heist2 and GG5. Best of Luck. 🙂

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  18. Thank you SO much for posting this as a blog post! I’d never heard of NaNoWriMo until now! I’m doing it this year, and super excited cause I can never seem to finish my book! I just keep thinking of a different idea, start the book, then get bored and write a different one. This’ll force me to actually finish! 🙂

    P.S. Can’t wait for Heist Society 2 and GG5! <3

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  19. My friend was actually talking about this the other day! I told him that writing 50,000 words of a story wouldn’t be so hard, but coming up with just one story idea to stick with could be. I might try this considering my work on my second draft of my book and it would be nice to have anothering thing to work on. I know what you mean by first draft just being garbage and then going back through and changing it. I let my friend read the revised prologue for my story and she wanted to read more, but I’m not done revising. No where near close. It’s hard to try and get people to understand that writing takes time. If we don’t take time then peole can be disappointed. I’m glad I got into writing and I’m glad for the advice you give wrtiers.

    Thanks so much Ally!

    Sydney

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  20. I’m officially going to be apart of NaNoWriMo!! I signed up today 🙂

    Thank you soo much for posting this, I have a great idea (that was somewhat inspired by your books!) so I’m super x975275975927952759729 excited!!

    P.S. Add me on the NaNo site? I’m Gallagher.Girl

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  21. hmmm. NaNoWriMo sounds fun! maybe I’ll try it? I’m super busy but sounds like a good experience…hmm (again). good luck with Heist 2! super excited 🙂

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  22. i luv the gallgher academy books i am dying to see the movie if there will ever be one. u know they should this book is totaly movie worthy

    Reply

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