Dirty Water

I'm multi-tasking today because 1. I'm busy. And 2. it seems that lately I've been hearing from a lot of people who think that finishing a novel is all they have to do.

Don't get me wrong, finishing a draft of a novel is hard. Monumentally, freakishly, totally hard.

But the work...the REAL work isn't writing a book. The real work is RE-writing the book.

Look, I know every writer is different, and I can't tell you how every other author works, but I can tell you that I've never met a single one who would ever consider stopping at just one draft.

That's why when the good folks of the National Novel Writing Month's Young Writers program asked me to write a little pep talk to everyone who is finishing up their NaNo projects, I didn't have to think long about what to write, because for me being a professional writer is all about the dirty water.

So here it is, gang, my NaNo pep talk.

Enjoy!

-Ally

DIRTY WATER
by Ally Carter

Hi guys! The great folks here at NaNoWriMo have asked me to write you a letter about some of the important lessons that I’ve learned about this crazy business…and that got me to thinking: what is the most important lesson I’ve learned about writing?

And, amazingly, the answer was pretty simple: I’ve learned the importance of the dirty water.

Have you ever worked in a yard or a garden? Or…more specifically…have you ever used a garden hose that hasn’t been used in a long time? Well, if you have, you probably already know that when you turn on a hose that hasn’t been used in weeks or months, the first water you get is going to be dirty—filthy in fact—full of cobwebs and gravel and the corpses of very large insects. The first stuff out of the hose is going to be the dirty water, and the only way to get to the good stuff is to let the water run.

The first things I ever wrote were screenplays. They were bad—laughably, embarrassingly, terribly bad. They were my dirty water stories. They were clogging up the hose, stuck inside my subconscious, and the only way to get them out of my system was to write them. To learn from them. To let the water run.

I’m now working on my sixth book, so some might think that my dirty water days are behind me, but guess again. For me, every book starts out with dirty water—scenes that don’t work; characters that come off flat; lines of dialogue that are just outright bad. I used to think that I could save myself a lot of time and trouble by carefully crafting a first draft, but for me it never works that way. First drafts are always dirty water. In short, they’re always bad. So now—six books later—all I can do is let the water run each and every time I start a book, and the longer it runs, the more drafts I go through and the harder I work, the better the book is going to get.

When I was in high school I started dozens of books, but I never made it past the first page or two because inevitably I’d look at my two pages of dirty water and compare it against the books that I loved and I’d always end up heartbroken. How could I possibly write something that good? Who did I think I was? Why would anyone want to read my book when there are so many better books in the world?

But that was before I knew about dirty water—that you should never compare your rough draft against someone else’s final draft. I can promise you that all books start out as rough drafts—as dirty water—and you shouldn’t expect your book to be any different.

National Novel Writing Month is almost over, but as you finish up your projects, don’t ask yourself if your book is any good or not. Don’t think about whether or not it will ever be published. The most important thing you can ask yourself is “Did I have fun?” If the answer is yes, then…you’re a writer. Pure and simple.

And if you’re a writer, that means you also have to be a re-writer. That means you embrace the dirty water. You keep working on this story and then you start something new. You write and rewrite and write some more.

That means you let the water run.

word count

Okay, okay.

Here's a word count:




(ps....now if you guys could just start monitoring my diet, too, I'd be a supermodel in practically no time!)


-Ally

A hint. Sort of.

The super cool people from the Young Writers NaNoWriMo program have asked me to play Stump the Librarian, which prompts two things from me:

1. how freaking cool is any game called "Stump the Librarian"?

2. the purpose of "Stump the Librarian" is to ask research questions that pertain to our current works in progress, so...

I'm not saying there WILL be a hint there.

But there might be.

Maybe.


(Don't say I never give you anything!)


-Ally

Excuses, excuses

Well, I knew when I started this whole word count thing that you guys were going to keep me on my toes and sure enough, you are!

I apologize that I haven't posted a word count lately, but I'm even sorrier for the reason why...

I actually haven't made that much progress.

(picture Ally hanging head in shame.)

That's right, I'm only about 2,000 words ahead of where I was a week ago because...well...it's been a pretty crazy week.

What with spending three exhausting days doing school visits. And then Thanksgiving. And then being home with the fam. And then buying a house.

Oh yeah, you know what *I* bought on the biggest shopping weekend of the year? A house. Which let me tell you takes A LOT more time than buying sweaters off of EddieBauer.com (which is ordinarily the only shopping I ever do).

Houses = Lots of spreadsheets and phone calls and faxes and sleepless nights.

But it's hopefully over now for a little while. Again...hopefully.

I also wasted two whole days waiting on the UPS guy which is a very long, psychotic story that no one really wants to hear and I frankly don't want to tell.

So there you go guys, the word count is creeping upward, but hopefully I'll be picking up some momentum soon.

nighty night,
Ally

What's on your wish list?

Quick question, gang: What are YOU asking for this holiday season?

Me, I'm officially asking Santa for good kitchen knives and one of those cool Kitchenaid Ice Cream Mixer attachments, and casual work clothes, and a fun bag for my big trip next summer.

But enough about me. I want to know what you guys are putting on your wish lists.


later gators,
Ally

FAQ...redux

It seems I've been getting a lot of reader emails lately (and someday soon I will hopefully have time to reply to each and every one!)

In the meantime, though, I thought I'd take a stab at answering the most frequently asked questions here.

So here goes!



#1: Will there be another Gallagher Girls book after CROSS MY HEART AND HOPE TO SPY? What will it be called and when will it be out?

Yes! There will be another book! I'm afraid that right now I can't really tell you what the title will be or when it will be in stores. I'm working on it, though, and I REALLY like it! And I promise that I'm going to do my best to make it as good as possible, but that's all I can really promise right now.




#2: Will Zach and Cammie get together in GG3?

Come on...do you REALLY think I'm going to give that away?




#3: Will Cammie ever find out what happened to her dad?

Ditto.




#4: I'm an actress and I think that I would be perfect to be in your movie, so can you please tell me where the movie tryouts are going to be?

I'm afraid that I really don't have any information on the movie tryouts. As far as I know they are not currently casting any of the parts and--if and when they do start casting--I won't be involved in the process at all. I wish I had more information to share, but please believe me when I say I don't.




#5: I heard you were writing a new book called Kat, but does this mean you won't be writing any more Gallagher Girl books?

Actually, I hope to be doing both! Kat will be the main character in a new series that I will be writing in addition to the Gallagher Girls series.




#6: When will Kat and GG3 be out?

I'm afraid I don't know exactly, but as soon as I find out I'll let you know.




#7: I have a great idea for a book. Can you help me sell it?

Congratulations! Really great ideas are rare, so cherish the ones you get. The first thing you need to do is write the book. Don't talk about writing instead of writing the book. Don't join a bunch of writers groups where everyone complains about how hard it is to get published instead of writing the book. Don't read a bunch of books on how to get published instead of writing the book. Are you noticing a trend yet? Can you tell that I'm a firm believer that a book can't be sold/published until you've WRITTEN the book? So get to writing!




#8: Have you read the TWILIGHT books? And do you know Stephenie Meyer?

Yes! And, sadly, no.




#9: Can you give me a hint about GG3????? PLEASE? I'm DYING for a hint?????

Oh....um....I know what the story is and what Cammie's goal will be and lots of really cool stuff about GG3, but I'm really hesitant to say too much too soon. After all, you guys have got a looooong wait ahead of you, I'm afraid. I will say that GG3 will pick up during summer vacation after GG2 and it will take the girls through the fall semester of their Junior year.

And that's it. Lips. Officially. Zipped.




#10: I know you said that you can't tell me anything about the movie tryouts, but if you know something about the movie tryouts, can you please tell me?

Sorry. I honestly don't have anything to tell.



#11: Will Zach be in any future books at all?

No comment. I will say that Cammie sort of already asked Zach that question and he already sort of answered it.



#12: How many books about the Gallagher Girls are there going to be?

I've gone back and forth about whether or not to say this here, but I'm going to go ahead and put it out there...

My plan right now is to write a total of six books about the Gallagher Girls. Of course, plans change, and I have to go where the story takes me, and the last thing I want to do is stretch out--or rush--a plot just because I'm committed to a six book series. But my PLAN right now is to do a book a semester for Cammie's sophomore, junior, and senior years of spy school.

That could change, of course, but right now that's my intention.





Okay, gang, that's all I've got for tonight. I'm afraid things have been really, really busy lately (and they won't slow down until February), but in the meantime thanks again to all of you for being so utterly awesome.


have a great week!

Ally

Thankful

I have so, so, so, so, so, so, so many reasons to be thankful this year...

Mom, Daddy, Amy, Rick and the girls
Breakout Books
Alphasmarts
Treadmills
Yoga Pants
Hyperion Books for Children
and a college education to name a few.

And you guys--the real, life Gallagher Girls of the world--to name a lot more.

You guys continue to amaze me.

I adore you all!

-Ally (who will get back to work on GG3 very soon...for real this time!)

Slowly but surely...

I'm still plugging away at my National Novel Writing Month project. How about you guys?

-Ally

Plotmonkeys

Hey everyone,

I'm guest-blogging over at Plotmonkeys.com today, so check it out!

In other news, HAPPY BIRTHDAY OKLAHOMA...

As in the state--it was 100 years old yesterday and it doesn't look a day over 99.


have a great pre-holiday weekend, everyone!


Ally

Work Clothes: pajamas need not apply

My mom was my high school English teacher. You guys knew that, didn't you?

Well, anyway, she was, and so that meant my sister and I never rode the bus. Instead, we rode back and forth to school every school day of our lives in the car with our mother. We learned a lot of great things in the 30 minutes a day that we spent on that commute, but these days the things I keep thinking about the most are the two things our mother used to tell us almost every single day.

"Girls, the hardest part of my day is figuring out what to wear in the morning and what to cook for supper when I get home."

It's official. Parents really DO get smarter as we get older!!!!!

You know why I know this? Because I now have a different job which means a need for totally new work clothes.

But why would you need work clothes, Ally? You might say. You could work in your pajamas!

Which is great, except....

I COULD GO FOR DAYS ON END WITHOUT CHANGING OUT OF MY PAJAMAS!

Therefore I'm now in the market for comfortable non-pajama clothing.

Also non-yoga-pants clothing (since, let's face it, for people who don't actually DO yoga, "yoga pants" are outside pajamas.)

And I'm just saying no to pajamas!

Except for right now.

And later tonight.

And maybe tomorrow morning until about 11...

And...

Maybe Eddie Bauer can do express shipping on those cargo pants I just ordered.


nighty night,
Ally

Circus People

I have a confession to make: I think I might be a freak.

It's kind of a long story, but let's just say that I never would have known that I am practically circus folk if I had never had a New York Times Bestseller.

Because if I hadn't been on the Times list people never would have started telling me that I should celebrate with something nice.

And if people hadn't convinced me that I deserved something nice I never would have gotten my heart set on a pair of diamond earrings.

And if I'd never gotten my heart set on diamond earrings I never would have gone earring shopping.

And if I'd never gone earring shopping I never would have tried on a really pretty pair of solitaire studs.

And if I'd never tried on solitaire studs I never would have had to stand in the middle of a jewelry store while my sister, the very nice saleslady (Donna), and I faced the fact that I have freakishly large lobes.

Yep. I said it. My ear lobes are freakishly large and unless you're in the market for freakishly large earrings, that's just...freaky.

Also, we think my earring holes are too high.

So there I am, the freaky lobe girl with the oddly placed earring holes and it's just sad. Very, very sad.

In the end, my sister and Donna were able to convince me that there's no shame in wearing hoops for the rest of my life, and considering that no one has ever noticed my terrible deformity before now, I should be able to cope with a careful effort toward hoops and all things dangly, I should be able to live a relatively normal life.

But still...

It's hard here in the circus.

--Ally, the big-lobed girl

FIVE

I just got word from my editor that CROSS MY HEART AND HOPE TO SPY is slated for its FIFTH week on the New York Times Bestseller List.

Five.

That's five weeks, people.

As in more than a month.

As in I'M FREAKING OUT HERE!!!!

So thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you to everyone who has bought the book--or recommended that a friend buy the book--you guys did this. And I adore you.

In other news, I had a kind of challenging writing day because--after waking up and getting to the library early this morning--my space bar broke. Do you know how crucial the ability to space is when writing a novel? Well, it turns out, it's really, really crucial.

But then I called the helpline and got expert advice on fixing the space bar, so catastrophe averted, but I still managed to waste several space-free hours.

Speaking of hours, (or not really hours, so much as time, but hang with me...) as excited as I am that you guys are excited about GG3, there's something you need to know:

I'm working on a ROUGH draft. As in bad. As in needing many, many more drafts. As in it really will be a long time until the book is in stores. I'm sorry--so, so, so sorry--that it's going to take this long, I'm afraid that's just how these things work.

In the meantime, though, there are a lot of other great books coming out in the coming months...

Like THE SQUAD books by Jennifer Lynn Barnes.

And HOW TO BE BAD by Sarah Mlynowski, E. Lockhart, and Lauren Myracle.

Not to mention THE DISREPUTABLE HISTORY OF FRANKIE LANDAU-BANKS, also by E. Lockhart, which is probably the best book I've read in a long, long time.

So see...so much good reading!

And don't worry, I am writing as fast as I can, but this book is big--like really, really big--and I've got to get it just right because...well...I'd tell you, but then...you know.


later gators,
Ally

A real day as a real writer

7:30--wake up
7:35--hit snooze
8:00--get up for real
8:02--check email and other internet things
8:04--watch FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS from Friday on Tivo
8:50--shower and dress
9:30--library opens
9:35--arrive at library and get to work
11:45--check word count, think "wow! that was kinda easy"
12:01--come home and make soup
12:45--lie down on couch to digest
2:30--get up off couch
2:40--write more (Wow! That was easy, too!)
6:30--realize that my work day is over. Like seriously. I don't have to write any more today.
6:35--ask myself why I didn't do this a loooooong time ago.



-Ally

Picking sides

I just...like literally two minutes ago...finished ECLIPSE and I have to wonder, would you guys think I was crazy if I kinda, sorta chose Jacob over Edward?

I know--craziness, right? But Jacob is flawed and passionate and Edward is cool perfection. Plus, I'm INCREDIBLY cold natured and I think having a soul mate whose natural body temperature is 100+ degrees might come in handy.

But Edward...very, very yummy.

Still, Jacob...technically still human.

It's waaaaaaay too close to call.


Speaking of too close to call and choosing sides, I have to say a big THANK YOU to everyone who has embraced Zach so completely. I have to admit I was more than a little worried about that. I remember having very long pieces of email correspondence with my good friend Jennifer Lynn Barnes after she read an early draft of CROSS MY HEART AND HOPE TO SPY.

I can't remember exactly, but they went something like this:


JEN: By the way, is it sick and wrong if I'm totally in love with Zach?

ME: You like Zach?!?!? Really? You're not just saying that?

JEN: Totally. I mean, I liked Josh...but I liiiiiike Zach.

ME: But the girls! The girls like Josh. They're probably going to hate any boy who isn't Josh.

JEN: Yeah, but Zach is not a normal boy.


And he's not. And Jen was right. Zach is uber complex and sorta yummy. (And...no, I'm not going to give away anything that will happen in the future books. Gallagher Girls are patient, remember?)

Anyway, thanks to everyone who has written to say that you liked him. I like him. And I'm glad to see I have good taste.

In other news tomorrow kinda, sorta marks my first day as a full-time writer. I have some work commitments later this month, but beginning tomorrow I'm going to be taking all of my accumulated vacation time so...it's official. I'm unemployed and if you guys don't buy books I might starve (no pressure or anything!)



have a great week!

Ally

Ready! Set! Write!

What's today? November 1. What happens on November 1? I START GALLAGHER GIRLS THREE!!!

Here's my progress so far. I'm posting it so that you guys will keep me honest (because we all know you will!!!)



later gators!
Ally