Curious to discover ways to get into the writing groove? How about advice on working with smaller publishing houses? Or best practices for co-authoring a novel? We talk about it all and much more with Ally Condie!
Ally is the author of The Last Voyage of Poe Blythe, Summerlost, Atlantia, and the critically acclaimed Matched trilogy, a #1 New York Times and international bestseller.
In our conversation, Ally shares the heartfelt story of how she fell in love with storytelling and her journey to becoming a best-selling author. We discuss working with smaller publishing companies, how to embrace rejection to reach your writing goals, and we get into the nitty-gritty of Ally’s writing and editing process. We continue on to talk about how she finds time to write with such a busy schedule and the tools she uses to get into the writing mindset. She dives into the details of her newest novel The Last Voyage of Poe Blythe and the fascinating behind-the-scenes story of what sparked that idea. And towards the end, Ally talks about her experience getting her master’s degree she always wanted, what exciting projects she’s currently working on – including a co-authored novel, and ways you can use writing to make a change in the world.
Books and resources:
The Fablehaven Series by Brandon Mull
Author Nathan Bransford’s Blog
Literary agent Kristin Nelson’s Blog
It Ain’t Me by Selena Gomez
Mad Max: Fury Road directed by George Miller
Authors John Greene, Stephanie Meyer, Adam Gidwitz, and Nova Ren Suma
Ally’s literary agent Jodi Reamer with Writers House
Ally’s editor Julie Strauss Gabel at Dutton Books
Authors Kekla Magoon, Brendan Reichs, Beth Revis, and An Na (Check out her episode on 88 Cups of Tea right here!)
The School for Good and Evil Series by Soman Chainani
Zen in the Art of Writing: Essays on Creativity and Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury
Daisy Jones & The Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid
Gingerbread by Helen Oyeyemi
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Check out these highlights:
- How Ally found her love for storytelling at a young age and a peek into her journey to becoming a teacher and best-selling author (3:50)
- The moment Ally got the spark to finish her first novel and pursue her writing career (14:10)
- How to find the right beta readers for your novel (15:20)
- The importance of finding a support system that encourages you and your craft (17:48)
- How Ally found time to write with an already busy schedule (19:38)
- Tips on setting manageable goals to help kickstart your creative pursuits (21:11)
- Ally’s shares her experience publishing with a smaller publishing house and then moving on to getting agented (22:45)
- How to embrace rejection during your querying process (27:15)
- A peek into Ally’s writing and editing process and tools to help you get in the writing mindset (30:00)
- A snapshot of Ally’s newest novel The Last Voyage of Poe Blythe and the inspiration behind the story (35:57)
- Ally’s wonderful experience getting her MFA at VCFA (39:30)
- The part in The Last Voyage of Poe Blythe that stumped Ally the most and how she creatively overcame the hurdle (47:20)
- And she answers a few of our very own listener questions:
- “What are you currently working on?” (51:13)
- “How do you work through your editing process? What do you do when it gets difficult?” (52:32)
- “I’d love to know about WriteOut foundation, specifically how you managed to find resources like time, funding, author faculty for it and if you have advice for ways, apart from the words themselves, to use writing as a means of furthering causes we care about?” (55:39)
“I just really like to see people doing what they love and doing it well.”
– Ally Condie
“I loved writing the end and I think that’s because it’s been such a journey to get there.”
-Ally Condie
“You’re always trying to get better and I don’t even know what that means because it’s such an objective, tricky non-quantifiable thing in some ways but in some ways, it’s not. Are you trying new things? Are you challenging yourself? Are you telling the story that scares you?”
-Ally Condie
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Learn more about “The Last Voyage of Poe Blythe”
Who do you become when you have nothing left to lose?
There is something Poe Blythe, the seventeen-year-old captain of the Outpost’s last mining ship, wants far more than the gold they tear from the Serpentine River.
Revenge.
Poe has vowed to annihilate the river raiders who robbed her of everything two years ago. But as she navigates the treacherous waters of the Serpentine and realizes there might be a traitor among her crew, she must also reckon with who she has become, who she wants to be, and the ways love can change and shape you. Even—and especially—when you think all is lost.
Ally Condie, the international bestselling author of the Matched trilogy, returns with an intricately crafted and emotionally gripping story of one young woman’s journey to move beyond the grief and anger that control her and find the inner strength to chart her own course.
Learn more about Ally Condie
Ally Condie is the author of Summerlost, Atlantia, and the critically acclaimed Matched trilogy, a #1 New York Times and international bestseller. The series has been published in more than 30 languages. A former English teacher, Ally lives with her husband and four children outside of Salt Lake City, Utah. She loves reading, writing, running, and listening to her husband play guitar.
