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holtfan's review against another edition
4.0
Rounding up for surprised expectations.
I honestly didn't think I'd finish this one. Ally Carter's writing struck me as...condescending. Written at teenagers rather than for them, if that makes sense. But either the writing grew on me or that's just Carter's style because by the end it didn't bug me as much.
Though written by a YA author with lots of snip-its from other YA authors, I found this book contained lots of good advice beyond the YA genre. I particularly appreciated the advice from authors other than Carter because they brought variety in both writing styles and life experience. And also, I love Shannon Hale and Sarah Rees Brennan and Marissa Meyer (to say nothing of the other dozen contributing authors) so I perked up whenever they chimed in.
It isn't the best book on writing ever but it is a practical starting point to get the creative juices flowing. I'd give a teenager a copy. Heck, I'll probably keep a copy for myself.
Be prepared, though, to hear lots and lots and lots about Ally Carter's books. Those are her frames of reference and she's sticking to them.
I honestly didn't think I'd finish this one. Ally Carter's writing struck me as...condescending. Written at teenagers rather than for them, if that makes sense. But either the writing grew on me or that's just Carter's style because by the end it didn't bug me as much.
Though written by a YA author with lots of snip-its from other YA authors, I found this book contained lots of good advice beyond the YA genre. I particularly appreciated the advice from authors other than Carter because they brought variety in both writing styles and life experience. And also, I love Shannon Hale and Sarah Rees Brennan and Marissa Meyer (to say nothing of the other dozen contributing authors) so I perked up whenever they chimed in.
It isn't the best book on writing ever but it is a practical starting point to get the creative juices flowing. I'd give a teenager a copy. Heck, I'll probably keep a copy for myself.
Be prepared, though, to hear lots and lots and lots about Ally Carter's books. Those are her frames of reference and she's sticking to them.
kateteaching7and8's review
5.0
@kidlitexchange #partner
Thank you to @theallycarter and @scholasticinc for sharing an advance copy of Dear Ally, How Do You Write a Book? with the #kidlitexchange network. This book was published in March 2019 and is currently available for purchase. All opinions are my own.
Have you always wanted to write a book, but didn't have a clue where to start? Check out Dear Ally, How Do You Write a Book? In this book, author Ally Carter along with the help of several of her author friends offers advice, tips, and tricks for writing a book. The book includes chapters on getting started, planning, drafting, developing a voice, editing and revising, and getting published. Most of the book is formatted in the following way: a question is posed and Ally responds. However, the book also includes questions to specific authors and their response (like little mini letters) and tables with detailed information from various authors on different topics.
I really enjoyed reading this book. I have personally never been inclined to write a book myself but many of my students have shown interested. I love that this book is designed for teens and answers the questions that they often ask. This would be a terrific book to include as part of a creative writing or writing elective curriculum. This book offers practical advice and I saw that many of the things I tell my students were echoed by authors in this book. I enjoyed reading this book as a teacher because it offered me a new perspective on certain aspects of the writing process and better ways to explain certain concepts/processes. I think that students would enjoy reading this book and take more away from it than they would say from my lesson because they view Ally Carter and the other authors as experts (which they are). This is a very informative book and it had great voice and pacing. I will definitely be recommending this book to my students who enjoy writing and want to become better writers.
Thank you to @theallycarter and @scholasticinc for sharing an advance copy of Dear Ally, How Do You Write a Book? with the #kidlitexchange network. This book was published in March 2019 and is currently available for purchase. All opinions are my own.
Have you always wanted to write a book, but didn't have a clue where to start? Check out Dear Ally, How Do You Write a Book? In this book, author Ally Carter along with the help of several of her author friends offers advice, tips, and tricks for writing a book. The book includes chapters on getting started, planning, drafting, developing a voice, editing and revising, and getting published. Most of the book is formatted in the following way: a question is posed and Ally responds. However, the book also includes questions to specific authors and their response (like little mini letters) and tables with detailed information from various authors on different topics.
I really enjoyed reading this book. I have personally never been inclined to write a book myself but many of my students have shown interested. I love that this book is designed for teens and answers the questions that they often ask. This would be a terrific book to include as part of a creative writing or writing elective curriculum. This book offers practical advice and I saw that many of the things I tell my students were echoed by authors in this book. I enjoyed reading this book as a teacher because it offered me a new perspective on certain aspects of the writing process and better ways to explain certain concepts/processes. I think that students would enjoy reading this book and take more away from it than they would say from my lesson because they view Ally Carter and the other authors as experts (which they are). This is a very informative book and it had great voice and pacing. I will definitely be recommending this book to my students who enjoy writing and want to become better writers.
amadeusreads's review
5.0
This is a great guide (and I believe only guide) for advice to writing a YA novel. While it is definitely geared towards teens who are interested in writing and getting a novel published eventually, I think it is super helpful for beginning writers who specifically want to write YA. The advice given from so many authors on their takes was welcome, also. Ally also has a lot of great points in terms of making sure the reader ultimately finds their own method of writing a novel, which is great.
amysbookishlife's review against another edition
A really informative, interesting book all about how to write. As someone who is a wannabe author I can see this as one of many books that I consider a 'toolkit' to writing. I especially loved the segments from other authors and it was really great to find out about their different writing styles.
rachelvogus's review
5.0
My only beef with this book is that it should have been published in 1994 when I was 12 years old.
bpenafort's review
3.0
3.5
this is an amazing book for someone who wants to write a book but still needs to find his/her own voice and routine. ally talking about what worked and didn't work for her was really helpful and i feel very inspired to start planning and writing my first story.
this is an amazing book for someone who wants to write a book but still needs to find his/her own voice and routine. ally talking about what worked and didn't work for her was really helpful and i feel very inspired to start planning and writing my first story.
perusewithcoffee's review against another edition
4.0
Great writing craft book for all ages, not just young adults! This actually taught me a lot and I hope to bring a lot of what I learned into my writing.
livmm's review against another edition
MY BEST FRIEND EDITED THIS. I LOVE IT AND YOU ARE REQUIRED TO LOVE IT ALSO. THANK YOU.
taylora's review against another edition
informative
inspiring
reflective
fast-paced
4.0
Great book on writing craft, specifically for a YA audience. Ally Carter was really through and thoughtful, but also loved all of the opinions and information from other YA authors. Made it feel less like one person's advice and hearing from a whole round table of authors.