YA author talks to students about writing

YA author Ally Carter was on campus Wednesday to talk to students about being an author and her road to getting published.

Reilly Martens

YA author Ally Carter was on campus Wednesday to talk to students about being an author and her road to getting published.

Reilly Martens, Staff Reporter

Young adult and adult fiction author Ally Carter visited the library on Wednesday to promote her second novel, See How they Run, of the Embassy row series. Along with a glimpse of reasoning behind characters and a brief walk through her life on the road to becoming a novelist, her talk and question and answer provided students with new the inspiration they may have needed to revisit past ideas.

“She was really funny, and I actually learned a lot of stuff about writing,” sophomore Kyla Raymond said. “Maybe I’ll finally get another journal and try to write a story I won’t give up on in the middle of the year. It’ll be a really interesting way of seeing how her process works and if it works for me.”

Librarian Jeana Chetty found the talk to be helpful for students, particularly those interested in taking up writing themselves.

“I think they give kids a sense of where the books come from,” Chetty said. “And the process it takes to get that on the book, so I think it’s really important.”

Many who weren’t interested in the career side of the discussion simply enjoyed listening to her speak on her experiences and ideas.

“I thought it was really fun,” sophomore Kaitlin Coffman said. “I’ve never actually spoken to another author before. I’m kind of, sort of a writer but I don’t plan on actually doing it professionally. But it was pretty fun getting the viewpoint of someone who is doing this successfully.”