I Published My NaNo Novel! Ally Kennen on Revision, and Making Room for Writing

Critically-acclaimed author Ally Kennen is no stranger to a challenge. She used NaNoWriMo to help her publish nine books, all while raising her three children. She tells us about her revision process, and shares just how to make room for writing in a bustling life:

When did you first attempt NaNoWriMo? What did it offer to you as a writer? 

I first attempted, and failed, NaNoWriMo in 2004, before I had any books published. NaNoWriMo felt delicious. Here was a community of like-minded dreamers, all passionate about writing. I loved the lighthearted approach and humor, but there was also a real determination to get those words done.

I’ve participated many times since. Sometimes I have failed miserably. Other times I have failed quite brilliantly, and a few times I have even achieved the magic 50,000 words. I adapt NaNoWriMo to suit me. It is never a waste of time. What I love about it is how it is so positive: this massive international wave of good intention and creative endeavor.

I have since had nine books published, all for children and young adults.

Could you tell us more about your revision process?

My second draft always utterly butchers the first. Pretty much every sentence is re-worked, this time with my ‘stern editor’s brain,’ apart from a few glorious passages that emerged during moments of NaNoWriMo magic. I chuck all the rubbish into a folder and let it fester and rot.  Sometimes stuff I have chopped is recycled into new books, or it is reincarnated, but not often.

Then I will make a third draft. My husband is my first reader, but I don’t let him read it until I have drafted it about four times. After he has read and commented, I rush through another draft, sprinkle some fairy dust, tie up some knots, and send it off to my editor. And tremble.

Tell us about one of your more memorable writing experiences! How can writers overcome the obstacles in their lives?

When I was writing Berserk in 2005, I had an eleven-month-old baby, and a publishing deadline to produce two more teen books. My first book Beast had been shortlisted for the Carnegie Medal in the UK, and I had no idea how I could pull off another book. Fear set in. No way could I replicate my first success. I was also steeped in the earnest madness of first-time motherhood.

So I piled into NaNoWriMo, repeating the mantra ‘quantity not quality’ and the words built up. I had to write in 500 word bursts, whenever my baby felt fit to release me. Getting to 50,000 words felt euphoric. I was writing up to midnight, howling and gibbering as the words alternately dribbled and poured out. The tension was intense. Could I do it? Having babies is rightly a completely immersing experience, but it did feel wonderful to produce some new creative work in the midst of the nappies, the baby worship and the sleep deprivation. 

After November, I steeled myself to read my words. I probably cut 70% of it. But 30% remained, and within that, I found golden nuggets of ideas and phrases. Most importantly, the fear had diminished. I was off! I had done the first draft. My book was a big ugly creature with six legs and an overshot jaw; it would need major surgery and organ transplants, but it had a beating heart! 

The bright lights and sheer fun of NaNoWriMo steered me through the fog of motherhood and intense creative effort. 

What was your journey to publication?

In my twenties I had a zillion jobs, from the inane to the mundane. I also co-wrote a pop song which got to no. 41 in the UK charts (‘Intensify’ with Way Out West, since you ask). I wanted to blow my extra cash on something wild and insane. My budget would stretch to a hot tub or an M.A. in Creative Writing. Both seemed suitably self-indulgent. I chose the degree, wrote Beast and won a prize that earned me an agent. There was an auction for the book between four publishers. All this was mind-blowing, but I now needed to write more books, at the same time it seemed, as the call of motherhood battled for supremacy. 

This is where NaNoWriMo saved me! 

I hold no truck with those who say they have ‘no time to write a book.’ This is not true. If I can do it, as a full-time mother to a newborn, a two year old and a four year old, anyone can. 

Before becoming an author, Ally Kennen had many jobs including working as an archaeologist, a classroom helper, a museum guard, a giant teddy bear and a singer and songwriter. She lives in Somerset with her husband, three children, six chickens and four cats.

Author photo by Candy Gourlay.