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Books for Aspiring Writers: Surviving and Thriving during #NaNoWriMo

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On today's episode, Jill and Adam dive into National Novel Writing Month, how they're approaching this monumental task, and offer up loads of books to help you get through #NaNoWriMo. Need help? We've got your back.

Below you'll find the books mentioned in this episode broken out by what you might need help with for your writing journey.

General guides for writing

Writing Radar by Jack Gantos

Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott

On Writing by Stephen King

How to Write a Novel Using the Snowflake Method by Randy Ingermanson


On setting and changing expectations through your narrator

The Murder of Roger Ackroyd by Agatha Christie


-Figuring out your pacing-

If you're novel takes place in a short amount of time

The 7 ½ Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle by Stuart Turton

Mrs. Dalloway by Virginia Woolf

This Is Where It Ends by Marieke Nijkamp

Long Way Down by Jason Reynolds

If your novel is a sweeping saga

Pachinko by Min Jin Lee

A Secret History of Witches by Louisa Morgan

If your novel has multiple timelines

The String Diaries by Stephen Lloyd Jones

Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi

If you need help with how you're using language

The Butter Battle Book by Dr. Seuss

Hills Like White Elephants by Ernest Hemingway

If you need help with character development

Uprooted by Naomi Novik

Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy

Devil in White City by Erik Larson

Road to Jonestown by Jeff Guinn

The First Conspiracy by Brad Meltzer

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Read an Ebook Day recommendations!

Professional Book Nerds | E:480
On today's episode, we're sharing what our coworkers are reading for Read an Ebook Day! September 18th (Friday) is Read an Ebook Day and what better way to prepare than with a bunch of book recs!?!?
Listen to Read an Ebook Day recommendations!

Interview with Caroline B. Cooney

Professional Book Nerds | E:479
On today's episode, Jill interviews Caroline B. Cooney, author of the iconic Face on the Milk Carton, about her new adult book Before She Was Helen. Caroline talks about the "What if?" question that inspired her to write Before She Was Helen, transitioning creatively from writing young adult to adult, and tells the best librarian story ever (according to Jill).
Listen to Interview with Caroline B. Cooney

Back to school... but with murder!

Professional Book Nerds | E:478
Back to school time has arrived and who doesn't love books set around fancy private schools? Also, there is a lot of murdery mysteries in these selections.
Listen to Back to school... but with murder!

Interview with Yaa Gyasi, author of Transcendent Kingdom

Professional Book Nerds | E:477
Jill talks with Yaa Gyasi about her new book Transcendent Kingdom. The pair discuss the opioid crisis, family relationships, and the differences in her research process between this contemporary novel and her historical fiction debut Homegoing (which was Jill's favorite book of the previous decade!)
Listen to Interview with Yaa Gyasi, author of Transcendent Kingdom

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