Ally Zetterberg: 'Characters are what makes the story – don’t rush them'
BY Katie Smart
25th Jul 2023
Ally Zetterberg is a British-Swedish author and a former student of our Writing Your Novel – Three Months online course in 2021. Ally’s debut novel The Happiness Blueprint will be published by Mira (HarperCollins, US) in 2024. We’re so delighted that Ally in generously sponsoring a scholarship place on our upcoming three-month online Writing Your Novel course.
We spoke to Ally about her time studying with us, her experience of writing fiction in her second language and what motivated her to sponsor the Klara Nilsson Novel-Writing Scholarship for Writers with Low Income.
You studied on our Writing Your Novel – Three Months online course in 2021. How did your time studying with us impact your writing journey?
The course was my writing journey! I started writing early 2021, attempting a novel as it’s my preferred story form. I quickly accepted that my first idea and draft wasn’t good enough so I looked it over and picked out my strengths; that I could write comedy and had a fair grasp of structure. I then had a better novel idea but realised I needed help to turn it into a book. CBC seemed to be the best course out there, so I wrote the first 15 thousand words of The Happiness Blueprint and applied. Everything that happened after that has felt like a dream. I managed to finish my draft some months after the course ended, had multiple agent interest off the anthology and signed with my agent (Tanera Simons at Darley Anderson Agency) within two months of querying. CBC sets out all the steps from the first draft to finding an agent and helped build my confidence along the way.
Many of our students find lifelong writing friends on our courses. Are you still in touch with anyone you met during the course?
Yes! I probably chat to Emily (Howes, debut The Painter’s Daughters out February 2024 with Phoenix) more than I do my husband. My CBC-group has a Slack group where we share highs and lows of writing life and read each other’s drafts. We currently have four publishing deals in the group and some more have found agents and won awards. I’m actually going on a writer’s retreat with two friends from the group next month and I can’t wait to write, hang out and drink wine (let’s hope it’s in that order!).
Your debut novel The Happiness Blueprint will be published by Mira (HarperCollins, US) in 2024. The novel is a quirky story of love and lost souls. Can you tell us a bit more about your debut and the inspiration behind it?
So, my dad who runs a construction company in rural Sweden always complains about the fact that none of his kids will be taking over the family business. I thought it would be fun to write a story about what happened if a very unsuitable person did go back home to run their parent’s construction company! The unsuitable person is Klara, and she actually ends up meeting a very suitable person in Alex. They are both lost and struggling to fit in, but somehow when they meet and sync their work calendars, they find connection.
You are passionate about representing neurodivergent characters and characters living with medical conditions in your fiction. Can you tell us more about why this kind of representation is important to you and how you create your characters?
My daughter has Type 1 diabetes and one of the first decisions I made was to make Klara diabetic. Her Dexcom (diabetes device) made it onto the cover and that brings me such joy! I was recently diagnosed with autism so writing Autistic characters – especially women – comes naturally to me. I’m still figuring myself out and writing these characters help.
Do you have any tips for writers on how they can create believable characters?
I think characters take time. You need to keep them in your thoughts for weeks and months before they can be written. I don’t care much for character reference sheets, mood boards or what hair colour they have. When you know their brain writing them is easy, so I spend a lot of time thinking about them and what they might say and do. When you know them, you can start to add obstacles to their journeys and answer questions like ‘why does she think like this?’, and the story takes shape. Everyone has a different creative process, but characters are what makes the story – don’t rush them.
You’re a British-Swedish author and you speak four languages. Do you have any advice for writers working on a novel in their second language?
You can’t force language. I moved to London when I was 18 and there was a point a few years ago when English took over (from Swedish) as my first language. I couldn’t have written a novel in English before that. I really think writing in a second language or being bilingual can be an asset and give you a unique voice, so I’d urge anyone attempting it to ignore the voice saying it will never work (although I know myself how hard that is). I don’t think you should let lack of fluency hold you back because stories are about so much more than perfect sentences. I remember being very nervous starting the course, but everyone was welcoming and there was another student with English as a second language too.
You are sponsoring the Klara Nilsson Novel-Writing Scholarship for Writers with Low Income; this will enable one talented writer with low income to join our Writing Your Novel – Three Months online course. What made you decide to do this, and why do you feel it’s important to support emerging talent?
This is so important to me. I set myself a personal goal early on that if I got a publishing deal, I’d sponsor a place. And it happened! I think the industry is doing more than ever to support under-represented voices and emerging talent but it’s still not an accessible career path to everyone. Doing a course like this could be life-changing, and I wouldn’t want anyone to miss out because they can’t pay the fee. Publishing needs diverse voices.
Finally, what’s next for your writing journey?
I’ve been incredibly lucky to get translation deals alongside my English language deal so I’m now working full-time as an author. I’m currently editing my second novel and first-drafting my third.
Get your hands on a copy of The Happiness Blueprint.
Klara Nilsson Novel-Writing Scholarship for Writers with Low Income, sponsored by Ally Zetterberg, enabled one talented writer with low income to join our Writing Your Novel – Three Months online course in 2023. Find out more about our scholarship opportunities here.