Darren Shan's Blog, page 189

What price your dreams?

I received the following email from a fan called Sophie. I know I posted on a similar subject not too long ago, but felt it worthy of commenting again, since I'm sure it's something that many of you reading this have had to or will have to deal with at some point (maybe even several points) in your life:

I'm pretty sure at some point in your life you had to make a choice between following your dreams or not. I'm 16 and I want to be a musician. I love music, it can change my mood completely...

Litigious times

I've had a couple of busy days on the new book. Wrote 11 pages on Thursday, 12 today. I was particularly pleased to get today's pages in the bag, because they featured a very detailed action scene. You might think, as a reader, that action scenes are the easiest to write, and sometimes they are. But often they're the most complicated, especially if they require a lot of careful descriptions. Paradoxically, while they can be the swiftest, easiest parts of a book to read, they're often the...

Shaggy dog story

Wrote 11 pages of the new book today. Hitting my stride nicely now — as I know from past experience, it's always quite natural and free-flowing once you sit down and fall back into your regular writing routine. The hardest bit about writing is probably all the thinking you do about it before you sit down and begin. It's why I often advise young writers not to think too much, but to get stuck in. Of course thinking is important for a writer — that's where everything starts — but you can think ...

Touchy!!

Edited the fourth book of the new series and started writing the fifth today. Only got 6 pages done, but it's good to have made a start. I hate being inactive on the writing front — the longer I go without working on a first draft of a book, the harder it begins to seem inside my head. Writing is, to a large extent, all about your mentality — no matter how experienced or competent a writer you might be, if you lose confidence, you're scuppered! The easiest way to work up your confidence...

UK Blockbuster

Although the Cirque Du Freak movie isn't out in most stores in the UK until the start of March, it has been released to rent exclusively in Blockbuster from February 12th. At the moment it's even done a "takeover" of the Blockbuster home page: http://www.blockbuster.co.uk/ which is pretty cool!!! So, if you want to check it out early on DVD or Blu-Ray, head on down to your nearest Blockbusters store NOW, or you can use their online home-delivery service.

Finding "da noive"!!!

Finished my latest edit of the third book of the new series today. I haven't yet shared any of the books with anyone, because I don't like showing a book to even my agent until I've done 3 or 4 drafts. I had planned to email the first three books to my agent once I'd finished editing the third this afternoon. But when I was done, I hesitated, then decided not to send it to him. The series can't start to come out until at least 2012, maybe even later if I choose to release another one or two o...

My first crubeen!!

Finished editing the second book of the new series today. Just as it started with the stench of burning flesh, so it ended with the stench of burning flesh too. Don't you just love a nice, strong aroma?!? Speaking of which, today I tasted my first crubeen. For those who don't know, that's pronounced crew-been, and it's pig trotters, i.e. the hooves of a pig!!! Sounds disgusting, I know, but it was actually really tasty!!! Crubeens used to be very popular in Ireland and the UK years ago, with ...

Have it YOUR way!!!

Started editing the second book of the new series. Call me an old-fashioned, bloodthirsty beast, but I think any book that starts with someone burning alive, the stench of melting human flesh thick in the air, just HAS to be a damn good read!!!!!!!

Received a very nice email from a fan called Luis in Mexico recently:

I just wanted to let you know that you are my inspiration to learn more english. I started to assist school in Hidalgo Texas when I was in fourth grade. I lived in Reynosa and I...

Not better than the real thing

Finished my latest edit of the first book of the post-Crepsley series on Saturday. Each book in this series is quite short — I'm going for a fast-paced rhythm each time, full of shocks and twists. I've experimented with a more relaxed narrative pace in my previous five books (The Thin Executioner and the four Mr C books) and they're also longer than most of my other published books. Having done that, this time round I wanted to go in the opposite direction and write books which were honed...

Vamped out and moving on!!

Finished my final full edit of Birth of a Killer this afternoon. I tore through the book, which is always a good sign at this late stage — if I've done my work right in the earlier drafts, by the time I get to this point the book should be pretty much ready to go to print, and I should be able to read it almost as a reader would. I think that's an important part of the process, because you can pick up on certain things going at a faster pace than you can when going slower. My editor's notes a...