Guest Post by Shane Hegarty (Author of the Darkmouth series)

I loved Darkmouth by Shane Hegarty and you can read my review from last April here. Well time flies, and last week saw the publication of Chaos Descends, the THIRD book in the series. I am really excited to welcome Shane to The Book Zone today, to tell us what inspired him to write Darkmouth and his thoughts of how he intends to continue developing the series in the future:


About four years ago now, I was sitting on a train – on the floor of the train actually, head being knocked by knees, back being kicked by feet – and an idea hit me. What if there was a last town on earth which Legends of myth still invaded. And in that town was a family who had too keep the Legends out. And there was one kid who would have to take over, save the town and save the world.

But he wasn’t very good at it.

That idea hit me so strongly I had to start writing straight away. Then someone’s knees hit me and that was the end of that for the train journey at least.

But I went back to that story, developed the story of Finn the reluctant Legend Hunter, and his more adventurous friend Emmie. I fleshed out the town of Darkmouth, and the parallel world of the Legends.

I had no idea of anyone other than me would ever read it, though. All through it, I was trying to create a story not just that I wanted to write, but I would want to read.

I wanted a story with a not particularly competent hero, that mixed fantasy with the everyday reality, that wandered between two worlds and wouldn’t be afraid to head off on a tangent.

I wanted a story with imagination, strange creatures, scares but – very importantly – jokes. And as an adult reader, there are very, very few books combining these things. But novels for younger readers, well that’s where the fun is.

Writing it became a game of “what if?” What if a 12-year-old really had to fight Legends and then go to school straight after? What if monsters had been invading n otherwise normal small town for generations? What if you were one of these Legends – what would be like to be, say, a Minotaur or one of the heads on a Hydra?

The hope is that younger readers end up having as much fun reading it as I do writing it. But there’s the hope they’ll maybe recognise something of themselves in Finn, or Emmie or – if they want – any of the Legends. And they might recognise the grown-ups, and the town (which is a character in its own right). That the “what if” part of the idea means a mix the fantastic with the recognisable.

There have been three books since that train journey, and I’m currently writing the fourth. The aim is to develop Finn and Emmie and the other characters, and to deepen the story, but without losing those things I loved about Darkmouth in the first place. I want to keep the fun, adventure, fantasy, realness, the scary parts and the funny bits. I want it to be fun to write, and to read.

And, most importantly, I now make sure to do it all from a nice quiet office where no-one knees me in the head.

~~~

Huge thanks to Shane for taking the time to write this for us. If you're kids love fun action adventure fantasy stories then the Darkmouth books are definitely must-reads.

Dealing With Writer's Block by Ned Vizzini (House of Secrets Blog Tour)

Yes, I know I said I was pulling back from blog tours, but as I have already read and really enjoyed House of Secrets by Chris Columbus and Ned Vizzini I just couldn't turn down the opportunity to host a guest post from Ned. House of Secrets is a really fast paced and thoroughly enjoyable fantasy adventure story full of mythical creatures, nasty pirates, and a family of kids trying desperately to find their way home. I was given a list of possible topics for the  blog tour, and I decided to go for something a little bit different (at least for The Book Zone) - a guest post about writing. My thanks go to Ned for taking the time to write this for us:

Dealing With Writer's Block by Ned Vizzini


I don't believe in writer's block anymore.

I believe in it for other people. It's possible, of course, to get to a point with your writing where you know that everything is terrible and you don't want to go on.

But I no longer believe in it for myself.

Why? Because I have deadlines. Deadlines that have nothing to do with my emotions or artistic satisfaction. Deadlines that know no reason or cajoling. And the deadlines don't understand writer's block.

But I have had it in the past and I know its vicissitudes. So I'll try to help you get over it, because it really is a terrible thing, with three tips:

1. Find out why you don't understand your characters.
   
   If you're blocked in a piece of writing, it's probably because you don't have a full understanding of the people you are writing about. This can be a tough thing to learn and to admit. You might be 60 or 120 pages into a book, thinking, “There's something off here—but no one will notice.” Unfortunately I can assure that people will.
   
   If you're struck with this kind of writer's block, where it suddenly seems that you don't know the characters, you have to go back and fix them. This is never, ever fun work. But that's why it's work. You must go back and really understand your characters from the ground up—understand what music they like, what cars they drive, what their favorite food is—and once you have a good understanding, you will get un-blocked and be able to continue.                                                                                                                                                 
2. Read.
   
   There is a simpler kind of writer's block that comes from not reading. You might start to neglect reading as a writer. A phrase I often tell myself is, It's time to stop being a consumer of culture and start being a creator of culture. But if you aren't consuming some culture, namely books, you will never be able to produce.
   
   What are you reading? Is it any good? Is it worth your time? If not, abandon it. Pick something better. Only by reading inspiring work will you be able to keep writing.                                                                                                        
3. Make deadlines for yourself.
   
   Birthdays are the best deadlines. How long has it been since your last one? What have you accomplished? If you're trying to write a book, you should probably be able to write it in a year. So have a quiet moment with yourself and promise: I will be finished with this by my next birthday. And if you don't reach your goal, you don't get cake.
   
   Only by imposing deadlines will you be able to fully beat writer's block. And after you beat it enough, you'll be a professional and it will no longer be an option.

Good luck!

~~~

Ned Vizzini is the bestselling author of the acclaimed young-adult books The Other Normals, It's Kind of a Funny Story (also a major motion picture), Be More Chill, and Teen Angst? Naaah.... In television, he has written for ABC's Last Resort and MTV's Teen Wolf. His essays and criticism have appeared in the New York Times, the Daily Beast, and Salon. He is the co-author, with Chris Columbus, of the fantasy-adventure series House of Secrets. His work has been translated into ten languages. He lives in Los Angeles.