Started writing the first book of what looks like my new series. It got off to a promising start -- I wrote 14 pages! But there was a lot of dialogue, so it wasn’t much more than I’d write on a normal day (10 pages is my standard). I’m always surprised by how characters grow and start talking in their own way. I usually have a good idea of the plot when I start writing, but very little knowledge of what the characters will be like. I wrote up a list of names last night. When I sat down this morning, that’s all they were -- names. But as soon as I began writing, they started taking on lives of their own, doing their own thing, saying their own thing. It’ll be interesting to see how they develop over the course of the book. I hadn’t planned to carry too many of the characters forward, but now there’s one I definitely think might have more of a role to play, and who knows, maybe one or two others will force their way into the grander scheme of things ... The nice thing is, I’ve plenty of time to consider their fate -- this book probably won’t see the light of day until at least 2012, so I’ve four years or more to tinker with it!!!

Received the following email yesterday from Rachel, in America:

I have just recently discovered just how ignorant the world can be. I was doing a report for a teacher of mine about my favorite author. Naturally, I picked you. As I was giving her my pick, she asked who you were. I said you were Darren Shan, a famous writer who has a Novel series entitled Cirque Du Freak, and another Novel series entiled The Demonata. She had told me you must not be very good, because she’d never heard of you. This upset me a bit. She asked me to name a few of your books. I named Vampire Mountain, Blood Beast, and Trials Of Death. She told me I was talking crap and needed to pick a "real" author. This made me absolutely enraged.

What she had said made me start thinking about how close-minded some people can be. Just because a book is not in your preferred genre of reading material, doesn’t give you any right to insult it and the people who do read it. It’s not like you are asking them to read it, just to not mock it. I believe everyone needs to take a bit of comstructive criticism now and then, but I believe she was just being rude. She had never even read a word of anything closely related to your work, and she was talking about it as if she had even given your books a chance. I apologize if I sound like a prattling fangirl, because that is not how I’m trying to come off. I just found it a bit sad how some people will make fun of something that they haven’t even tried. The phrase "Don’t Knock It ’Till You’ve Tried It" comes to mind, doesn’t it? I didn’t mean to bring you down or anything, Darren. I, and many, many others think you are the best author they have ever read things from. I just thought I would state how I felt on this.

A teacher who hasn’t heard of Darren Shan?!? Outrageous!!!! She should be struck off immediately!!! But, seriously, I’m not the least bit bothered by the fact that she doesn’t know who I am -- nobody can keep up with all the books that are released every year. And I don’t mind that she made a snap judgement about my books based on the titles and a brief description -- we all do that to some extent. But telling a student she can’t write about one of their favourite authors ... Well, I think that’s WRONG. Big-time wrong. You-don’t-know-what-you’re-doing and you probably shouldn’t be allowed to teach wrong. This was my reply to Rachel:

She WAS being rude!!! My advice would be to do your report on my books anyway, to prove to the teacher that she’s wrong. If she’s fair-minded, she’ll be open to your report. If she’s not, you might get in a bit of trouble -- but I’m a firm believer that in life it’s better to get in a bit of trouble for doing the right thing, than to just go along like a sheep with what other people tell you to do! And you can quote me on that in the report if you wish, since that’s one of the messages my books stress over and over throughout their pages.

I don’t think any teacher should discourage their students from reading, even if it’s books that teacher doesn’t approve of. You hear a lot of people moaning about how kids don’t read any more or read as much as they used to long ago, and while I’d argue with that, I think if it IS to any extent true, it’s largely because of teachers like this, NOT because of the usual suspects -- TV, computer games, the internet. Most of the teachers I’ve met over the years have been first-rate. They understand that we live in an era where there are more distractions for kids than ever before, and that we face a struggle to convince children to spend their free time reading instead of doing something else for fun. They also understand that children WILL read IF you give them books that they’re interested in, books which appeal to them, which will excite or intrigue them. We all want different things from the books we read, but there are books for pretty much everybody. Good teachers try to find out what their students like, and guide them towards books which will rock their socks and turn their worlds upside down, and turn them into voluntary, enthusiastic readers.

And then you get teachers like this one. Teachers who think kids should only read "real" books, whatever the hell that means!!! Actually, I know very well what it means -- a dry, outdated, serious book that will bore kids rotten, but which the teacher can understand and mark them on. Kids, I hate to tell you this (though I know a lot of you will have worked it out already), but some teachers are like some of your schoolmates -- lazy and unimaginative!! Some only want to grade you with the minimum of effort, to breeze through your reports and be able to automatically pick out the good points and bad points. They don’t want to accept a world where new authors exist, where one of their students tried to explain how a vampire or demon book can relate to their life, to their course, to literature. They don’t want new ideas or ways of thinking, thank you very much -- they’re happy with the way things are, and because they have authority over their students, they’re determined to make the students fall in line and play ball.

Stuff ’em!!!!

That’s what I say, and I say it knowing full well that anyone who stands up to a teacher like this faces trouble, maybe bad grades, maybe worse. But I don’t believe in bowing to ignorance and those who parade it proudly. I’m not saying you should antagonise a teacher like this, or argue with them in class, or be in any way nasty to them. But if there’s an author who excites you, an author you really want to write about -- go ahead and write about that author. Even if your teacher tell you not to. Do the best job you can. Put your heart into it. Show why this person matters to you, why their books have affected you, why you think they’re worthy of study and consideration. We’re all entitled to our views of what’s good and what isn’t. It isn’t a teacher’s job to tell their students what is and isn’t "real" literature -- they’re there to explore books with you, to teach, yes, but also to learn. Any good teacher should be open to new ideas, and in my experience most will accept an argument if it’s politely and intelligently presented. And if you’re unlucky and the teacher in your case isn’t one of those, and he or she gives you a lousy grade no matter how strong your essay, and complains about you to your principal or your parents? Well, as I said to Rachel, at least you’ll have done the right thing. Life is a series of choices. The more right choices we make, the better our lives will be in the long run. You might not appreciate that when you’re being given an F by your teacher, and your parents ground you, but hey, like the saying goes, "no pain, no gain!!!!!!"

Power to the pupils!!!!!!!!