The Grey Griffins Series by Derek Benz and J.S. Lewis


	CHARACTERS JUMPING OFF THE PAGE CORNELIA FUNKE: Author of Inkheart \| www.corneliafunke.de/en Q: You have a reputation for developing characters that "jump off the page". How do you approach character development? Cornelia: Some of them simply come to me, born from the seeds of impressions I sometimes hardly remember. Sometimes it seems like they have been waiting for me to finally tell their story. Dustfinger from the Ink-trilogy is such a character and Fenoglio. Others are hard work. They hide from me, evade me, make me work really hard, until I find them behind clichees and stereotypes. Especially the evil ones do that to me from time to time. Then there are the ones, whom I steal - from my son for example, who always loves to be in a book (he is Bo in the Thief Lord) or from actors, which I love to do, as I don't know them as friends or relatives, who could easily get upset, but show me all their faces and gestures on the screen. I did steal Victor in Thieflord from Bob Hoskins and Mo in the Ink-books from Brendan Fraser, and for me that made those characters come to life so vividly, that I will be forever in debt with those two actors. I am sure I will do this kind of character development again. As Philip Pullman says, "all authors are magpies." HEROES JENNY NIMMO: Author of the Charlie Bone series \| www.jennynimmo.me.uk Q: What makes a great hero? Jenny: I prefer my heroes to be very ordinary, so that when they do something extraordinary, it is an exciting surprise, both for them and for me and the reader. SUPERHEROES WILLIAM BONIFACE: Author of The Extraordinary Adventures of Ordinary Boy website Q: What is it about superheroes that you like? William: What I?ve always liked best about super heroes are the villains! Nothing beats a really good bad guy, and that?s been the best part of writing The Extraordinary Adventures of Ordinary Boy. I?ve had to come up with a lot of villains. My favorite has been Professor Brain-Drain. He has the ability to drain away the intelligence of anyone just by pressing his finger to their head. He absorbs their intelligence into his own mind which has made him a genius. Smart villains are always the toughest to defeat, but luckily my hero Ordinary Boy is pretty bright himself. VILLAINOUS VILLAINS FRANK BEDDOR: Author of the The Looking Glass Wars www.lookingglasswars.com Q: What characteristics help make a good villain? Frank: In The Looking Glass Wars, Rose Redd Heart (aka "REDD") is my chief villain. What I feel makes her compelling is the fact that beneath the cruelty and bravado you find complete self-involvement. Redd, in her own dangerous mind, is without a doubt the hero of her own story and that to me is what makes a good villain. But I will exit to the wings and allow Redd to answer this question: I, REDD. . .am not a monster. I have known love. I have felt sadness. I know what it is to feel joy and pain. But at a young age I realized those who embraced and championed the accepted world would label me a monster because I saw life in a more. . . IMAGINATIVE. . . way and wished to live on my own terms. I was not born to follow. I was born to be Wonderland's Queen. I think author Patricia Highsmith sums it up beautifully in this quote and she even sounds a bit like Redd: "Criminals (villains in general) are dramatically interesting, because for a time at least they are active, free in spirit and they do not knuckle down to anyone. . . I find the public passion for justice quite boring and artificial, for neither life nor nature cares if justice is ever done or not." HEROES and VILLAINS KAZA KINGSLEY: Author of the Erec Rex series \| www.erecrex.com Q: What makes a great hero? Kaza: A great hero is one who has to make tough choices, and picks the harder answer, one that risks everything, because it is the right thing to do. Someone who can have all of their problems taken care of if they go along with the crowd, or follow orders, or try to fit in, but won't do it because he/she sees that others will be hurt if they do that. So, basically someone who cares, and who is gutsy enough to act on that. Q: What makes a great villain? Kaza: A great villain is one with great motives. I personally love a villain that I can identify with and understand. One who has worked hard for a long time to make things work their way. I prefer a villain who has invested so much that you almost feel for them when things go wrong (although you know the world would be destroyed if they get their way.) So, one that makes you think. HEROES and VILLAINS DEAN LOREY: Author of the The Nightmare Academy series \| www.deanlorey.com Q: What makes a great hero? Dean: I like heroes who instinctively do all the courageous things I can't bring myself to do in real life, particularly if we see them suffer a little while they do it. Indiana Jones is a great example -- he'll fearlessly fight his way through an ancient temple but, when he takes a punch, it looks like it HURTS. Yow... Q: What makes a great villain? Dean: Smarts. I love villains who are clever enough to force your hero to really think. I also love it when they're a little bit conflicted. Darth Vader is a great example. He's tough, brilliant and, in THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK, he's facing off against his own son, which is ultimately agonizing for him. VILLAINS P.J. HAARSMA: Author of the The Softwire series \| www.pjhaarsma.com Q: What makes a great villain? P.J.: I love a villain who has sympathetic backstory, something that creates a plausible explanation for his/her actions, but are at odds with the central character. This creates a dilemma for the reader and ups the stakes for the entire story. I also need a villain who has real needs and desires. I don't care what they are, I just have to believe he/she would do what they're doing based on their motivations.


	HOW TO GET PUBLISLHED Part 1 (Overview) Part 2 (Character Development) FROM OTHER PROS Prep Work Character Development Plot Development General Editing Illustrating Finding an Agent Selling Your Manuscript Marketing WRITING TOOLS Character Sheets Suggested Reading (About Writing) * Disclaimer: Though Derek and I have college degrees, neither of us majored in English or Creative Writing. We are not professors, nor are we instructors at any level. This online series on how to get published is based solely on our experiences, peppered with the stories we have heard and advice we received from other authors, agents, editors, and people in the publishing industry. If you were to ask 100 authors what path you should take to get published, you would likely get 100 different tales. So remember that as you read this, and make sure you blaze a trail that best suits your story.