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


	FIRST DRAFTS STINK! SHANNON HALE: Author of the The Princess Academy \| www.squeetus.com Q: You had mentioned that first drafts are supposed to stink. Can you expand on that idea? Shannon: My first drafts are TERRIBLE. The only way I can get through a first draft is by giving myself permission to write horribly. I think of it like vomiting on the page--whatever's inside just comes out, and it ain't pretty. I have to keep reminding myself, a first draft isn't a final draft! I can keep working on it until it's done. I really don't know what's important to the story until I can start to see it take shape. The real storytelling for me happens in the rewrites. My first book I rewrote about 30 times. THE BIGGEST STUMBLING BLOCK CYNTHIA KADOHATA: Newbery Award Winning Author of Kira-Kira www.kira-kira.us Q: What is your biggest obstacle in the writing process, and how do you overcome it? Cynthia: Every step sometimes feels like an obstacle, but I would say my biggest obstacle is the outline when I am really shaping my story. Q: What is the greatest joy you find in writing? Cynthia: I love to sit outside next to my dog and work in the outdoors. WRITER'S BLOCK JENNY NIMMO: Author of the Charlie Bone series \| www.jennynimmo.me.uk Q: What do you do when you get that dreaded writer's block? Jenny: I haven't had writer's block, yet. Usually my head is so crammed with ideas I don't know which one to get out first. FAST WRITING ROBIN BRANDE: Author of Evolution, Me & Other Freaks of Nature www.robinbrande.com Q: What does "writing fast" mean to you? Robin: As one of my teachers convinced me, "Fast writing is good writing." That means get it all down. Tell yourself a story from beginning to middle to end, tell it quickly, get it all out onto paper. Then let it sit a bit, and after a few days or weeks go back and do all the prettifying?edit, add, delete, fix. But if you stop every other paragraph to make things "perfect" (which is actually impossible), you kill the fun, you kill the passion, you just start viewing your writing as a chore. I recommend that everyone try just spitting it out in one continuous stream, whether it's a novel, an essay for school, a poem, whatever. Just say what you feel moved to say, and fix the rough spots later. WRITING'S GREATEST JOY CORNELIA FUNKE: Author of Inkheart \| www.corneliafunke.de/en Q: What is the greatest joy you find in writing? Cornelia: To get better with every book. To work on language and plot skills. To find words for what we all feel and fear. To imagine the children listening when I read my stories to them, to know how they will embrace what I give them and make it come alive. For me writing is an addiction, a sweet enchanting drug, opening my mind and making me drunk with what I receive from wherever it comes. I am flooded by stories and words. I very much hope it will be like this for another few years and another few books. SCI-FI SCIENCE FACTS P.J. HAARSMA: Author of the The Softwire series \| www.pjhaarsma.com Q: How important is scientific accuracy to Sci-Fi writing? P.J.: Facts are vital to science fiction. I have four notebooks that outline the science of the Rings of Orbis, yet none of it is ever seen in the actual books. Your science has to be solid in order for your world to be believable. Science fact is also the genesis of my favorite questions, questions that start with, "What if..."


	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.