Ask the Author: P.H.T. Bennet
Answered Questions (7)
P.H.T. Bennet
Wow, that's a tough but great question, Jane... I love doing the research, coming up with a starting point and seeing where it will take me, collaborating with incredible illustrators like Veronica V. Jones and Michael Packer and seeing my scenes and characters come to life in images richer than i ever could have made... But I think my favorite part of writing is when a character I'm writing does something I hadn't planned, says something that really surprises me... That has happened so many times with DeeDee! I'd be writing a scene that I thought I'd planned well, then DeeDee would take over and run away, or hide, or say something that led in a totally different direction. My only talent in that process has been listening to her and following her. Like my daughter Juliette, DeeDee is smart in ways I'm not, intuitively, and I've learned to trust her and let her lead. That has been the best part- watching my characters take on lives of their own.
P.H.T. Bennet
I read and I watch what's happening to the people around me.
P.H.T. Bennet
I'm currently working on the second and third book of the series. I've also got a screenplay about the lives of three very different fathers in Boston that I am reworking.
P.H.T. Bennet
Read, read, read. Then use the style, characters, or settings from one of your favorite books as a place to start. Every great artist has started by imitating their heroes, but don't worry: you'll end up becoming some other young writer's hero if you let your characters show you where they want to go.
P.H.T. Bennet
Taking something small from your imagination and developing it until it not only walks and talks, but becomes part of a complete world. I love seeing my work, and especially my characters, grow to a point where they seem to make decisions on their own. The best example of that is DeeDee. So many times, I was completely surprised by what she ended up doing and saying. I was writing it all out, but I felt she was more in control than I was, and I loved watching her develop. She's still my favorite character to write.
P.H.T. Bennet
It depends. If it's about a problem in the story, I try drawing, researching, and talking about it, and that usually works. If it stops me from writing altogether, which has happened many times, the best thing to do is just let it go for a little while and enjoy other artists' work. I love looking at paintings and sculpture, and I read constantly. For some reason I've never understood, though, what sets off the biggest flood of new ideas is going to a classical music concert or a ballet. Maybe it's because they are SO different from anything I do. I always try to bring a notebook when I go to one because something about that setting triggers a whole new stream of ideas about my stories.
P.H.T. Bennet
When they were much younger, my daughters were having a lot of nightmares. When I showed them how to make the nightmares less scary and then go away, they got really excited and wanted to learn more. So, I taught them how to fly, become lucid, and do a lot of exciting things in their dreams. When they started doing all this in their dreams, they told me I should write what I'd taught them down so that other kids could learn it, too. That's what got me started on the 11-year journey that has led to Kiva and DeeDee's adventures.
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