How do I write an interesting Griffon?

[SilverStarApple 849]

Hi, there's a Griffon character in the fanfic I'm writing, she's the personal assistant to my OC. It's her job to be a secretary, guide clients from the door to his room, and make sure he remembers to eat and sleep on time. She's like the Spike to his Twilight Sparkle, except she's a Griffon, and cooler. I don't want to make her an exact replica of Gilda, but I do want to make her a Griffon, as well as a Hypercompetent Sidekick. She does work for my OC, after all, and he wouldn't have any problems with using magic enchantment spells to boost her speed/efficiency. Anyway... how do I make her interesting?

Edited September 19, 2014 by Asquerade

[MasterCombine 316]

I don't think there's a formulaic way to make her "interesting". But if she's a a prominent side character, treat her like you would any other character you're writing. Write her like a real person, in other words. Give her a history, strengths, flaws, etc. 

Edited September 19, 2014 by MasterCombine

[Fhaolan 4,483]

Think about why you made her a Griffon, rather than a pony. Griffons are accepted into pony society, obviously, but they're not exactly common.

 

Is she native to Equestria, or is she an immigrant? The 'foreign secretary' trope might be interesting, allowing her to misunderstand some social cues and the like.

[M'aiq the Liar 5,804]

Same way you write any good, interesting OC. Make sure they have a back story that lines up with their personality, and their goals and life dreams.

[Everleaf 541]

Well pretty much like any oc just give him a reasonable backstory (with griffons they can have that hint of the warrior stuff) it's not much different actually.

[Revolver Bobcat 45]

Hi, there's a Griffon character in the fanfic I'm writing, she's the personal assistant to my OC. It's her job to be a secretary, guide clients from the door to his room, and make sure he remembers to eat and sleep on time. She's like the Spike to his Twilight Sparkle, except she's a Griffon, and cooler. I don't want to make her an exact replica of Gilda, but I do want to make her a Griffon, as well as a Hypercompetent Sidekick. She does work for my OC, after all, and he wouldn't have any problems with using magic enchantment spells to boost her speed/efficiency. Anyway... how do I make her interesting?

 

 

So what you want is a Super-Butler, hmm? Im quite fond with Super-Butlers.

 

 

For i can tell these kind of characters share a 2 traits: They are hyper competent in what they do (if ask something they will have it before hand as if they were expecting it from the beggining no matter how ridiculous the item is) and they're professionals when in service, no goofing around (everything goes when they're not working).

 

It's the kind of character that knows her shit, she knows you and knows what to expect and how to react while keeping a straight face at all times, not becouse she is bored or angry in any way, but becouse she's a professional and she knows what she's doing.When the client wants something done, she does it, no questions asked.

 

When she's out of service everything goes. Her personality can change at whatever you want (But try not to go overboard with it). She doesn't have to a stone cold killer 24/7, in fact it would be more interesting if she isn't. She and her client can be friends if you want to, but remember that, in public, she will act and talk in a "Formal" fashion, indoors she might loosen up a lot if she's been working with the client for a long enough time and she will show a lot of her own traits as a result. The rest is up to you, they can chat about whatever, watch sports, play games together, they can be drinking buddies or whatever, go nuts.

 

Did that helped?

[Wind Chaser 4,768]

With as much as you've written on this character, I'd say you're doing pretty good already. Just think of her as the character first -- write her mainly based on who she is in personality, not what she is biologically.

 

The only time where I think you'd hit a snag is the backstory. Since there is virtually nothing known about the exact nature of Griffons in MLP, it's tough to tell what's plausible or not in canon. Don't let that stop you. What she is really isn't as important as who she is, although she does have that added bonus of being something that's rarely seen not only in the show, but the fandom as well.

[Darker 1,351]

I don't think I can say anything. The ones above had already stated good things to have in your OC.