What happens when an author likes Pride and Prejudice and Orlando Bloom? You end up with Will Bennet.
Name: I’m sorry…actually, no I’m not. Will Bennet is the book boyfriend to end all book boyfriends, right down to his name. Will. Bennet. His name is the result of an eight-year-old (me) who loved both Pride and Prejudice – for heaven’s sake, are we to receive every Bennet in the country? – and Orlando Bloom. So let’s all just be fortunate he didn’t end up being called ‘Orlando Bennet’ or worse, ‘Legolas Bennet’ because I’m being serious; I had posters of Orlando Bloom all over my bedroom walls. So let’s also be glad I liked Pirates of the Caribbean too.
Appearance: From what I can tell, Will has always had dark hair and dark eyes. However, his strong, tall, gangly stature came later on during the second redraft (2011). He seems to grow taller and taller each time I write him to the point where he’s 6ft 4 now. Narrowing down the colour of his hair and eyes to a toffee colour and a cinnamon colour has been more recent. He’s supposed to have quite light, striking eyes – eyes most girls at HSA and apparently most of my betas fall deep into! Since he’s only sixteen in Book 1, his physique isn’t as powerful and muscular as it becomes later on, but he’s still the fittest out of all the Main 8 and probably out of all the other characters. ‘A stomach like firm sand dunes’ is one of my favourite lines describing Will’s body.
Personality: Will used to be stupid. Endearingly idiotic, but very definitely stupid. He got somewhat smarter over the years but he always used to fit that stereotype of ‘airhead athlete’. There are still hints to his stupider character in some of the insults used throughout the series; people assuming that Will’s an idiot because he’s an athlete. In truth, this didn’t change until I rewrote the first book in 2019. I was sick of this stereotype for Will and him being almost 2D because of it. As it turns out, the moment Will got interested in Firefly and Star Trek, his intelligence blossomed with it. His ‘nerdiness’ suits him and it’s something I thoroughly enjoy about him these days. Even if his friends do tease him.
Skills: As I’ve said above, Will hasn’t always been smart. He’s always been relatively good at maths and science but it wasn’t until this most recent redraft did I amplify his academic skills to make a more rounded, believable character. However, he’s always been a boxer. I took influence from my father with this one, who was a champion boxer when he was at school. Private schools often have boxing on the curriculum so it’s not a stretch to believe Hillside Academy would have boxing still; something which all the students are supportive of and turn out to watch the way a normal school would root on their football or rugby team. Will took to boxing like a fish to water, since his backstory has involved a lot of instances of having to fight to survive. Talking of fish, Will has also always been a keen swimmer, something which I toned down in recent drafts to focus on his boxing, but throughout the series, and since his job is one of the school lifeguards, there are several mentions to Will’s love of swimming.
Influences: I’ve mentioned a couple of influences when it comes to Will. My dad’s boxing as a teenager and my love for Orlando Bloom when it comes to Will’s name, but other than that, Will is quite fresh. I did once know a boy who was 6ft 4 with dark curly hair and gangly limbs. He was a drummer and a laugh, so I suppose some of Will comes from him but for the most part, Will Bennet is brand-spanking new to this world.
Friendships: Will has always been friends with the likes of Sam, Dominic and Tom, but he’s always been the quiet one of the group, just as he is now. The peacemaker, the one who likes a quiet life.
He has also always been infatuated with Emily Fox. This is a fact as old as time and no matter how much both have changed over time, Will will always have a soft spot for Emily.
Storyline: Will didn’t have much of a storyline in the original draft (2008). It wasn’t until I wrote with him more and got to know him, did his backstory open up to me. Originally, both his parents were dead; how or why, I never said or wrote it down. But that’s incorrect to his story now. With work and plenty of delving, his storylines have bloomed. It took a while to get to know Will and he was always quite reserved with his past, something which I try to honour in the style I write him. He’s not secretive or mysterious, just private.
Once again, I can’t say much more about his original storyline but I can share a brief excerpt from the original book and cringe as I do it!
Dom, Sam and Will sat astonished and then carried on eating their breakfasts. Erika finished hers and went and sat next to the boys.
“Can you believe Tom did that?” said Erika sitting in between Sam and Dom
“No. But **** deserved it.” Sam munched away at his toast
“But why does Tom care?” asked Will. They stared at him
“Man, it’s Elivia. You know those two,” said Dom, sipping his coffee
“What about them? I didn’t think Elivia was interested you know with her boyfriend and all.” Will drank some more of his milk.
Sam threw a piece of toast at his head. “You total nobhead!” Sam said.
“For god sake!” Dom added.
“Complete twat! An utter dick!” Erika finished. She got up with the others and the girls
“What?” asked Will getting up too and following them out of dining hall. “Did I miss something?”
To read more about Will, head over to his bio!
Will Bennet Copyright © 2008 Jodie May Mullen
(I do not own the images above. All rights remain with the original artist)