[Elizabeth]

Mr. Korman,

I am an aspiring writer and am in the middle of working on a book that includes a lot of characters, and the number of characters is essential to the story. Since your books often feature a lot of characters, my question for you is, how do you balance internal and external conflict with so many characters? I don’t have a “main” character, so I can’t have just one character with an internal problem to solve, but I need to have some internal conflict to make my characters likeable and relatable. What advice do you have?

Thank you in advance!

Elizabeth

Hi, Elizabeth,

Group them, so that a few represent one unit. They're easier to handle that way. But if you're familiar with my work, you'll know that I always have a main character, someone for the reader to follow and root for. I don't know your story, but you may be able to do that by dividing off your many characters into recognizable units. Then one of the units will probably have to rise to the level of "hero."

Sounds interesting. Good luck!                                                                        -----Gordon Korman-----

[Emma]

Gordon Korman, 

I have a few questions,

1. Do you have any advice for suspense novels?

2. How do you create such unique characters

3. Any advice on plot twists?

4. what is the perfect way to end a book?

5. This one isn\'t really related but who can I find that can draw my book cover since I actually can not draw ( Trust me I tryed)

I hope you can answer almost all of my questions, Thank you:).

-Emma

Hi again, Emma,

I thought I had a ton of letters, and they were all from you! So I boiled it down to these questions, OK?

1. Suspense writing is a knack that you either have or you don't, and I don't think I do. I could probably manage a suspense story, though. You have to come up with a situation that is scary and unsettled, and get your hero/heroine out of a jam after several false starts and a lot of danger.

2. I'm glad you find my characters so unique. I have no idea how I create them. They're interesting people. I don't think I could write about dull ordinary people. There's so little to say about them.

3. Plot twists in a suspense story have to be sudden and shocking, and come at the end of a chapter in matter-of-fact language that keep people readng it over to make sure what they saw was actually there. I had a paragraph exactly like that at the end of OLD SCHOOL, after Dex gets back from the school meeting. If you read it, you'll know what I mean. 

4. At the end, when the story is told, when everything has been wrapped up. The end of OLD SCHOOL is a perfect example -- the hero's future is settled, the creepy girl is gone, and the nice girl is just starting to be around. It's a kind of "God's in His heaven, All's right with the world" feeling.

5. I don't know anyone who does cover art for a living. My covers are all done by the publishers. But there is someone who writes here quite often. Her name is Jade, and she has done some fabulous book covers. If you post a request to her on this site, perhaps on "Talking About Books," she might see it and get back to you.

And don't feel bad about not being an artist. If I did my covers, they would be covered in stick people!

Hope at least some of this is helpful.                                                                                -----Gordon Korman-----

P.S. Why not join the OLD SCHOOL Book Club on "Talking About Books." They would love to have your input.

[Emma Ungureanu]

Alright! Thank you that was very helpful!! I'll join the OLD SCHOOL bookclub once I finish in case there are spoilers!