Clara asked Shannon Messenger:

Hello! I am a huge fan of your books! Me and my BFF have been coming up with crazy theories for who Sophie's parents could be... they're probably all wrong, but it's fun anyway! We're super excited for Keeper #5! I had a question: When you get stuck while writing, what inspires you to keep going? Also, do you have any tips for how to create a character in a story?

Shannon Messenger Well, it's a little easier for me to keep going now a days, because I'm contractually obligated to keep going. I also have an inbox full of desperate emails from readers telling me I NEED THE NEXT BOOK PLEASE WRITE FASTER. But before I had that, I'd try to treat it like a puzzle. If I was stuck, it was because I was missing something somehow, and I just needed to figure out what it was. Playing the "what if" game usually gets me unstuck. And it seems like the crazier the idea, the better.

For creating characters, try to remember that they need to have good points and bad points and reasons for both. And just like all people are different, all characters should be too. And not just in how they look--how they talk, how they think, what they want / need. It needs to be different for every character.

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