Janet Evanovich - How I Write: Secrets of a Bestselling Author

How I Write

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ALSO BY JANET EVANOVICH

Twelve Sharp

Eleven on Top

Ten Big Ones

To the Nines

Hard Eight

Seven Up

Hot Six

High Five

Four to Score

Three to Get Deadly

Two for the Dough

One for the Money

Visions of Sugar Plums

Metro Girl

Motor Mouth

JANET EVANOVICHS

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SECRETS OF A BESTSELLING AUTHOR

WITH

INA YALOF

AND

ALEX EVANOVICH

ST. MARTINS GRIFFIN NEW YORK

HOW I WRITE. Copyright 2006 by Evanovich, Inc. All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews. For information, address St. Martins Press, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10010.

www.stmartins.com

Book design by Christopher Zucker

ISBN-13: 978-0-312-35428-2

ISBN-10: 0-312-35428-2

First Edition: September 2006

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

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Three people are actually responsible for writing this book. Alex, my webmaster daughter, is the third author. When asked if she preferred the money or the glory, there wasnt a contest, so for design purposes Alexs name isnt on the cover. Bad enough we had to fit Evanovich on once, much less twice!

Alex constructed my website in 1996, and in 1997 she instituted the writing Q&A. This book is based on those archived questions and answers. So I suppose Ive been writing this book for almost ten years. Alex and Ina put the book together, Ina added some of her own expertise, and SuperJen Enderlin edited the book for St. Martins Press.

The title of the book is How I Write, and the bulk of the information here is from my personal experience. Ina adds her two cents occasionally but, as an educator and nonfiction writer, she writes from an entirely different perspective. I havent attempted to produce the definitive book on creative novel writing. Im simply passing on what works for me. This is how I write. And these are the answers to the questions Ive been asked over the years.

Weve inserted writing examples throughout the book, and all those examples have been pulled from my Stephanie Plum series. Okay, so its a little narcissistic. Well, heck, you didnt think I was going to use examples from Sue Grafton, did you?

Bottom line is we had a lot of fun putting this together for you, and we hope you have fun reading it. And if you learn something... hooray! Icing on the cake.

Janet Evanovich

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• Dont fall into the trap of rewriting chapter one until its perfect. And dont discard everything you write halfway through because youre sure it sucks. Writing stuff that sucks is part of the learning process!
• When people ask what you do, tell them youre a writer. Put yourself on the line. Make a commitment.
• Make writing a responsibility. Think of it like a job and show up on time.
• Never hold anything back for the next book. Always go for it. Be brave.
• Respect and love your audience. Write for the reader.

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Throughout this book, weve used examples from the Stephanie Plum series to illustrate certain points. We realize, though, that not everyone reading this book has read a Stephanie Plum book, so weve decided to introduce you to some of the characters you will find here. And because Stephanie Plum knows each of them best, we asked her to present them to you, and to tell you a little bit about herself.

Stephanie

My name is Stephanie Plum. Im a third-generation American of Italian-Hungarian heritage. I have my mothers pale skin and blue eyes and her good metabolism, which allows me to eat birthday cake and still (almost always) button the top snap on my jeans. Im told the good Hungarian metabolism only lasts until Im forty, so Im counting down. From my fathers side of the family, Ive inherited a lot of unmanageable brown hair and a penchant for Italian hand gestures. On my own, on a good day with a ton of mascara and four-inch heels, I can attract some attention.

I grew up in the Chambersburg section of Trenton, and my parents still live there. Its really a very safe neighborhood, as Burg criminals are always careful to do their crimes elsewhere. Well, okay, Jimmy Curtains once walked Two Toes Garibaldi out of his house in his pajamas and drove him to the landfill... but still, the actual whacking didnt take place in the Burg. And the guys they found buried in the basement of the candy store on Ferris Street werent from the Burg, so you cant really count them as a statistic.

There are certain expectations of girls from the Burg. You grow up, you get married, you have children, you spread out some in the beam, and you learn how to set a buffet for forty. My dream was that I would get irradiated like Spider-Man and be able to fly like Superman. Currently, Im a bond enforcement agentaka bounty hunterworking for my cousin Vincent Plum. I run down bad guys. I took the job when times were lean and not even the fact that I graduated in the top ninety-eight percent of my college class could get me a better position. The economy has since improved and theres no good reason why Im still tracking down bad guys except that it annoys my mother and I dont have to wear pantyhose to work.

Ive got two very hot guys in my life, and which one is the one depends on when you ask me. Theyre both Mr. Right. And theyre both Mr. Wrong. Theyre both a little scary in a good way, and I havent a clue how to choose between them. One wants to marry me, sometimes. His name is Joe Morelli, a Trenton cop. Ranger is the other guy, and Im never sure what he wants to do with me beyond get me naked and put a smile on my face.

Lula

Lula is a retired hooker who helps with the filing at Vincent Plum Bail Bonds. She also sometimes rides shotgun for me when I do my fugitive apprehension thing. Since Im not the worlds best bounty hunter and Lula isnt the worlds best backup, its more often than not like the amateur-hour version of The Best of Cops Bloopers.

Lulas outfits change to suit her mood. On one day, she might squash herself into a size-ten gold lam miniskirt and leopard-print spandex tights. On another, she might be sporting a monochromatic theme, with T-shirt, hair, skin, and lip gloss all the color of cocoa. The skin color is permanent, but the hair changes weekly.

If people were cars, Lula would be a big black 53 Packard with a high-gloss chrome grill, oversized headlights, and a growl like a junkyard dog.

Vinnie

Vincent Vinnie Plum is my boss and my cousin. I read on a bathroom stall door once that Vinnie humps like a ferret. Im not sure what that means, but it seems reasonable since Vinnie