RomanceWritingTips

Janet Evanovich
Master Class 2001 on Building a Novel, Lesson 7: Creative Cliffhangers

When Hot Six debuted on the New York Times list at No. 1 last July, beating out a little fellow you might have heard of named Harry Potter, it was official: Janet Evanovich was a star. The buzz that propelled Hot Six all the way to the top was due in no small part to the totally tantalizing ending of the previous book, which left readers wondering whether it was sexy cop Joe Morelli or mysterious hunk Ranger who said to Stephanie, Nice Dress. Take it off. When Janets latest, SEVEN UP, arrived at the RT office, we eagerly devoured it, only to find another will-she-or-wont-she climax (almost literally) awaiting our favorite bounty hunter. Naturally, we wasted no time inviting Janet to share her tips on cliffhangers for our master class. Read on for techniques from an expert at comic suspense

RT: Cliffhangers are all about suspense and tension (sexual and otherwise). Are there any surefire elements/techniques you use to build tension?

Many times my tension is the result of a chasethe hunted and the hunter. This holds true for the mystery storyline and also for the sexual-tension part of the book. I pay special attention to pacing when Im building tension. I try not to have any extraneous elements in chase scenes. I keep my sentences short and filled with action verbs. When the tension peaks and Im on the downslide, I have a transition moment and then move away quickly.

To control romantic tension, I usually do a move-forward book and then a pull-back book with Steph and Morelli. Ranger is the device Im currently using to pull the relationship back. Morelli used to be as mysterious as Ranger. As Morelli and Stephanie became more intimate, I had to change the dynamic. An ingredient in tension and cliffhangers that I havent yet mentioned is DANGER. The unknown feels dangerous. Because Stephanie knows Morelli, now he doesnt seem as dangerous. Ranger, on the other hand

RT: Can you comment upon the difference between character-driven cliffhangers (i.e., a relationship hangs in the balance) and plot-driven ones (an event hangs in the balance)?

Romance is a character-driven genre and any good cliffhanger will evoke an emotional response for the reader. In the fifth book of the Plum series, I end with a cliffhanger thats physical. A man is invited to my heroines apartment. He opens the door, gives my heroine the once over and tells her to take off her dress. So, I suppose you could say an event hangs in the balance. The reader reaction, however, is emotional.

RT: Are there differences between cliffhangers in the body of the book and those at the end? Is there a different process to creating them?

When a cliffhanger occurs at the end of a chapter, its job is to encourage the reader to continue turning pages. When a cliffhanger occurs at the end of a book, its job is to create controversy, give the reader something to think about while theyre waiting for the next installment, and generate discussion among readers. I think the process of creating all cliffhangers is the same but the intent may be different.

Expectations are different for romances, though, and probably romance readers have less patience with the end-of-the-book cliffhanger. I suspect the cliffhanger works best in romance when several books can be brought out in sequence no more than a few months apart.

RT: Janet, you use cliffhangers regularly at the ends of your books, but not always from chapter-to-chapter. Why?

I like to mix things up. Sometimes Ill end a chapter with a cliffhanger and sometimes Ill give closure to the chapter. I prefer not to put cliffhangers at the end of every chapter, though, because I think the reader needs to feel comfortable putting the book down at some point.

RT: Any special techniques for writing chapter-to-chapter cliffhangers?

For me, the easiest way to do chapter cliffhangers is to write the book in continuous form and then put the chapter breaks in when the book is completed. This way I naturally have some cliffhangers. I dont like cliffhangers that are contrived. You would never want to insert something in your book for the express purpose of hanging the reader up. A good cliffhanger is simply part of the forward momentum of the book with the words to be continued inserted. RT: Some people feel cliffhanger endings encourage the reader to become active in the reader/writer experience. Do you agree?

Absolutely. Usually reading is a relatively passive experience, but when you have a cliffhanger ending, the reader has license to engage her imagination and finish the story on her own. Cliffhangers encourage the reader to use his/her imagination until the next book hits the stores. I think its cool that my readers can be part of the creative experience.

RT: What kind of response have you received from readers about your use of cliffhangers?

The first four Stephanie Plum books were open-endednot exactly cliffhangers, but not totally resolved either. No one seemed to notice the lack of resolution. In the fifth book I went all out and EVERYONE noticed. The initial reaction ranged from confusion, to anger, to astonishment. And of course, surprise! But then people started to talk to one another about it. And people started having fun with it. The cliffhanger became an event! It was discussed in carpools. Daughters called mothers to voice their opinion. Readers submitted their own endings to the fan fiction board on my site. The mail was overwhelming. Thats what I wanted. I have a pretty personal relationship with my readers. Were a team. Were all in this together.

One of the reasons the cliffhanger worked in my books is, my readers have come to believe I have good intentions toward them. We have a history. My books are positive, my characters are basically nonjudgmentaland my readers are too! They could have said, this is a cheap ending and she just wants to sell the next book. Okay, a few soreheads said that. However, most of the readers just smiled and said, I cant believe you did that!

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