How close to the edge have you stepped with a cliffhanger?

[JKendallDane]

When I submitted chapter nineteen of my current series, I was really worried that I may have pushed it too far for the built-up fan base. I felt like I was standing right there on the cliff too, and balancing on one foot while leaning over it holding a bowling ball in each hand. I kept asking myself: 'Was leaving the fate of both main characters in question a smart idea? Especially after just a page earlier, giving the fans the wedding they had been begging for? Did you just slit your own throat?'

Fortunately, it appears that even though the readers are screaming, they are loving it if the scores, comments, emails, new author favs, and Facebook PMs are any kind of trustworthy measure. Chapter twenty is in the queue and they will finally be able to exhale, although I can't promise them won't be shedding some tears as they read it.

So...for those of you that write multiple chapter stories and have used cliffhangers...how about sharing your favorite one and the results it generated?

 

[johneb87]

I nearly killed off my main character in one of my chapters.

 

[LadyVer]

FWIW, as a reader I like cliff hangers. However, the next chapter better be damn good. Just saying.

 

[TxRad]

No, but killing off all the characters is too much of a cliffhanger as I found out the hard way...

 

[johneb87]

No, but killing off all the characters is too much of a cliffhanger as I found out the hard way...

That's going over the cliff I think

 

[MSTarot]

Haven't wrote a lot of multi part stories with cliffhanger endings between chapters.

The only one I can think of is part three of "Tits for Tats" the main character is out of prison on parole and gets arrested for a class two felony at the end of part three.

MST

 

[soflabbwlvr]

I started to answer this question with two of my favorite cliffhanger endings, but then I realized that those also involved major plot twists, the mention of which would spoil the experience for any readers. So instead, I'll go with one that's kind of similar to MS Tarot: A bride to be is arrested and taken into custody at her bachelorette party, which happens to be on the night before her wedding.

 

[JKendallDane]

No, but killing off all the characters is too much of a cliffhanger as I found out the hard way...

Did you write the 'Moldavian Wedding Massacre' episode for "Dynasty" by chance?

 

[Hypoxia]

I specifically wrote ALAN IN THE OFFICE 02 with a cliffhanger, then didn't write the resolution for a couple months. Oh, the teasing torture... And BRIDE OF KONG 01 and 02 both cliff-hang, while 04 is just the opposite: only multiple endings. I have some nasty ideas in the pipeline for a serial (never-ending?) of 1-page tales, each with gotta-read-em cliffhangers, and yes, major characters will be discorporated -- i.e. killed off. Stay tuned.

 

[Handley_Page]

No, but killing off all the characters is too much of a cliffhanger as I found out the hard way...

So did Arthur Conan Doyle