The infamous cliffhanger.

[Kantarii]

Don't get me wrong, I love a good suspenseful cliffhanger. It adds a whole new dimension to the suspense of a good story. I've always felt that the placement of the cliffhanger in the story was just as important as the actual cliffhanger.

I, myself like to occasionally work them in at the end of every other chapter and never totally end my stories with them.

I have read stories that trailed off with them leaving the reader to imagine their own ending to the story. That's not something that interests me. I use the "cliffhanger" element in my storytelling to kindle or rekindle some type of interest within the reader and to generate a desire to read more.

How do you like to use the "cliffhanger" element or do you avoid it totally within your stories?

 

[sr71plt]

I try to place them where they will surprise (as well as compel the reader to continue with the read, which is why they so often come at the end of chapters or sections). I do sometimes put them at the end of the story to give the reader a choice. It also makes the reader think back over the story, which points out whether I have a reader I've been writing for or one that I think should be reading someone else more predictable and tame. When they ask me where the rest of the story is or where it goes from here (sometimes even when I've hit them over the head with the probably conclusion even if I haven't put it into words), I know I'm probably not the author for them to be reading.

 

[coldwater1]

I did it on the most recent chapter of my current story. I even included an actual cliff, though no-one was physically hanging from it. It is the first time I tried it. The chapter was very well received, but there was a down-side with how I did it.

The problem was that it was not just a cliff-hanger for the readers, it was for me as well. Yep, I posted the chapter with no clue where I was going next with it. Probably not the best idea. I have been struggling ever since trying to come up with the right resolution.

Ironically, the positive response has me worried. I feel like I have raised the readers' expectations too high and I am bound to disappoint them with whatever I come up with.

 

[sr71plt]

I posted the chapter with no clue where I was going next with it.

Well, yeah, that's my thought about that too. I can see where that can be fun and constructive for the author, but the balance is that it can jerk the readers around unfairly.

 

[Hypoxia]

The problem was that it was not just a cliff-hanger for the readers, it was for me as well. Yep, I posted the chapter with no clue where I was going next with it. Probably not the best idea. I have been struggling ever since trying to come up with the right resolution.

I'm stuck here with too many of my series. Finish a chapter with no resolution, merely implications, then have fuck-all for followup. Very frustrating.

I have changed my approach. Except for a few legacy series I feel compelled to extend, I intend to write only one-offs, or complete multi-chapter series. Finish before submitting. And that usually means having a good idea just how it will end. The technique: I visualize the ending and build the story to reach it. Chapters along the way may have cliffhanger endings but I know what's next.

 

[jomar]

I closed chapters with the more or less traditional cliffhangers in my adventure series (Chase) and used softer ones in other stories...and by that I mean more like teasers to make readers curious about what was to come in the next chapter. I never ended a story with a cliffhanger...seems unfair.

 

[Kantarii]

I closed chapters with the more or less traditional cliffhangers in my adventure series (Chase) and used softer ones in other stories...and by that I mean more like teasers to make readers curious about what was to come in the next chapter.

I see nothing wrong with that. I don't use a "chase" per se, but I have used a unintentional/ accidental discovery in "My Brother's Ghost" that referenced back to a stolen pair of red satin panties from a hotel room that were "accidentally" discovered under a car seat. That was effective in my story.

 

[jomar]

I see nothing wrong with that. I don't use a "chase" per se, ...

LOL, my use of Chase referenced my story Chase Cooder - Bush Pilot for cliffhanger chapter endings. It wasn't shorthand for trying to hook a reader!

 

[Kantarii]

LOL, my use of Chase referenced my story Chase Cooder - Bush Pilot for cliffhanger chapter endings. It wasn't shorthand for trying to hook a reader!

Ok, lol, my misunderstanding

 

[jomar]

Ok, lol, my misunderstanding

 

[EverLux]

One of the stories I'm working on is starting to feel like a soap opera. At the end of both chapters, there's an "oh shit" moment. For the second chapter, I had a clear plan for what was going to happen next. It was probably fairly obvious, but when someone guessed it in a comment, I decided to change it completely. Good thing, too, because the new direction has helped me plot out the rest of the chapters.

When I'm reading, whether there's a cliffhanger or not doesn't matter, as long as it works with the story. What I'm not a fan of are stories that are broken into parts for no apparent reason.

Much as I enjoy them, though, cliffhangers are the devil. They keep me up way past my bedtime.

 

[Kantarii]

One of the stories I'm working on is starting to feel like a soap opera. At the end of both chapters, there's an "oh shit" moment. For the second chapter, I had a clear plan for what was going to happen next. It was probably fairly obvious, but when someone guessed it in a comment, I decided to change it completely. Good thing, too, because the new direction has helped me plot out the rest of the chapters.

When I'm reading, whether there's a cliffhanger or not doesn't matter, as long as it works with the story. What I'm not a fan of are stories that are broken into parts for no apparent reason.

Much as I enjoy them, though, cliffhangers are the devil. They keep me up way past my bedtime.

You sound a little like me. When my stories become predictable to my readers and they can guess what's gonna happen next before I've written it down, I go outta my way to change it. I always felt a story has reached a stagnant point if a reader can almost guess what will happen next. I wouldn't say soap opera , but introducing a little of life's drama" into my stories always livens them up on unpredictability and keeps them interesting.

 

[coldwater1]

That's the other part I forgot to mention. Leave your readers with a cliff-hanger and they are almost guaranteed to offer guesses at what happens next in their comments.

On the one hand, you have prompted comments, which are sometimes hard to come by, and you've obviously made them think, but on the other hand, someone might actually hit on what you would like to have happen. Then you are left with either moving forward with that resolution anyway, "here's the rest of the story folks . . . special thanks to reader x for spoiling the surprise." or switching to something different. If you take the latter approach and get lots of guesses, your options could narrow quickly.

 

[Hypoxia]

That's the other part I forgot to mention. Leave your readers with a cliff-hanger and they are almost guaranteed to offer guesses at what happens next in their comments.

Or detailed instructions on what SHOULD happen. I've followed suggestions a couple of times, leaving notes of thanks to the suggesters. One of those really spiced-up sequels, and one reminded me of an important plot point I'd forgotten to hit and which improved the finale.

Of course the easy way past the cliff-hanger is to wave the authorial hands and mumble. End of ch.03: she's trapped in the tiger cage. Start of ch.04: she tells her dance partner little of her narrow escape and silences his questions with kisses. End of ch.04: her plane is plummeting earthward. Start of ch.05: she's blowing the co-pilot who managed to save the craft and her shapely ass. Et fucking cetera.

But you already knew that.

 

[Kantarii]

That's the other part I forgot to mention. Leave your readers with a cliff-hanger and they are almost guaranteed to offer guesses at what happens next in their comments.

On the one hand, you have prompted comments, which are sometimes hard to come by, and you've obviously made them think, but on the other hand, someone might actually hit on what you would like to have happen. Then you are left with either moving forward with that resolution anyway, "here's the rest of the story folks . . . special thanks to reader x for spoiling the surprise." or switching to something different. If you take the latter approach and get lots of guesses, your options could narrow quickly.

I've noticed story chapters I posted that had a great cliffhanger seem to have a high percentage of comments on them. Not guessing though, but a good observational call nonetheless about the connection between comments and cliffhangers. Thanks for the insightKant

 

[Zeb_Carter]

I have gotten away from cliffhangers as a plot ploy as it has never worked on me. Most TV series have moved away too. Everyone knows that the primary characters will never die...except when there is a contract dispute...they get out of the cliffhanger just fine at the start of the next season or chapter.

I used to use them, but the story ended because I killed off the hero or heroine at the start of the next chapter or book. Then I had to bring in a whole new set of actors and character.

If you're going to kill off some of your characters, do it before the end of the story so you have time to repopulate the cast.

 

[SamScribble]

Many years ago, I wrote a comic novel with another author.

We started with two main characters and no plot. My co-author wrote the first chapter, I wrote the second, and so on. She ended the first chapter with a cliff hanger – leaving me to sort it out – and so I returned the favour. I think we ended up with 18 chapters and 17 cliff hangers.

Unfortunately, our editor didn’t find the process quite as amusing as we did, and we had to dial the cliff hangers back quite a bit before the book saw publication. Oh, well.

 

[Zeb_Carter]

Many years ago...yeah, I'm old...there was a TV show called Flash Gordon. Every episode end on a cliffhanger and you had to wait a week for the resolution. In fact most of the serial show from that time ended each episode on a cliffhanger.

 

[Hypoxia]

Many years ago...yeah, I'm old...there was a TV show called Flash Gordon. Every episode end on a cliffhanger and you had to wait a week for the resolution. In fact most of the serial show from that time ended each episode on a cliffhanger.

Cliffhanging serials were a cinematic staple from the 1930s onward. Cf Commander Cody and His Lost Planet Airmen. Leonard Nimoy got his start in that field. "Foreshadowing his fame as a semi-alien, he played Narab, one of three Martian invaders, in the 1952 movie serial Zombies of the Stratosphere." [/me gargles the term.] Hey, way before then, the 1914 Perils of Pauline popularized the term cliffhanger. It's a tradition.

 

[Zeb_Carter]

And then came Dallas...with a cliffhanger so good, that they couldn't get themselves out of it, so...the whole prior season was a dream.

 

[TxRad]

Perils of Pauline. How many times can one gal get tied to the railroad tracks by the same villain?

Is that where that Canadian Monty guy came from?

 

[Hypoxia]

Is that where that Canadian Monty guy came from?

That couldn't be Monty Python, must be Monty Caribou or Monty Wendigo.

 

[TxRad]

That couldn't be Monty Python, must be Monty Caribou or Monty Wendigo.

Ok, Ok, I misspelt the damned word.

Mountie. Is that better?

 

[Sammael Bard]

Ok, Ok, I misspelt the damned word.

Mountie. Is that better?

No, no.

It's Mont-ehh.

 

[Kantarii]

Well, I've come to enjoy working a cliffhanger into the last few chapters of my storyline. I've also noticed my diehard readers love them, but they are also getting a rough draft of the story emailed to them off site for them to offer input on how I will progress with the opening scene in the following chapterKant