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BEA a few weeks ago, R.L. Stein (the ever-so-famous author of the crazy popular
Goosebumps books) attributed some of the success of his novels to his use of
cliffhangers—those suspenseful situations at the end of a scene or chapter.
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| Photo by ajenyon |
I
am a huge fan of cliffhangers at the end of chapters, unless, of course, it’s 2
am, I’ve just reached the end of a chapter where the characters I care about
are in some sort of grave danger or about to make a momentous decision, which
will be revealed in the next chapter, yet I’ve got to haul my exhausted carcass
out of bed at 6 am. In that case, I’m frustrated because I must know what
happens next in the novel, yet I anticipate being bleary eyed the next day. I dwell on how much caffeine I will
need to come to life after too little snooze time. If you’re an avid reader, I’m
sure you know what I’m talking about here. Cliffhangers build suspense,
tension, and create an emotional response in readers that often makes them sacrifice sleep in order to find out what happens next in a story.
If you’re a writer, you probably itch to torment your readers in this way. I'm guessing you’d love to make them sacrifice good sense and well being for
the sake of turning the pages of your story. But how? Some authors accomplish
this by revealing a key piece of information that the reader needs to know at
the end of a chapter, or a tease that this piece of information will appear in
the next chapter. An author might also reveal some twist or important plot
development as a cliffhanger. Or, a writer might push the main character into
an ugly and sticky situation to be resolved pages later. I just finished a
chapter in which the heroine was facing some serious danger when she
passed out—at the end of the chapter. Since I care about this character, I had
to know whether she’d be descended upon by the evil or if she’d be saved.
Also, cliffhangers work especially well when each one is bigger
than the last. This kind of makes sense given that the novel is building toward
a climax, right?
What do you think about cliffhangers? Do you like to hang off cliffs or are
you afraid of heights? If you are pro-cliffhanger, do you have a favorite? One
that kept you reading against your better judgment?
