Here’s where my last post for Writers Who Kill left off:
... I actually DID
come up with an excellent solution, but I have to leave you with a teaser—can’t
tell you yet what will happen. Tune in two Sundays from now!
Here it is, two Sundays from then. But…well…I can’t tell you
the solution to having my publisher go out of business yet. I’ll have to leave
you with a cliff hanger again this time. Sorry!
Speaking of cliffhangers, they are a staple in genre
fiction, at least in the kind I write. They are how we keep our readers turning
pages, staying up late, and—we hope—enjoying our books. They belong at the ends
of chapters and scenes. I’ve taken classes where it’s advocated to do them at
the end of every chapter and scene. I’ve also been advised, by an editor I
respect, not to put them at every single one. That gets too predictable—ho hum.
How do we create cliffhangers? We raise a question and don’t
answer it. Yet. We start some action and don’t finish it. Yet. We create an
expectation and don’t fill it. Yet. Sounds like we’re being mean, doesn’t it?
It’s all for your own good. Trust me!
Another way to produce tension with a cliffhanger is to
change the point of view (POV). Just when one character is getting to the juicy
part, end the scene and switch to the other character. No, that’s not cheating!
It’s our way of making it more interesting.
So, hang on for two more Sundays! I hope you’ll be back.
Photos from
morguefile.com
by teacake,
impure_with_memory, MushyTaters
The idea of ending every chapter with a cliffhanger is tempting. We want our readers to think, "What happened next?" and stay up to read just one more chapter.
ReplyDeleteBut you're right--that would end up being boring.
Change of POV is a great technique, but I seldom use more than one POV in my work. This one person (or animal or robot or ghost) is telling the story through me, and I can't get my mid around another POV.
Changing POV is just one trick in the bag. It's a big bag! Thanks for stopping in, KM.
ReplyDeleteI'm on the edge of my chair!
ReplyDeleteChapter-ending cliffies are wonderful techniques, but not every chapter and NEVER at the end of a book. My wall has a few dents due to book ending cliffhangers where the solution to the crime has been left hanging. Cliffies for subplots are fine, at least in my opinion.
I agree, Kait! Unless the next book is right there, within reach, that just doesn't work! I know they want to to read the next book, but it may be months, a year, before it comes out. By that time, you're not really interested any more.
ReplyDelete