End-of-Chapter Cliffhangers

[Vaporo]

Something I've noticed in a lot of books is exciting chapters ending on a cliffhanger, then switching to a less exciting scene and making readers read through another chapter or more of completely unrelated plot before finding out how the excitement ends. I've always thought to myself "Ok, this is annoying, but reading through this extra chapter makes it more suspenseful, so it will be more rewarding when I actually get to the exciting conclusion of the fight scene." But, I've also read tons of books that don't cut up exciting scenes at all. They might end a chapter on a cliffhanger, but the next chapter picks up right where they left off. I've never felt that this cheapened the excitement for me, and I often find myself enjoying those books much more.

When chapter ends on a cliffhanger and cuts directly to a less exciting scene, it feels like I'm reading through a commercial break, as though if they don't leave the readers wondering what happened to Susan McAction they'll never read the less exciting bits. Maybe chapter transitions like this show up because of television. Writers may watch TV and unconsciously become programmed to write "commercial breaks" into their work. To me, this is just annoying. If I'm reading the book, that means I've bought it and am probably going to finish it if it's any good, so there's no need to place the less exciting segments between the interesting bits to try and make me read them. In fact, I'll often be reading late at night, trying to decide if I want to read another chapter, and come across a "commercial break" and go to sleep because I don't want to keep myself awake to read about Jim's tax return. I'm often just tempted to skip over the "commercial break" and come back to it later after I've finished the more exciting scene.

Like most things, I think that cliffhangers chapters obviously have a place. If Jim does something during Susan McAction's fight that affects its outcome, then I'm going to want to know about it. Maybe the author isn't quite ready for some grand reveal, so they switch to other characters so that everybody learns about it simultaneously. Sometimes, cutting up interesting or exciting portions of the story into several chunks is the only thing that makes sense narrative-wise. Sometimes, it just honestly does make the story more suspenseful. But, I still usually find cutting up exciting scenes for almost any reason to just be kind of annoying.

I guess that I just wanted to rant a bit, and the only actual question I really have is whether anyone gets as frustrated by this as I do, or if anyone completely disagrees with me.

 

[evolution_rex]

That is a problem I encounter when writing stories which switch around to different characters in different settings. I go back and forth in forever cliffhangers until the story is over. I suppose it's because it's easy to write that way. But I do agree it can be annoying sometimes.

 

[Demesnedenoir]

Cliffhanger breaks and hook beginnings are a staple of fiction at least since well, since novels started really, tv has nothing to do with it. People can be annoyed all they want, but the tactic works, and is just natural really.

And no, they don't bug me a bit. Chapters must end, may as well end on things that keep me interested.

 

[TheKillerBs]

Yeah, it bugs me when a writer shelves a cliffhanger in favour of another storyline. Mostly because I have the attention span of a chicken on coke, so when they distract me and then bring me back to the resolution of the cliffhanger, all the suspense is gone. Instead of "Finally, I get to see how it ends!", my reaction is "Oh, that's right, these guys were doing this. I had totally forgotten."

 

[skip.knox]

If it's annoying, then I would say the problem lies not with the cliffhanger but with the chapter(s) following. The author fails to engage the reader, so the next chapter feels like a commercial break. But if that succeeding chapter is itself interesting and engaging and moves the story forward in a vital way, then it's not going to feel like an interruption, it's just going to feel like a cut to a different scene of action, and the reader will still be all in.

 

[Velka]

Chapters ending on a cliffhanger are standard fare in fiction. Like Skip.Knox said, as long as the next chapter has its own source of conflict/revelation/etc then I have no problem with it. I also enjoy how those 'down chapters' artfully control the ebb and flow of action in a story. Too much fast-paced or high-tension conflict for too long can leave a reader feeling exhausted.

It also has the useful effect of spreading out the reflection and regrouping scenes. If there are three storylines all reaching peak tension at the same time, and then all going through the reflection and regrouping stage, you end up with huge chunks of the book being either ACTION ACTION ACTION or talking/thinking/reflecting. This can easily lose a reader because they want to get to a part where something "happens" again.

 

[nlough]

I'm fine with a new scene in the next chapter following cliffhanger. If they put the reveal following the cliffhanger in the chapter afterwards then, to me, there would be no point in having the cliffhanger to begin with. But I do agree, in my experience, that most chapters after the cliffhanger can be quite dull.

 

[Miskatonic]

Where you currently are in the story can have a strong influence on the cliffhanger being used. As the story progresses the tension and urgency should slowly build up. This means that you go from having a cliffhanger that just needs to sort of sit in the back of the reader's mind until you eventually get back to that plot, to having a cliffhanger that can't be put off for very long or else you risk losing the reader completely.

Then of course you have the types of cliff hangers. You could have a cliffhanger like someone finding out a dirty secret about another character that isn't revealed yet, or you could have someone being shot and the reader is left not knowing if they are going to survive or not. The level of urgency and intensity can vary a lot.

 

[Addison]

What makes readers keep reading even after the chapter ends isn't so much the last line(s) of that chapter but what happens leading up to it. A chapter break is really just a break for the reader's eyes and a way for writers to manage their story. For us it helps us determine if the pacing is good, if scenes are in a structured order. For readers after reading so much, the flash of white page will give their eyes a rest.

Each chapter, like each scene, should propel the story in some way. Whether the chapter knocks the character back several steps and reveals how high the stakes are. Propel the character closer to their goal yet the advance has some kind of cost. The importance of each chapter is the same as that for each scene, it must contribute to the story in some way.

Although I do find that if you have a story with multiple POV's then you could end chapters and start new ones with different characters. Do it correctly then you can definitely get the reader's heart racing and eyes flashing as they speed to the next page. I remember a chapter in "Eldest" of the Inheritance Series where a chapter ended with a gold dragon flying to the heroes and the next chapter is back in Eragon's home town with his cousin.

 

[Terry Greer]

Cliffhangers are fine but there are rules I've found useful for which ones are fine and which annoying.

Resolve the chapter - the cliffhanger should come from some new element introduced or a complication that wasn't forseen. E.g. if it's a fight you need to show the winner - but the protagonist can then be accused of cheating - of find out that beneath the mask was his friend etc. (i.e. the cliffhanger is for a future plot element).

While the plot element has to be resolved the cliffhanger can be one cliffhanger that you thought had previously been resolved - but a twist opens it up again.

If the POV is going to change then action cliffhangers are far worse on the reader than non-action ones. E.g. Don't break a fight in half unless you're going to resolve it in the next chapter (and then only if there's a really compelling reason such as the POV for the fight is changing but the fight continues). Cliffhangers revolving around a change in situation, or perception, or some sort of reflective realization (such as "OMG It was Harry all along, but how did he do it!") are far better.

 

[Caged Maiden]

I leave things as cliffhangers simply to keep the reader turning pages. I resolve the issue in most cases at the beginning of the next chapter, and then at the end of that chapter, another question is raised, and hopefully the reader just keeps turning. i hope anyone who reads my books will lose sleep. Period.

 

[Demesnedenoir]

One question is... is there a difference between raising questions and a cliffhanger?

Drama vs melodrama, perhaps.

Taking a step back to screenwriting again, you were always looking for the connection from one scene to another, something that made the fade or cut to the next scene flow. Flow, connections, questions should be common place, the true cliff hanger? something more for special occasions, LOL. In novels we do similar things, mirrors and whatnot for the connections, even when characters are thousands of miles apart, but when it comes to chapter ends, they're like an intermission at a play, it better give the audience a reason to come back.

Whether it's tv, a play, a movie, or a novel, always leave the audience a tidbit to keep them interested, heck even commercials have successfully used the tactic. It's everywhere, and it works.