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Every month, we announce a question that members can answer in their IWSG post. These questions may prompt you to share advice, insight, a personal experience or story. Include your answer to the question in your IWSG post or let it inspire your post if you are struggling with something to say.
Alex's awesome co-hosts are Ronel, Deniz, Pat Garcia, Olga Godim, and Cathrina Constantine!
December 4 question - Do you write cliffhangers at the end of your stories? Are they a turn-off to you as a writer and/or a reader?
Personally, I don't mind a good/great cliffhanger. None of my books end with a cliffhanger per se. In a couple novels I did leave a few unanswered threads, with a premise of another book in the making, though nothing that would drive a reader bonkers over. LOL.
In my writing process, I tend to end each chapter with a taste of suspense, hoping the reader will continue on to the next chapter.
No bonkers!
ReplyDeleteI'm probably not as good with chapter cliffhangers as I should be.
Thanks for co-hosting!
Yay! I'm glad you're someone like me who doesn't mind cliffhangers. Thanks for co-hosting this month.
ReplyDeleteI am not a fan of cliffhangers, but chapter by chapter I too try to propel the reader forward. Thank you for co-hosting this month.
ReplyDeleteThanks for co-hosting, Cathrina. Hope you're doing well. Best to you in the new year.
ReplyDeleteHi, I don't care for Cliffhangers at all. I read the series of one author and loved it. I am still waiting on the eleventh book that was supposed to come out and that was over four years ago.
ReplyDeleteHave a Merry Christmas and thank you for co-hosting.
Shalom shalom
You're my first author who doesn't mind cliffhangers here on IWSG. Kudos! You added insight into why.
ReplyDeleteOoh, a few unanswered threads can be fun, for a series! -- Deniz
ReplyDeleteYour approach would work for me as a reader. A few unresolved threads in a series is great; an unresolved main storyline, not so much.
ReplyDeleteThanks for co-hosting!
Unanswered threads sound fun for a series! (commenting twice because google's being funny)
ReplyDeleteUnanswered threads are certainly acceptable.
ReplyDeleteI like a nice page-turner ending for chapters, too! https://cleemckenziebooks.substack.com/p/the-history-ghost-part-3and
ReplyDeleteThank you for co-hosting this month. I agree that cliffhangers at the end of some chapters are good motivation to keep reading.
ReplyDeleteThanks for co-hosting, Catherina. May your holidays be merry and bright!
ReplyDeleteA reasonable cliffhanger that doesn't seem like a ruse to just keep buying books is acceptable to me. After all, I guess life is a cliffhanger most of the time.
ReplyDeleteLee
Cliffhangers at the end of chapters sound OK to me. But when a book ends without resolution, it is annoying.
ReplyDeleteThat end of chapter cliffhanger approach is fun, both to write and read. End of book cliffhangers are appropriate sometimes, too, depending on genre and whether it's part of a series. @samanthabwriter from
ReplyDeleteBalancing Act
I love end of chapter cliffhangers, and I'm all right with end of book cliff hangers as long as they don't end mid-scene.
ReplyDeleteHope you are having a merry and wonderful holiday season!
Don't leave me hanging at the end of a book . . . becuz I won't pick up the next one. I feel cheated out of a complete story.
ReplyDeleteThanks for co-hosting today. Unresolved threads is a keeper. Turn the next page to a new chapter is also a keeper. A story ending with a cliffhanger with no new book in site and soon is not a keeper.
ReplyDeleteEnd of chapter cliffhangers, absolutely. It's like a really good edit in a movie, that clean transition from one shot to the next. I adore that trick when a character says something like 'we're in trouble' at the end of one chapter, and the first sentence of the next chapter confirms they are in big trouble! LOL
ReplyDeleteIf I turn the page, expecting more, only to discover the story has ended with a cliffhanger, I'm sadly disappointed. Sometimes I forgive the writer, but most of the time, that writer's future books go unread. Your focus on upping suspense? That's a skill I'm working on. Thank YOU for co-hosting!
ReplyDeleteThanks for co-hosting this month!
ReplyDeleteHi Cathrina! I don't mind "a few unanswered threads" in a story. But I don't enjoy the cliffhangers that leave the reader crazy because we don't know what happened. Thanks for cohosting this month's question.
ReplyDelete