NaNoWriMo Series: Writing Tip #16

We've all been there. Gobbling up a good story until you're left staring at the last page of the book as if more pages will just magically appear. And what's all that's left? That damn cliffhanger. But how do you make something so spicy and enticing for your own readers? For us seasoned readers, we have seen the good cliffhangers and the 'predictable cliffhangers'. While I am no guru on cliffhangers, I believe that a good cliffhanger has to be well-earned and well-placed. Let's expand on this idea a bit.

Well Earned

Every story should have a slight build-up of tension if you are planning on placing cliffhangers in your story. It's hard to pull off a cliffhanger if your characters have been laughing and skipping through the roses for the entire book. Cliffhangers pair well with drama, in my opinion, and should have a reason to be there. Here are two different examples of the same story concept: a human going into space.

Example 1

Chapter 1 starts easy enough. Introductions of characters, setting, and all the good dialogue lines that suck a reader in. By the last line, you find out that the character is unexpectedly being shipped off to space today and has no time to say goodbye to the love of their life, who is expecting them for dinner at their favorite restaurant.

Example 2

Chapter 1 starts with easy introductions and setting, just like the last example. Your reader gets a painting of your world and by the last line, they're going to meet their captain and are very excited to meet them on their first day at NASA.

Which one makes you want to know what happens next? When dealing with cliffhangers, that should be the question at the forefront of your mind.

Does this make me want to know what happens next?

Well Placed

This seems like a no-brainer: the end of the chapter. While this is a great device to get your readers constantly flipping pages, you can't have every chapter end in an intense, nail-biting cliffhanger. Spicey cliff-hangers to stories are like seasoning to food. Too much and it overpowers the thing you're trying to enjoy. While every chapter should end with a reason to continue, they don't have to be super intense. Let's go back to our human going into space.

Chapter 1 ends with them having an emergency space mission and they can't say goodbye to the love of their life

Chapter 2 is from the POV of the love of their life, and they see the launch of the spaceship and it explodes, leaving them with the cold dread that their human is gone forever

Chapter 3 is from the POV of the spaceman and ends with the realization they're a ghost and they can't communicate with the love of their life.

Chapter 4 is from POV of the love and ends with the slight suspicion that their spaceman is around but shakes off the idea as crazy and goes to work.

Chapter 5 is from POV of the dead spaceman and ends with them leaving a note for their love but their plans get foiled and the note flies away at the last second.

While this story seems to be leaning more into a space version of the movie "Ghost", you can see that not every chapter ends in disaster. The first two chapters are charged with action-based, sob-worthy cliffhangers while the following chapters have less explosive endings that still move the story along. I leave you to decide if this example is "good" or "bad" and leave you with these questions to ask yourself to help you get started on your own cliffhanger journey:

1. What are your favorite stories that have the best cliffhangers (Books, TV, Video Games, etc)?

2. What do you think makes a great cliffhanger?

3. What do you think makes a cliffhanger have a predictable ending?

4. Do you like spicey cliffhangers? Why or why not?

If you want to learn more NaNoWriMo tips, check out the 30 Days of Tips that will unfold this month. Can't wait? Then check out my mini-course on The Basics of Storytelling that's available for $1. I look forward to seeing you in whatever form I appear. Until next time.

About the Author

Crystal Cabrae is a storyteller who specializes in writing dystopian, romantic, and adventurous worlds for animation and fantastical fiction. She is a proud graduate of Full Sail University, AMDA, and New World School of the Arts. Her six years of acting training in New York and Miami gives her a unique perspective when approaching her characters. She has a passion for sharing how to create stories with the world and inspiring the storyteller that lives within all of us. Follow her on IG or Pinterest to know the latest.