Ooops! Sorry. No one-liners today. Gotcha.
Today, I’ll briefly write about Cliffhanger. One, I love them. The television versions leave you hanging until the next show. Books keep you turning their pages.
What is a Cliffhanger? It is a melodramatic adventure serial in which each installment ends in suspense in order to interest the reader or viewer in the next installment.
And I love to watch and learn. So below is a Cliffhanger from The Vampire Diaries, Season 2 Finale.
It is my personal belief that each chapter I write should proceed as such. A Cliffhanger. And in Secondhand Shoes there’s lots of action and surprises. I actually surprised myself, or should I say my characters caught me off guard. Since I’m basically a Fart-Writer a/k/a Pantster, I let my characters do what they want.
So how do you write and end each chapter? Subtly? With excitement? Is it mysterious? Action packed? Let me know in the comment box.
Okay. That’s all for now. Since I gave no one-liners today, tomorrow I’ll give you a deleted scene from Secondhand Shoes. D is for Deleted.
I love/hate cliffhangers. Love cause I can't stop reading/watching; hate because I can't stop reading/watching. But I think the point is, that I always finish.
ReplyDeleteI think all of us love/hate tthem because they become like an addiction of sorts.
DeleteThank you, Jill, for stopping by.
I've always liked cliffhangers. I don't always use them at the end of my chapters though. In my current WIP, the main character Coaimhe(Keeva) is narrating the story in first person. She moves back and forth throughout the story from past events to present events. As such, it is the most challenging story I've ever written. Each chapter in the beginning of my story introduces a key character: Caoimhe first, then her best friend Mandy who is killed by the vampire Severin, then the vampire Severin himself, followed by Caoimhe's father, Sandor, beginning with his unusual birth into the world, etc.
ReplyDeleteHey Sherry! Sounds like you've got quite a bit of meat for a serious series.
DeleteAwesome :) I totally love cliffhangers too. And my roommates are obsessed with Vampire Diaries :)
ReplyDeleteSarah Allen
(my creative writing blog)
Hey Sarah! They're like and addiction. And for the most part, I'm like the Evil-Cliffhanger-Chick. I love plannning and writing them. ***wringing my hands together***
DeleteI love cliffhangers. I'm not sure there's another show on tv right now that has the art of the cliffhanger down as well as Vampire Diaries.
ReplyDeleteAwesome!
M.J. Fifield
My Pet Blog
Hey M.J.! What about the walking dead?
DeleteNice topic I love the cliffhangers too that keep me holding on for more. :) Thanks for sharing
ReplyDeleteGossip-Girl!
DeleteMe, too. Me, too. Thanks for stopping by my blog.
I love Cliffhangers. Though waiting for a sequel can be hard . . . LOL.
ReplyDeleteDear Golden:
DeleteYes. Sequels are hard to wait for.
I love writing the last line of each chapter.
ReplyDeleteTonja:
DeleteIt's fun writing the last line to every chapter.
Oh yes, cliffhangers are the best!They're what keep me reading well into the night!
ReplyDeletePK,
DeleteWelcome to the Cliffhanger Addicts Group.
Great topic. I love cliffhangers. (just like everyone else) :) Although I've read writers should mix it up in their writing and not do one for every chapter. I can't remember where I read it, Writer's Digest website maybe. Anyways, I enjoy writing them but don't like being on the waiting end, of course. :)
ReplyDeleteYes. Kimberly. Readers need a breather, especially when there's suspence, thrills, and lots of action. But there are subtle ways to make the reader want to turn the page.
DeleteI love them cliffhangers too. They hook you into turning the page or watching the next week.
ReplyDeleteHey Susan:
DeleteThey sure do.They make you wish it wouldn't stop.
I'm with you on this. I like to give the reader a reason to turn the page.
ReplyDeleteJ.L:
DeleteYup. We need to give the reader a reason to keep on reading.
Def. cliffhangers the stuff of life - well maybe we dont want to many in reality but books films - loved them at saturday morning pictures when a youngster - got us back every week for more!!
ReplyDeletethanks for dropping by - a-z is fun isn't it?
Alberta:
DeleteYes. A to Z is fun. Thank you for stopping by.
I do enjoy a good cliffhanger, though sometimes I am bad at waiting. Which keeps me up reading for hours beyond bedtime if it's done well.
ReplyDeleteShannon at The Warrior Muse, co-host of the 2012 #atozchallenge! Twitter: @AprilA2Z
Shannon:
DeleteYup. I know what you mean.
It's a good idea to end most chapters with a cliffhanger... and then of course open with a hook. Keeps them reading!
ReplyDeleteWagging Tales
Charmain:
DeleteYeppers. Yeppers.
Some chapters I'll end on a cliffhanger; others will be a bit more of a quiet ending, but the key's still getting the reader to keep reading, of course!
ReplyDeleteHey Sir Wills:
DeleteYou are sooo good about visiting these. Thank you!
And yes the key is to keep the reader reading.
I love a good cliffhanger! The late Sidney Sheldon advised writers to always end a chapter leaving the reader hanging...and wanting more!
ReplyDeleteI just hope I don't raise anyone's blood pressure.
DeleteI try to end my chapters with cliffhangers, sometimes big and sometimes little. As a viewer/reader, I have a love/hate relationship with them: I don't mind them if they're brief, such as continuing in a week on TV or in the next chapter in a book. They drive me nuts when you have to wait until next season or next book to find out what's going on.
ReplyDeleteYes. Televison and book to book cliffhangers can be nail biting.
Delete