I’ve run into a wall with this one. I’ve seen arguments on both sides and am wondering where the line in the sand is when it comes to cliffhangers.
I love cliffhangers. I love the feeling that there is a larger story in play or something still to unfold. To me, they are the perfect way to drive readers to the next issue of a comic book, the best way to ensure they “tune in” to the start of the next episode of their favorite television show.
But do book readers enjoy them?
Losing the whole story.
I’ve spoken to dozens of readers on this issue. That there is something they are missing and therefore the experience of reading a book is not complete because of a cliffhanger. Readers mention this issue in their reviews of serialized fiction, the sense that they were cheated by an incomplete plot and forced to read the next installment because of this technique.
But isn’t that what authors want you to do? Read their next book? Find a way to put you back in the world you’ve just visited as easily as possible? What better way than to leave you hanging, unable to know whether a character lives or dies? Or how a situation turns out for your main leads until the next book?
It’s the ultimate tension builder and one used by many industries as the means to keep readers coming back for more.
But is it a cheat?
Not a complete story. That is the feeling of some readers and they would not be wrong in that assessment. A cliffhanger demands an answer, usually in the form of another book – one would hope… So the reader is now forced to buy something else on top of the book they have just read.
So where does the author draw the line? What gives the reader a satisfying and complete experience but also compels them forward to the next installment? What allows the author to tell larger stories in the midst of the installment based series without the power of a cliffhanger?
These are the questions that keep me up at night.
A happy compromise.
I love installment based series. Episodic storytelling. I like to know there is more on the way, a larger story in the telling. What I don’t enjoy is patchwork novels. A piece of a puzzle without any connective tissue with the hopes you’ll stick around for the rest. The first part of a larger novel that was broken up into two or ten pieces that forces you to buy them all to see how things play out.
So how about a compromise? A complete story that can leave a lingering question or two for the reader with the hopes it will be answered in future stories. An “A” plot that has a beginning, middle and end while also engaging the reader with a potential “B” and “C” plot that plays out in the background over multiple stories.
The reader comes first and as I plot away on my next series, I’m curious to know what you think about cliffhangers? Are they a dirty, rotten ploy to scam some bucks from you? Or does it keep you on the edge of your seat, excited for the next book in the series?
I’d love to hear your thoughts. E-mail me at lou@loupaduano.com.
