Cliffhangers

5 Jan 2013

Are cliffhangers a good idea? My last two stories, I left on a cliffhanger. The first was unintentional, the second I meant.

I'm wondering if they're such a good thing or do they leave the reader frustrated? Like most writing elements, they must be carried out properly, in order to leave the reader wanting more. So what is the perfect cliffhanger? (Apart from the infamous "who shot JR?", of course.)

I'd like to see this from both a reader's perspective and the perspective of writers.

Ghosts, flamingos, guitars and vodka. Eclectic subjects, eccentric stories:

Humorous guide & Recommended Read =^.^= How To Make a Cup of Tea
A flash fiction series :) A Random Moment in Time
Editors' Pick! :D I Am The Deep, Dark Woods
And another EP!: The Fragility of Age
=^.^=

5 Jan 2013

It depends on the story. In the case of your two chapters, they are tantalising but they are based on real life situations. The reader can anticipate and fill in for herself what might or might not happen and if you had not or don't continue there is still a sense of an ending. The meeting of the two characters was within the context of their individual movement from one place to another that movement continued for each, which is why they crossed paths but have not (yet) connected.

With a cliff hanger that leaves too many plot threads and characters unresolved it is not quite the same. The reader is left gnashing his teeth and cursing the audacity of the writer, before making furious demands for the next chapter, to bring resolution to the story and satisfaction to the reader.

Those are just a few thoughts on the spur of the moment. Good question.

12 Jan 2013

Had to post this somewhere...this thread will work...

I once knew a drinker who had a moderating problem...

13 Jan 2013

Though I have a love/hate relationship with cliff-hangers when reading, I like to mess about with them in my writing. I don't feel that I really do it well, though.

"Any book not worth reading twice was not worth reading the first time." Oscar Wilde

28 Mar 2013

Cliff hangers are good as long as you don't over use them. I don't realize I left a cliff hanger until someone pointed it out... but I remember reading a friends story. And each chapter he left a cliff hanger. I know he meant well to keep me interested but in the end it left me bored.

29 Mar 2013

I dislike cliffhangers intensely.

29 Mar 2013

Quote by Peter_Pan
I dislike cliffhangers intensely.

No one has mentioned my reason for using cliffhangers...

29 Mar 2013

Quote by steffanie
Quote by Peter_Pan
I dislike cliffhangers intensely.

No one has mentioned my reason for using cliffhangers...

What is your reasoning then?