Welcome readers, writers, authors,
and bloggers!
We're glad you're here! It's the
First Wednesday of the month; when we celebrate IWSG Day in
the form of a blog hop featuring members and guests of the Insecure Writer's Support Group. Founded by author Alex
Cavanaugh (Thank you, Captain!) and
fostered by like-minded associates, IWSG is a comfortable place to share views
and literary news as we record our journeys. Check out the December newsletter here.
The awesome co-hosts for this month’s posting
of the IWSG are: Ronel, Deniz, Pat Garcia, Olga Godim, and Cathrina Constantine!
Today’s
entirely optional question: Do
you write cliffhangers at the end of your stories? Are they a turn-off to you as a writer or a
reader?
Happy holidays, everyone! Tis the season to be
sneezin’. I’ve had such a time with that particular subject (Covid and
underlying respiratory issues) of late that I was shocked and dismayed to
realize I almost missed this post completely!
So, without further ado, and hopefully not a
lot of brain fog, I’ll attempt to answer this month’s question. It’s a good
one, by the way.
On the subject of cliffhangers, these carefully crafted plot devices can go a long way toward keeping your readers engaged – you know, without strapping the book to their hands. As a reader, I’m drawn to foreshadowing, subtle hints that suggest there’s something on the horizon, events yet to happen.
As for the writer, while you want to keep the
carrot dangling by delaying resolutions, you also want to avoid being accused
of leaving plot holes. A logical fix for this is accomplished by eventually resolving
your cliffhangers.
One of my all-time favorite (literary) cliffhangers is Arthur Conan Doyle’s “The Final Problem,” where Sherlock Holmes and his arch-nemesis Professor Moriarty engage in a struggle at Reichenbach Falls, which leads to the apparent plunge to their untimely deaths. Years later,
the resolution came when Holmes shows up in “The Adventure of the Empty House”
In one of the earliest recorded literary cliffhangers, “One Thousand and One Nights” (anonymous), King Shehayar orders the hanging of his wife, Queen Sheherazade. In order to delay her own demise, she tells the King
cliffhanger stories every night to keep him interested ;-)
“Transitions are critically important. I
want the reader to turn the page without thinking she’s turning the page. It
must flow seamlessly.” ~ Janet Evanovich
