Ending chapters on suspense note?

Mike Martyn · Aug 19, 2005

With my current ms I find myself ending each chapter on a suspense note,
ie; The m/c's trembling hand reaches for the door knob and on the other side lurks the evil , nasty scary whatever. End of chapter.

In the next chapter I cut to the other m/c who is dealing with his dysfunctional family and after the usual to-ing and fro-ing, he finds documents and old letters in a safe from which he may discover the identity of his real father. He sits down at his desk and opens the first envelope. End of chapter and in the next chapter, the first m/c turns the door knob and opens the door.

Well, you get the picture.

How well does this sort of thing actually work? In theory it should force the reader to keep going to find out what's on the other side of the door and once into that chapter the reader wants to find out what's in the envelope and has to keep on reading to find out.

At what point does the reader get fed up with this sort of literary device?

triceretops · Aug 19, 2005

It works great, Mike, I call it a chapter "hook", and use it everytime I break. Always leave them guessing. Sounds like you're doing a carry-over hook, which is skipping a chapter then picking up again. It's quite maddening for the reader, but keeps their butt turning pages. I've read that you should never have a happy ending at the end of a chapter (unless it is the last one, of course).

Tri

Bufty · Aug 19, 2005

He won't, in my opinion, provided the suspense isn't repeatedly proven to be false. You could also, if you wish, stop your chapter in the middle of a suspenseful scene and start another. Same effect - if done well, the reader wants to read on to see what happens.

ChunkyC · Aug 19, 2005

I would say you should always at the end of a chapter leave the reader wanting to know what is going to happen next. However, you should be careful not to be repetitive, or overtly manipulative.

In your example:

The m/c's trembling hand reaches for the door knob and on the other side lurks the evil , nasty scary whatever. End of chapter.

In the next chapter I cut to the other m/c who is dealing with his dysfunctional family and after the usual to-ing and fro-ing, he finds documents and old letters in a safe from which he may discover the identity of his real father. He sits down at his desk and opens the first envelope. End of chapter and in the next chapter, the first m/c turns the door knob and opens the door.

In both of these scenes, you have a character 'opening' something. To make sure it isn't too repetitive, perhaps you could have one of them actually see what's in the envelope or room before closing the chapter. Just pick the one that would still retain the best level of suspense. For example, the character opens the envelope and sees what's in it. Then, when you return to this character, you pick it up with how they respond to what they found.

Just some musings....

Datoen · Aug 19, 2005

Like it

I like this technique very much and as a matter of fact my own MS follows this very pattern. I harken back to Tolkien's trilogy as a great example of this kind of writing. Even in the films they did a good job of popping back and forth, leaving you hanging with Aragorn, Legolas and Gimli and dropping in on poor Frodo, Samwise and Gollum.
So long as it advances the story, develops characters or creates suspense, there is nothing wrong with multiple plot lines going on. imho.

AndreaGS · Aug 19, 2005

I think this technique is fine. Sometimes I get impatient when authors do this, and start flipping pages to get to what I want, but that's only if the writing is terrible.

JAlpha · Aug 19, 2005

Mike, to add to some of the great points that have already been made in the previous posts, when creating chapter breaks a writer also needs to avoid using cliff-hanger endings that are purely devised to lead the reader into the next chapter without a logical integration into the plot. I made that mistake in the first draft of my WIP. From what you have described, it doesn't sound like you've done that.

I'm glad you brought the subject of "ending chapters" into the forum :Thumbs:

The broader crafting category of "chapter construction" is often overlooked in perscriptive how-to writing books, articles etc. And for that very reason, I find it's a topic that is often neglected in critique group settings as well.

sassandgroove · Aug 19, 2005

My Uncle said to end chapters in the middles, so that the reader will not want to stop reading. (I knew what he meant, but I'm not sure I am translating it well...

)

TLHines · Aug 19, 2005

Love it or hate it, Dan Brown's "The DaVinci Code" uses this technique very well--you churn through the book because he leaves you hanging with each chapter. Yes, we could debate the book's other merits (or lack thereof), but I do think this is one of its strengths.

loquax · Aug 19, 2005

Any of you young enough to have caught the Goosebumps books when kids? EVERY chapter ended on a cliffhanger, no matter the reason. One of my favourites was some kid looking in the back of an old dummy's head, and the line was something like "he felt it's brain!". And then the start of the next chapter was "it was a mouldy sandwidge".

The guy's a millionaire though.

ChunkyC · Aug 19, 2005

I seem to remember the Hardy Boys books followed this formula as well. Again, just don't be too obvious about it.

In the very first (currently in the bottom of a desk drawer where it belongs) novel I ever wrote, I had one chapter end with my protag whipping open the door to see a gun barrel pointed between his eyes.

I thought I was a genius, until I heard my beta readers laughing from the next town over.

maestrowork · Aug 19, 2005

Hooks are great! But don't be coy, and be ready to reveal soon... One thing I learned is that if you build up suspense and expectations, you need a payoff, soon, or you will piss off the readers.

Don't be coy. I hate it when the writer deliberately does this:

The protagonist holds the secrets of the universe. He smiles. He opens the secret, reads it, and closes the book. He smiles again.... END OF CHAPTER....

and 15 pages later... So what was the secret? Ah, the protagonist is about to tell his companion when the villian shows up...

ARGHHHHHHHHH!!!!! #%#^&* Dan Brown does this
"I know something but I'm not going to tell you" thing ALL THE TIME. It drives me crazy and I resent him for that.

gp101 · Aug 20, 2005

TLHines said:
Love it or hate it, Dan Brown's "The DaVinci Code" uses this technique very well

Does he ever! It really did work in that book. As another post stated, make sure there's a good payoff for each cliff hanger. And rhythm is important here too. Not every cliff hanger at the end of a chapter need be life-or-death consequences. Minor cliff hangers work too, and varying them with the big ones doesn't aggravate the reader as much. It's also monotonous when every scene break ends in a cliff hanger... you know, within the same chap you break off from one character's POV or a particular scene and go to another scene or POV, but each break ends with some huge cliff hanger. Tires the reader IMHO.

Ending chapters on suspense note?

Mike Martyn

triceretops

Bufty

Where have the last ten years gone?

ChunkyC

It's hard being green

Datoen

AndreaGS

JAlpha

Smilie Fanatic

sassandgroove

Sassy haircut

TLHines

loquax

I verb nouns adverbly

ChunkyC

It's hard being green

maestrowork

Fear the Death Ray

gp101