Cliffhangers!

Cliffhanger chapter endings have the obvious advantage of driving the story forward. Not every chapter has to end in a cliffhanger (I personally get annoyed when there's never a good place to put down the book. Sometimes I have to do other things!) But using cliffhanger chapter endings regularly throughout your manuscript can help build drama and keep the reader turning the pages.

If you want a cliffhanger, it's not enough to just suddenly throw something at your character. I ghost wrote a book for a series known for its cliffhanger endings. After I turned in my manuscript, I got this comment from the editor: “I would like to see more of a slow build-up toward the intense action. In horror movies, it’s always the ominous music and the main character slowly opening the closet door that scares us the most, not the moment right after she opens the door.”

She's talking about the difference between suspense and surprise. Surprise is startling, because it's not set up. However, there's no tension leading up to it. It's slow until something smacks you in the face, and can feel more random and baffling than dramatic. (A car that rear-ends you out of nowhere is a surprise. Losing your brakes at the top of a steep hill is suspenseful.) For suspense, give clues that something is about to happen. Often this means expanding the scene a bit, using more sensory details and more emotional thoughts, expressions or actions.

As an example, here's an early version of a chapter ending in The Ghost on the Stairs. Jon is starting to believe that Tania really sees ghosts, and they are trying to find out if they can communicate with one.

            “All right,” I said. “Let’s go back in now. We can just stand near the bottom of the stairs, and pretend that we’re talking to each other and watching the filming.”
            Tania nodded. She took a deep breath and led the way inside.

Here's my revised version, as published, with more detail to hopefully build suspense.

            “All right,” I said. “Let’s go back in now. We can just stand near the bottom of the stairs, and pretend that we’re talking to each other and watching the filming.”
            Tania nodded. She looked down, then back up, and spoke softly. “Do you think she could be dangerous?”
            I shrugged. I wasn’t sure she was anything. But that got me wondering. Could a ghost do anything to you? Did it matter if you could see it or not?
            I watched Tania as she stepped toward the door. Maybe we were going to find out.

 Now you try it -- look back at some of your chapter endings. Can you make them more dramatic, by sloooowly opening the closet door?

    * Focus on suspense, not just surprise.
    * Use more detail -- you actually slow the pace for a cliffhanger. Use sensory details with an emotional impact.
    * Use shorter sentences and short paragraphs to keep the reader's eyes speeding down the page.