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Post by Pru Freda on Mar 3, 2014 10:19:00 GMT -5
My cozy mysteries usually take place over a timeline of several weeks. The nearest I get to writing a cliff-hanger is something like, "So who was stalking me and why", or "If I didn't find out soon who'd pulled that trigger, the killer would strike again." (Not quite that, but you get the idea.) The next scene could well be set a day or more later.
I'm adding to and revising my WIP. In it, I've trapped my heroine in a room in an empty, and darkened, nightclub. She's found the clues she is looking for and is all set to leave when she hears voices and the door handle starts to turn. The next scene is already written and takes place the following day. Do I add a piece at the start to say how she got out of the previous scene or what? If I show that in the nightclub scene, then it won't have a cliff hanger.
Umm...
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Post by Suzy on Mar 3, 2014 11:02:29 GMT -5
I presume this cliff hanger is at the end of a chapter? In that case,I would write a short follow-up scene at the start of the next one to show what happened next.
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Post by vrabinec on Mar 3, 2014 12:22:43 GMT -5
A lot of authors seem to worry more about leaving cliff hangers at the end of chapters than I do. If it's something I can work in naturally, then great. If not, not a big deal.
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Post by Suzy on Mar 3, 2014 12:25:12 GMT -5
I usually end a chapter where there is some kind of cliffhanger in a scene. It seems natural to do that. And it might also make the reader want to turn the page.
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Post by Daniel on Mar 3, 2014 16:55:31 GMT -5
I try to end each scene with "food for thought" or "a hint of things to come" more often than a cliffhanger.
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Post by Becca Mills on Mar 3, 2014 23:29:14 GMT -5
I presume this cliff hanger is at the end of a chapter? In that case,I would write a short follow-up scene at the start of the next one to show what happened next. Another option would be to just start the next scene/chapter and then, in the first few paragraphs, provide the information about how the MC got out of the locked room. It would be a brief remembering on the part of the MC.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 6, 2014 15:47:33 GMT -5
I like a mix. Because sometimes I want to stop reading at the end of a chapter and put the book down, but I also enjoy the tension of cliffhangers. You don't have to make them all the same. If you've got something really good for a cliffhanger, I say do it.
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