Under the glow of dim lamplight, I read whichever novel’s been making friends with my nightstand. Hubby snores away. It’s late and I’m tired. I flip through the pages, find the nearest chapter break, and determine to set the book down as soon as I reach the end of chapter 3.
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Chapter endings are those natural places where readers STOP reading.
But as writers, we don’t want readers to stop. Because anytime they stop, anytime that book touches that nightstand, there’s a definite possibility it will languish there for all eternity. I know many a novel have spent a ridiculously long time on my nightstand. So long that I forget who the main characters are and eventually give up altogether.
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Here’s the thing. I don’t want my novels to be nightstand novels. I want them to be In-your-hands-eyes-so-bloodshot-you-can’t-see-straight novels. Those are the kind of novels that get people excited. That get people talking. And those are the type of novels I want to write.
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So how do we avoid being nightstand novels?
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The answers to that question are many and mysterious. One tangible answer, however, is learning how to write killer chapter endings.
How do we do that?
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A number of ways. We could stop in the middle of the action. Find an enticing hook. Foreshadow things to come. Etc. Etc. If used well, all are excellent ideas. But here’s what I think they all boil down to: End each chapter in a state of unbalance.
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When I write my 1st draft, I tend to overwrite. I feel this burning desire to wrap up each chapter in a pretty little bow. To write the climax, followed quickly by the tension-sucking denouement. I feel such a sense of closure when I write this way. Like, “Ahhh…I’m finished with that chapter.” Thanks to crit partners and craft books and helpful articles/blogs, I’ve learned to cut my chapters short. Utilize the delete button. It’s almost always the writer’s best friend.
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Consider cutting the last paragraph. The last line. The last page. Whatever you need to do to end each chapter on a note of unbalance. A sense that things aren’t well. Make your reader’s stomach squirm and propel them to the next page so they can slay the uncomfortable beast taking root in their bellies.
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Tension, and the ever-reaching quest to release it, hurls us through a book. Don’t release the tension for the reader at the end of a chapter. If anything, heighten it! Heighten it! Heighten it!
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Question to Ponder: What sort of chapter endings get you to turn the page and start the next?