A dear writing friend, herself a writer who is also a super
Beta reader for me, put this to me some months ago:
“Maybe you should write a blog post about the pros and cons of cliff
hanger chapter endings.”
My response:
That’s a *good idea*, thank you.
Books must now compete with other attention-grabbing media,
and the young reader has some degree of ADD by the time they are reading
because of the oh-so many changes in ways one occupies oneself from toddlerhood
on. This is one of the reasons cliff-hangers became the norm and not the
exception.
It’s also a reason why so-called episodic stories, like the
Anne with an E books, likely can’t be acquired today. My kids always liked
these, such as ALL-OFF-A-KIND-FAMILY volumes in which every chapter is a
contained story, while there is an over-arching progression in the characters
as well. If you aren’t familiar with them, you’d love them.
Cliffhangers are an extension of the need to grab the readers
by the collar. The same reason first sentences/paragraphs must make a heart
race. It’s a new modality that really doesn’t have to be, except that if you
want your stories to be acquired, this practice of never letting the reader’s
attention waver increases the odds to traditional publishing.
I’ve always loved Anne Shirly. New readers love her also.
Would publishers give the likes of such stories a renewed chance to reach the
coming generations?
