Okay, so in the process of editing my novel, The Georgia Corbins, I was asked to add some stuff to fill out the plot, add to the characters, and create more tension. Well, I went a little overboard and now I'm faced with the decision to cut almost 15,000 words, or end the story sooner and everything I cut can be used in books 2 and 3, which I had already planned to write.
My editor and I shared a few ideas on where we thought the book could end. I was excited to end it at one point that was a wicked cliffhanger, that would leave the reader gasping and screaming for more. My editor, however, thought it'd be better to end it on not such a high cliff, at a place where the reader would be satisfied, but would also know that the story wasn't over.
So, I turn to you, my fans, friends, family, fellow authors, and bloggers. What are your thoughts on cliffhangers? Do you like them? Hate them? If you know a book has a cliffhanger ending will you still read it and impatiently wait for the next one? Or will you just wait until all the books are out so that you don't have to wait? Or do you refuse to read books with cliffhangers?
Hi Kara, very good question. My personal preference is, I won't read any books with a cliffhanger ending. I won't read books with an ambiguous ending. When I sit down to read, I want to curl up in the story and after I reach the end, I want to sit back, sigh, and feel satisfied. I want the end to be the end. I don't mind series if they have a satisfying ending.
ReplyDeleteThanks for your input, Lorrie! That's an interesting perspective that I haven't heard or read yet. The ending my editor wants to use would fit into your preferences perfectly =) lol.
DeletePersonally, I like the plot resolved at the end. Sometimes, I use a subplot within the story and leave that resolution open to keep it for another book, whether a sequel or a continuation of the subplot story. No, I seldom want to read a second book if the first one was not resolved. Maybe it is that I don't trust the author not to do the same thing again.
ReplyDeleteMargot
Trusting the author not to do it again...that's a valid and intriguing concern, Margot. It's one I'd not thought of before, but it will definitely be on my mind as I make a decision for my own book. Thanks for sharing your thoughts =)
DeleteI expect that I'm the vast minority in that I don't mind a cliffhanger. I've been burned a few times by them in that the author never went back and wrote the follow-up but, by and large, I don't mind them. I'm rarely on the "read it just as soon as it comes out" crowd so I typically can just jump from one book to the next. A good cliffhanger will make me immediately grab the next book rather than moving on to something else or reading another book for "something different" until I can get back to it.
ReplyDeleteWow! I would never dream of ending with a cliffhanger and then not finishing it. That just seems like a horrible thing to do to your readers.
DeleteI recently read a book that ended with a major cliffhanger. It was written brilliantly and it definitely left me wanting to go right out and grab book two. Unfortunately, it's not yet available. However, that initial shock I felt has worn off and I know that once book 2 is available, I'll have to re-read book 1 just to get back into the story. That's kind of a pain.
Anyway, thanks for stopping by and sharing your thoughts.