Bernita asked this:
"How about chapter endings? Must they always end with a cliff-hanging, hyperventilating, page turning, stomach churning, my-God-I-ripped-the-pages-trying-to-find-what-
comes-next? I just realized my ms is structured chronologically and some chapters seem to end naturally with everyone going to sleep at the end of a day, and I'm looking for excuses to leave it as it is."
Darned good question, Bernita, and super-sized thanks for responding to my appeal for questions.
I know what you're facing. The story is moving along. A chapter seems solid, it advances the plot or characterizes or both. It feels good. But your mental knuckles aren't clenched at the end. Is that a problem?
Agent Cherry Weiner once took a look at a period mystery of mine. Her rejection letter told me that "the characters were good and the story was interesting. But I could put it down."
From all I've read and heard, that's what both agents and acquisition editors are looking for
I know I haven't answered the original question yet, but context is important. An agent has requested a manuscript based on a query letter, so it's sorta screened (a great query letter does not always lead directly to a great read). She's received hundreds of submissions, many of which are interesting or have good characters. The brain cells the woman uses to evaluate fiction have calluses. What do you think it's going to take to create a story she doesn't want to stop reading?
And she knows something you don't
Keep in mind that this blog is about "compelling" storytelling. I think that to succeed with fiction in today's market that every chapter must compel the reader to turn the page because they gotta know what happens. Heck, in the opening chapter, I think every page has to do that.
Does this necessarily mean that every chapter must " always end with a cliff-hanging, hyperventilating, page turning, stomach churning, my-God-I-ripped-the-pages-trying-to-find-what-comes-next?"
What every story must do, whether at chapter beginning, middle, or end, is raise story questions that are so provocative, so engaging, so rife with intrigue, that the reader is compelled to keep reading. When I reread the novel that Cherry Weiner rejected, I came to places where I felt I could put it down. She was right. I sent it to my current agent a few months ago and, even though he loves the two novels he's currently representing for me, he can't seem to finish reading this one. I haven't spent the time to figure out how to fix it yet, but that's the tough truth.
But story questions can be cumulative; they can add up to create an overriding level of tension in the reader. It's that level of tension that carries readers through exposition and description. And I think it can effect the reader's take on a fairly benign chapter.
I hope so, because that's what's going on in my work in progress. One protagonist has just escaped torture and death at the hands of a not-so-ethical Homeland Security agent. The reader knows that he will continue to be pursued. He can't return to his life to care for his autistic son. He's lost his job. He's on the run. The reader also knows much more about the character that makes her want him to be okay.
The reader also knows that the man who helped our hero escape has a nefarious use for him that will lead to the deaths of many people. In this context, the protagonist reaches a safe haven with his rescuer. He is cared for and, even more fun, is seduced by a beautiful, provocative young woman. The chapter ends in the midst of their love-making.
So the chapter doesn't literally end with a cliff-hanger, but I feel that the story questions in the reader's mind are so powerful by now that putting those questions on hold for this moment of peace actually increases the tension in the reader because she knows that trouble is coming, bigtime.
And therein lies the best answer I have for Bernita's question. It may be fine for a chapter to end without people dangling over the edge of a precipice if the reader knows that terrible trouble is inevitable and coming on strong. In that case, surely the tension is increased. But I think this technique must be used with care.
The non-cliffhanger chapter must still be riveting in its own way, with unanticipated twists and turns that keep the story questions coming. And I don't think you can defer getting back to the white-knuckle part for too long, else the reader will become frustrated.
In some texts on screenwriting it's suggested that, if act one ends on a negative (for the protagonist) note, then act two should end positively. It is the contrast that helps create tension. Stories must have rising tension, but along the way there should be brief respites. Without valleys, there are no peaks. Something to keep in mind.
However, all that said, I'm going to work darned hard to make sure that every chapter I write (and edit) does end with a clear sense of compelling tension.
Bernita, I think you owe it to all the work you've done on your novel to step back, take a hard look, and use your talent as a storyteller to make sure the tension crackles throughout the narrative. I'll bet you can end those going-to-sleep chapters with tension quivering. If it's difficult for you to see where the narrative needs injections of pressure, I suggest you find informed, story-smart fresh eyes to help you see. We all need fresh eyes to make judgments about tension and story questions because we just can't totally trust our own. We know too much, and we love our stories too much, to see the saggy places.
For what it's worth. Any more questions out there? Discussion?
Ray
Free edit in exchange for posting permission. You send a sample that you have questions about and of which you'd like an edit. I won't post it without your permission.
© 2005 Ray Rhamey
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