An ending Vs A Cliffhanger: What can save your novel

... He was by the edge, heart thundering, footsteps drew nearer, seconds from sending his heart into overdrive and then he sees it...

Aah the cliffhanger, a writers secret weapon to trap their innocent readers, it's the oldest trick in the book and for some reason, they never see it coming.

Want to know a secret, those books, the ones you stay up all night reading, the ones you just can't seem to put down, those ones tagged New York Times Best Selling novels, they all have a cliffhanger coiled at the end of each chapter, that's what keeps us turning the page wanting to know what exactly happened.

Versus the ending, a conclusion that barely leaves them questioning what happens in the next chapter. In my opinion, conclusions should be restricted to the ending of a book, the last chapter, the epilogue. As a writer a key element is to first be a reader, to know how the readers feel. Now imagine reading a book with several chapters ending with an ending, nothing to leave you thirsty for more... sad isn't it?

It's never too late to add cliffhangers into your book, writing is a flexible engagement, it can be improved, I can assure you from personal experience as a writer of over five years, it will save your manuscript, it might even be the reason Hatchet audio would want your book read as an audiobook, the reason Penguin Press would want to publish your manuscript.

Opportunities are born from good books and cliffhangers are the difference between good books and books.

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