Feb

5

Knowing When To Quit

Filed Under Art of Writing | Leave a Comment

One of the big problems writers have is simply getting started writing. Getting those first words down, making marks on that fresh sheet of paper. Equally difficult can be knowing when to stop.

No, I don’t mean stop putting words on the page, but when to end a chapter and move on to the next.

This topic came to mind for me earlier today. I was working on Chapter 12 (yes, I know, four days late – I have no reasons, just excuses) and I found myself stuck. I didn’t know where to go next, didn’t know what else to write. I chose that to mean it was time to end the chapter and move on. But why was it time to end the chapter? Let’s take a look at what various writers say about when (and why) to end a chapter.

Stop at the end of a scene.

This is the rather obvious one, Most people who write about writing say that books are divided up into scenes, so the end of a scene is a logical place to end one chapter and start another.

Stop at a cliffhanger.

Again, this one makes sense. You want a hook to make the reader want to continue reading. What better way to get them to read on?

Which do you use?

In writing TMA, I’ve used both, with the cliffhanger more than simply an end of scene. One of the women in my writing group pointed out that with so many chapters ending with the most interesting thing, it felt like a tease. And that’s something you don’t want to do. You don’t want to do anything that will upset your reader. So what to do? Obviously, use fewer cliffhangers. :)

That takes me closer to the end of a scene as the end of a chapter. As I said earlier, the end of a scene is a good place to end a chapter. The reader has finished a chunk of the story. However, if you leave the reader with too much of a sense of satisfaction, she might put the book down and go do something else and then you could lose her.

So, what’s the best way to end a chapter?

The answer is the dreaded “It depends.”

The whole purpose of a chapter is to divide a long story up into manageable portions. The end of a chapter should signal some kind of change: the end of a scene, a surprise happening, or some other event. To figure out which kind of ending to use, you need to look at what you’re trying to accomplish. Here’s some examples:

  1. You need to move the POV character forward in time (like they get fall asleep at the end of Chapter 7 and Chapter 8 starts with them waking up)
  2. you’re trying to create suspense (your character gets shot and blacks out)
  3. you need to change the POV character

Let’s take a look at the examples.

# 3 is rather self-explanatory – you change heads, you start a new chapter. It helps the reader prepare themselves for the new point of view.

#1 is also self-explanatory – the end of the chapter signals an end to the reader. This is by far one of the most common “reasons” to end a chapter.

#2, though, needs some special consideration. Finishing each chapter with a cliffhanger will become very tiring, very quickly for the reader. Cliffhangers are best used for – and to heighten – suspense, so use them for that. Just as short sentences speed the reader along and heighten tension and action, using a cliffhanger as a chapter ending during a tense or action scene will pull the reader along and make them want to turn the page. And try to use them sparingly.

I think the most important thing to remember about the ending of a chapter is to think of it like a tv show. Many people stop reading at the end of a chapter, so you want to do something that will make them want to continue on. Use something to catch their attention, or make them want to read on.