September 19, 2008
Intermission
I’ve always thought of chapter breaks as something like the intermission in the course of a movie or play, or a commercial on television. The story winds down or comes to a halt. The viewers generally get up. Stretch their legs. Wander off to the bathroom, hit the fridge, or mull listlessly around as a crowd in the lobby to see who’s wearing what, who’s with who, and flash a bit of bling or a little cleavage before returning to the show.
This down-time has become natural to us, even expected (never mind whether the point is to sell refreshments). 
But while I was gritting my teeth fleshing out the latest wip, I became increasingly dissatisfied with my “Intermissions”, and started wondering…
Is a chapter ending the best place to make an ending?
The glowing words of a reader or reviewer saying, “I could not put this book down!” are one of the most intoxicating lures possible. Either the characters were so engaging, the voice so appealing, or the storyline so captivating that the reader was ready to set everything aside to stay in that author’s world.
But would that be true if those natural breaks—chapters—were just points where everything fizzled to a stop, places for me to put my bookmark and go about my life?
Suppose that’s not what I WANT as an author? Suppose I want you to lose sleep, ignore dinner, to keep turning pages, even as your bladder threatens to burst, to be so swept up in the book that you can hardly wait to get back to it?
Granted, there should be a relative ebb-and-flow to balance the pacing and storyline. But if that ebb is at the end of every chapter, when readers often choose to wrap up their reading interlude anyway, they may just go away for days, even weeks at a time, before coming back—IF they come back.
But a chapter ending that not only wraps up a few threads of the closing chapter, but offers a reason to come back may nudge the reader into a few more pages.
And then you can ebb on your own time. 
If, for example maverick rancher Bill has the hots for his new blonde neighbor Sara, but all they seem to share are misunderstandings, and you end your chapter with Bill, bone-weary and frustrated, collapsing into bed declaring he’ll worry about it tomorrow (**INTERMISSION**)…isn’t the reader likely to feel like doing the same? 
But if bone-weary Bill is tossing furniture around the ranch in frustration, and decides that first thing tomorrow he’ll march right over and tell that stubborn woman the secret of why he’s been keeping her at a distance and why he can’t do it anymore (**INTERMISSION**)…I don’t know about you, but I’m going to read a few more pages. 
(And if Bill should shuffle off and retire, only to find a vampire, zombie, or assassin lurking in the shadows of his bedroom (**INTERMISSION**)…I’d love it, but that’s just me…). 
Thoughts?
How well do you think you handle chapter endings?
What is it about a book that’ll keep you going despite your best intentions to stop?
(and I apologize for the length of the post—ack!).
Good question, but I can only think of a flaky answer: the action, love interlude, shouting match, or humorous interjection has to take break with a natural pause. Heck, Raine, the publishing Gods are demanding every page be an entire stand alone piece of prose. :)
it’s funny, this makes me think of last night’s episode of Burn Notice {NOTE: do not read if you haven’t seen the episode yet} it was the season finale and it ended with an eplosion–that was it–and a TO BE CONTINUED. Chapter endings, to me, should end like that. With the reader going WTF…in a good way… and almost ripping out the page to get to the next chapter.
I’ve always heard end it with a strong hook-out…
It’s something to seriously work on. I HOPE I’m getting the hang of it, making the chapter ending an “interruption” of the action, so the reader wants to find out what happens next!
Chapter endings should definitely leave the reader wanting to read on to see what happens next. “Just One More Page”. Some times it can be as big as a Who-Shot-JR? type thing, something is can be building tension/intrigue, but I definitely do not think it should have a soft ending/natural break where the reader feels safe to put the book down now.
I agree when you end a chapter there should be something to give the reader a reason to turn the page. Do I do that? I have no idea. So maybe that’s something I can check on in my WIP.
Heck, Raine, the publishing Gods are demanding every page be an entire stand alone piece of prose. :)
So what’s the problem, Bernard?
I’ve always heard end it with a strong hook-out…
Good advice.
I HOPE I’m getting the hang of it, making the chapter ending an “interruption” of the action, so the reader wants to find out what happens next!
I don’t think I was managing that–and KNOW I didn’t in some of my older work.
I definitely do not think it should have a soft ending/natural break where the reader feels safe to put the book down now.
Exactly.
Do I do that? I have no idea.
As I said, I caught myself just ending the chapters, Mel (maybe I was just glad to have written one, lol).
It sucked. I was ready to hit the fridge myself…
I generally don’t have problems with chapter endings. Those come pretty easy for me. It’s the beginnings that usually stump me.
It’s the beginnings that usually stump me.
And I’m just the opposite–and nobody else seems to have this problem, lol.
I agree..if at all possible, you want the reader to keep reading. I don’t always succeed but I figure as long as I hit it 90% of the time, I’m good
maybe I was just glad to have written one
Raine, I think we were seperated at birth. By the time I’ve gotten those 10-12 pages I’m ready to move on to another scene. I’m also kind of suprised that I was able to write that much.