It’s no secret that the time-tested method of using cliffhangers at the end of your chapters or scenes is a sure-fire way to make that happen. But what a lot of writers don’t realize is that the cliffhanger ending is only half the equation.
The cliffhanger is the hook that makes the reader turn the page, but if you don’t have a solid line supporting them across the gap and a sinker that pulls them deep into the next scene or chapter, your fish is likely to wriggle off and swim away.
The chapter-ending cliffhanger is your hook, and the beginning of the next chapter is the sinker. Done right, they’ll create a line of connection for the reader, moving her smoothly from one to the other.
The key to making that connection lies in correctly structuring the cliffhanger and then solidly grounding your reader in the following scene. That means orienting her immediately and pulling her down deep, like a sinker on a fishing line. The scene following a cliffhanger means a jump to another character’s POV, or a time change, or a different setting. It’s critical you draw your reader deep into the new situation with the very first paragraph.
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