(I realize this image says “newsletter”, but it was too cute for me not to copy/paste! Hope the IWSG creator doesn’t mind. (Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay))
Many thanks to the co-hosts for the December 4 posting of the IWSG: Ronel, Deniz, Pat Garcia, Olga Godim, and Cathrina Constantine!
December 4 question – Do you write cliffhangers at the end of your stories? Are they a turn-off to you as a writer and/or a reader?
I have mixed reactions to cliffhangers. Mostly I feel robbed from a satisfying ending, but sometimes I think they’re brilliant. One of my novels ended in a major cliffhanger, and some readers were angry with me!
My book that sold the best is Blocked, a New Adult volleyball romance. I wanted to write an opposites-attract love story, so I chose a romance between the college-age children of US Democrat and Republican presidential candidates. (I wrote this in 2014 before the vitriol of partisan politics became even more incendiary.)
I strived to present an unbiased view of both political parties until the very end of the story, which featured the results of the presidential election. Therefore, it didn’t feel right to choose a winner, and my story ended, “The next president of the United States is…”
Some readers were furious, whoops!
I hadn’t intended to write a series, but I felt motivated by reader feedback (a mix of love/hate, haha). I eventually chose a winner for the rest of the trilogy, Aced and Spiked.
How do YOU feel about cliffhangers?
Jennifer Lane Books 
I think it’s good you made decisions for future books based on readers’ reactions to your first one. But cliffhangers have a place in some genres.
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Yes, romance probably isn’t a typical genre for cliffhangers, and I did make sure to wrap up the love story. When I included a blurb for the sequel at the end of book one, I had to hide the winner of the election.
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I don’t know – I think leaving the next president open was a very wise choice. The people who were mad about it were probably far less than the readers you would’ve alienated had you told them who won.
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Excellent point, Alex! “Republicans buy shoes, too.” 😉
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Always tough when politics is involved, so I understand why you left that as a cliffhanger, but as a reader, I’d feel cheated. I expect all major plotlines to be tied up at the end of a book–even a book in a series.
I love the premise for your series, though. I might have to check it out.
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I appreciate the frustration you would feel, Janet!
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Sorry to say, Janet. I’d be one of the readers yelling at you. On the other hand, being Canadian I’m not allow to vote down south, so why am I bitching. hehehe
Have a good holiday. 🙂
Anna from elements of emaginette
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Bitch away, my dear! 😀 Hope you had a great Canadian Thanksgiving in October.
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Sorry I’m so messed up today… I should have said Jen. Please forgive the slip up. 🙂
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Of course, Annabelle! hehe
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Okay, that might be a rare case where I’d be okay with a cliffhanger. Although I’m not sure I’d even consider that a cliffhanger. It sounds to me like whoever wins the Presidential election isn’t important. What matters is the love story.
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That is exactly true, J.S.–romances are supposed to have a happy ending, and my hero and heroine got theirs, of course. That would’ve been wrong of me not to wrap up the love story.
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Years ago I went to a theater to see a film with a very ambiguous ending (“Limbo” directed by John Sayles) and people all around me walked out in disgust and anger because of the way it “didn’t end”. I thought about that film for days. Now I’d list it as one of my favorite films. But it was the nature of the story that almost demanded the cliffhanger ending.
Lee
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Arlee, I agree that a well-done cliffhanger can be thought-provoking, especially after I absorb it. At first, I’m often frustrated.
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I actually think that might’ve been a good ending… ambiguous with no obvious political leanings. But then, who knows what might anger some readers.
Ronel visiting for IWSG day Over and Done With. An Author’s Year in Review 2024
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Well, that’s true, Ronel–readers get ticked off for all kinds of reasons that the author can’t predict. One time I wrote a teetotaler character who happened to get drunk and acted obnoxious (in a funny way, at least I thought so), and a reader thought I was minimizing problematic alcohol use. *shrugs*
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I don’t like cliff-hangers. Whether I’m reading a novel or a short story, I prefer a proper conclusion, and, I’m finding as I read other IWSGers’ blogs, most of us feel the same.
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I’ve heard a strong dislike vibe as well, Rosemary! I hope your next read has a definitive ending. 🙂
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Dare another alien join in ? For someone living in a fairly small upland village – well under 90 residents, including kids but not sheep. ( the majority. then cattle, then humans ) , we’re blessed with quite a few U.S, households, and have tried very, very hard to keep the old rules – no religion, sex or politics. Never works…
But cliffhangers…..Sometimes,, despite all the pre-broadcast BBC hype, they aren’t even real, just a clip, delivered in a misleading tone, with equally misleading backing .
Beginning, middle and end please, especially just before Christmas. – friend facing delicate eye surgery, afte MRSA.
So many storms with names, so many power cuts and floodwarnings, prefer, until everything calms down, a truth universally acknowledged,, etc.
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