here's the best compliment a writer could ever receive I couldn't put your book down but how do you actually achieve that unput downable quality in your book as a book editor I'm constantly asking myself this question it involves some combination of plotting character development and pacing but as I was editing a client's manuscript recently I had an aha moment where I discovered a simple trick that will supercharge your story with this propulsive quality I'm going to break down exactly how you can apply this writing trick and make sure you stick all the way to the
end where I go through some examples so you can see it in action so what is this amazing writing trick I discovered craft suspenseful chapter endings remember that every chapter ending gives the reader a choice whether to continue on with the story or put it down so if the end of your chapter Fizzles out and doesn't give them a reason to keep reading they're likely not going to continue on with the story that's why you want to inject some kind of suspense and Intrigue into your chapter endings make sure that every chapter leaves something unresolved
you want to give them no choice but to continue on with the story to see what happens next after all as humans we're hardwired to seek answers and resolution so if you end your chapters with a question or an exciting turn of events or an unresolved emotion you're naturally going to create that propulsive quality where readers can't help but want to read more so rather than thinking of your chapter endings as a totally rounded conclusion think of them as the start of the next scene and that's going to improve your pace and keep your reader
engaged look at each of your chapter endings and ask yourself would my reader be satisfied putting the book down here if the answer is yes you want to rework your chapter ending to leave the reader wanting more so now let's talk about the three steps to take to land all of your chapter endings and make your story unput downable as a result the first is to make sure every chapter on its own is substantive before you refine your chapter endings you have to make sure the chapter itself is fully developed after all you can't stick
The Landing if the chapter itself doesn't have much substance remember that each chapter should contain its own mini plot Arc a beginning middle and end your chapter might contain one continuous scene or it might contain a series of shorter scenes but regardless the chapter needs to materially progress The Narrative forward in some way ask yourself how is this chapter actually moving the plot or the characters forward watch out for uneventful chapters where no actual progression happens if nothing significant changes in a particular chapter you might consider omitting it or combining it with a subsequent scene
that has more substance something that can help immensely with ensuring every chapter contributes to the overarching narrative is reverse outlining I have another video that talks about how to use this technique so I will link that in the description making sure that each chapter meaningfully progresses The Narrative forward is going to make your story feel so much more intentionally crafted which is what allows you to create that propulsive just one more chapter experience for your reader the second step in creating suspenseful chapter endings is to identify the lingering point of tension so your chapter should
meaningfully progress the story forward but it shouldn't resolve everything in fact it should leave something unresolved because that's what's going to keep your reader engaged so by the end of the chapter you should either introduce a new obstacle for the characters to overcome or complicate an existing point of of conflict the chapter should end at a high point of tension and be emotionally charged if it just Fizzles out that's when you run the risk of the reader putting the book down if nothing is happening in your chapter to create enough tension for you to end
the scene at a high emotional point then the chapter itself might not be doing the work that it needs to and you should go back to Step One ask yourself is the tension explored in this scene fully resolved by the end of it the answer should be no unless this is the final chapter of your book if if your current chapter does resolve the tension then you might consider ending it a bit earlier and then blending the resolution into the next chapter because that will more effectively preserve the suspense and pull the reader into the
next scene all right the final step is to revise the final lines of the chapter to create that suspense I'm not talking here about ending every chapter on a dramatic Cliffhanger in fact if you overuse Cliffhangers then the reader is going to quickly become tired of them often subtler endings are even more effective here are five tactical ways to create suspense at the end of your chapters number one raise a question this is the most obvious and straightforward way to pique the reader's interest in continuing on with the story to see how that question gets
resolved for example you could end with a line like but then she heard someone whisper her name from behind note that ending with a question doesn't mean you literally have to put a question into the text itself but this line immediately raises questions for the reader who is Whispering her name and why we're immediately intrigued to find out the second technique is to create an obstacle if you end your chapter by creating a problem for your character we're naturally going to want to see how they overcome that obstacle here's an example of how this could
look the letter slipped through her fingers and into the storm drain presumably this letter was important to the character achieving their objective so now we're curious to see what they're going to do since the letter has been lost the next technique is to drop a bomb this is the most dramatic way to end your chapters it is a surprising reveal that changes everything it can be incredibly effective but you don't want to overuse this technique save it just for the most important reveals in your story you'll give the reader the feeling of a puzzle piece
clicking into place and we're naturally going to want to see the ramifications of this major development on the rest of the story here's an example of what it could look like the handwriting was unmistakable it was his mother's this should resolve a point of tension that has been building throughout the rest of the story and now we can't help but continue reading to see what happened happens once the characters acknowledge this reveal the next technique is to end with an unresolved emotion this is one of those subtler techniques that can be incredibly powerful and effective
with this method you'll play on the reader's own emotion and their attachment to the characters if the character feels some sort of inner conflict or unresolved emotion we're naturally going to want to see how that plays out especially if you already have established a connection between your reader and your character here's an example of what it could look like he shut the door behind him but the words still echoed in his head it's your fault we can feel the emotional impact and interpersonal conflict in this moment and that unresolved emotion creates a tension that will
carry us into the following scenes the final technique is to add a time constraint creating a ticking clock or a looming deadline is an easy way to naturally amplify the stakes and pace of your story and it's going to create an atmosphere of tension that will keep the reader turning the pages here's an example she realized it been a week since she last heard from him a clap of Thunder Drew her attention to the window the hurricane had arrived in this example the atmosphere of the storm amplifies the tension because we know that the character
is looking for someone and presumably the storm is going to complicate that and make it even more important for them to be urgently found now no matter which technique you use to create suspense at the end of your chapters you want to make sure that there's a payoff in the following scene don't introduce a point of suspense and then resolve it too easily or drop it entirely because then you're going to erode the reader trust the suspense needs to feel earned and feel like it belongs in the context of the plot for example if you
end your chapter with a mysterious knock at the door and then at the start of the next chapter the reader learns it was just an Amazon delivery that has no ramifications on the rest of the story they're going to feel cheated as you go back through your manuscript to revise your chapter endings I recommend using a mix of these different techniques you don't want to lean too much into just one technique over and over because then the reader will start to pick up on it and it will feel repetitive but if you vary your chapter
ending techniques you'll keep the reader on the edge of their seat so now that we know how to craft strong suspenseful chapter endings let's go through two examples of bad chapter endings and how to revise them to make them more effective but before we get into it give me a thumbs up if you're liking this video so far and make sure to subscribe so you don't miss all my weekly videos here's an example of a boring static chapter ending she finally drifted off to sleep here's a much more Dynamic engaging ending just as her eyelids
fluttered shut the floorboards freaked it's very natural especially for newer writers to begin a scene with a character waking up and or end a scene with a character going to sleep because it feels like a natural starting and ending point but a character drifting off into sleep doesn't really do anything to piak our curiosity to see what happens next technically the revised version still shows the character going off to sleep but it introduces a question what is causing the floorboards to Creak is someone there you're naturally making us want to see what happens next here's
another another example of a static chapter ending she smiled warmly at the guests as they descended onto the glittering Ballroom floor the gala had officially begun here the author sets the scene but it doesn't feel like the plot is moving in any particular direction the character is in a satisfied content state so here's a more suspenseful and interesting ending her smile fell when she caught sight of him across the glittering Ballroom floor with another woman on his arm Which chapter ending makes you more likely to read the second ending right because it introduces a conflict
that we naturally want to see play out we naturally want to know who this other woman is and why the site made the POV characters smile fall so as you revisit your own chapter endings ask yourself if you're ending with your character in a satisfied or a dissatisfied State because the dissatisfied state is often the more interesting one this example also shows how the conflict and tension in your chapter endings can be more subtle this technique really isn't just for Mysteries with life or death Stakes it applies to all novels across all genres so let's
put this lesson into practice right now drop me a comment with one of the chapter endings from your current work in progress that establishes suspense and makes the reader want to read into the next scene and if you're looking for some more Hands-On help to strengthen your current draft check out the free resource in the description below it's my story self assessment worksheet I designed this quiz from my background as a developmental Editor to help you identify your own weak spots in your manuscript which I know can be so hard to see once you know
them you can Target those areas in revision and make the next draft so much stronger downloading that is going to opt you into my newsletter chapter break where you'll hear not only from me but also industry insiders and bestselling authors you don't want to miss all of their amazing insights that you'll get direct to your inbox before you head out give me a thumbs up if you liked this video and make sure to subscribe so you don't miss next week's thanks so much for watching and happy rating [Music]
