I love to watch and read suspense. One of the reasons is that when you come across a good one, you can't put the darned book down even when its two in the morning and you're dead tired and you KNOW you're going to regret it, but...you turn the page.
Great writers understand the power of a hook. Not only at the beginning of a book; that initial pull into the story that cements you with the character's fate...
I'm talking about the ones at the end of each chapter. Those last lines that make you suck in your breath and blink a few times as you decidedly ignore the clock and keep reading.
Some of my favorite chapter endings are usually a beat before the stakes ratchet up...
- The hero mid-leap across a precipice.
- An ominous prediction before entering a new scene.
- A secret revealed or a mystery set in motion.
- It can even be the shift of allegiance in the mind of a character
Something that vaults us into the next scene, the next scenario...a peek or teaser that beckons us and leaves us wanting to know what happens next?
Writers Write had a helpful photo up the other day. It was a list of some great hooks to consider using in your own work. Posted by Amanda Patterson on her Tumbler...
I hope you find it helpful. What are some of your favorite hooks and cliff-hangers? Are there any that just irritate you? Until next time...Go Write!