But I recently encountered a book (Ledge, by Stacey McEwan) and all of her readers kept referring to this “crazy” cliffhanger at the end, but they loved it. They loved it so much they all rushed out to preorder the next book in the series. So being the curious type, I bought the book to find out what made this book so damn special, that it could have a cliffhanger that no one hated.
Imagine my surprise, when I found—it wasn’t a cliffhanger! At least, not in the way I personally understand cliffhangers.
This got me to thinking: people use the word “cliffhanger” in several different ways. And there’s not much nuance or consistency behind it. I personally don’t like certain types of cliffhangers, but the one at the end of Ledge is great, and does what the author intended—which is make you want to dive right into the second book of the series.
So I sat down and contemplated the various types of cliffhangers. What types of story elements might be called a “cliffhanger” and what is one supposed to do?
The dictionary was unhelpful in this matter, because all it suggested was that a cliffhanger is a suspenseful ending. And all things considered, that’s not necessarily a bad thing, especially when you’re writing a series.
But the nuance here for me, is that suspenseful is different than disappointing. I like to keep my readers in suspense if possible! But I don’t want to disappoint them.
So how? How do I create that end-of-story suspense without disappointing my reader?
For me, the answer is in understanding the different types of “cliffhanger” endings, and how many readers feel about them.
Type 1: The Truncate
The first type of cliffhanger is what I think most people hate. This is when a story ends before the climax of the book, or before the main conflict of the book is resolved. The book that pops in mind for me was Cinder by Marissa Meyers. Now, plenty of people loved this book. It has a great premise, an interesting character, strong world building, and is a unique approach to a fairytale retelling.
But it ended very abruptly, in what felt like it was mid "dark night of the soul moment," without answering the main question of the book. Some readers dove right into Book 2 as a result; I opted not to, because I didn’t want to subject myself to the same disappointment multiple times in a row.
This is where true cliffhangers get tricky. Does it create the suspense you’re going for? Or is your reader going to get mad and put the series down, never to return?
Type 2: The Embankment
The second type of cliffhanger is an embankment. In this type of narrative, some kind of resolution is reached, but there is little to no falling action. We may find out what happened at the end of the book—the character arc may have been resolved, or the climactic moment solved—but the book ends immediately thereafter.
I’m going to use one of my own books as an example of this: City of Dod in the Land of Szornyek series. In this book, the characters get to the end of the story. They fight the big battle. They survive, more or less, at great cost to themselves. But then the book ends with the characters facing a journey. There is little to no falling action, no resolution of some of the subplot arcs—it’s just GIANT BATTLE… The End.
This type of cliffhanger can still be frustrating to some readers, especially those who like resolution to the subplot threads as well as the main plot in a single book. However, it can also be a good way to pull the reader into the next story.
Type 3: The Flabbergast
A flabbergast is exactly what it sounds like—“Well, I didn’t see that coming!”
The cliffhanger at the end of Ledge by Stacey McEwan, I think qualifies as a flabbergast. The book takes you through the climactic moment, and then even has some falling action as some of the other questions are resolved, and then something crazy happens right on the last page, during the resolution.
When this type of ending is combined with an embankment, it can create a double whammy for the reader, making it feel even more like a cliffhanger ending.
Hopefully, in most cases, these types of endings are both satisfying, and also create that kind of suspense that makes the reader want to run out and buy the next book in the series.
Type 4: Threads
Truthfully, I don’t think threads are really cliffhangers at all, but they are a way to create suspense that pulls the reader into the next book, so I’m including them.
Threads are when the author deliberately leaves questions unanswered at the end of a book. The characters will go through the climactic moment, have the classic falling action, denouement, and but still have some questions when all is said and done.
I think most readers can tell the difference between threads and cliffhangers, but there are some threads that are pretty big questions—especially series arc threads which leave huge questions hanging over the character’s heads.
There are different types of threads, but the thing they all have in common is that they start in one book, and end in a later one. The longer the series, the more threads there are likely to be.
Threads can be found in every genre, but are especially common in science fiction and fantasy. For examples of threads, check out a series like Millenium’s Rule by Trudy Canavan, or Wheel of Time by Robert Jordan.
Type 5: Fizzlers
Fizzlers are simply endings that suck. Endings that leave us disappointed and bitter and frustrated with the author at how the story played out.
The whole story was there—the beginning, middle, end; the conflict, falling action, resolution—but it just… fell flat.
Whether or not an ending sucks is a very personal and subjective question. But I think there is a subset of readers who will refer to shitty endings as “cliffhangers” even if they are nothing of the sort.
Fizzlers can look like a lot of things. They can have the resolution happening offstage, so you don’t see it. They can have unbalanced, disappointing rising action and climaxes—like when you’re playing a video game, do all the work to get to the final boss, only to kill the final boss in like five seconds. Sometimes, instead of making forward progress on solving their series arc problem, the characters go backwards. Sometimes a favorite character is killed off.
But the thing that remains constant is that the reader was disappointed.
Sometimes a story is just not what the reader hoped for. And that’s okay. Not every book is for every person.
Choosing To Use A Cliffhanger
There are lots of reasons why a writer might choose to use a cliffhanger at the end of their book (or at the end of a chapter or scene!). Perhaps it was just right for the story. Maybe they like cliffhangers. Maybe it’s to get the reader to pick up the next book. Maybe it’s common in the genre they’re writing in.
Despite the general rage toward cliffhangers, if you want to use one, feel free! They can be a useful tactic for creating suspense in your story.
But, I recommend knowing what type of cliffhanger you’re using, and understanding what impact it has on the narrative and the reader.
That way, when you shove your reader off the cliff, you can do so with confidence.
