Plant the Question Early
Strong cliffhangers answer one question while raising another. The question being raised must already exist in the reader’s mind before the cliffhanger arrives.
- Why it worksSetup creates investment. In The Hunger Games, Suzanne Collins raises the question “Can Katniss and Peeta both survive?” long before the rule change cliffhanger at the midpoint. When the Capitol announces two tributes can win, readers already care about the answer because the question existed for chapters.
- How to do itIntroduce the tension point early, let it simmer, then break the chapter when that tension peaks. In Six of Crows, Leigh Bardugo establishes the Ice Court heist’s danger before any cliffhanger moments. When characters face seemingly impossible obstacles, readers are primed to worry because the stakes were planted early.
Do
Make the cliffhanger feel like the natural escalation of existing tension.
Avoid
Introducing new information out of nowhere just to create a cliffhanger.
From My Work
In Salt & Bone, the question “Where is Silas?” builds through ambient wrongness before the cliffhanger:
But that didn’t sound like one.
It sounded like bait.
The section break happens when Jack realizes something’s wrong. Readers already sensed danger—the cliffhanger confirms their suspicion and raises the stakes.
Use Character Investment, Not Plot Tricks
The best cliffhangers hinge on what matters to characters, not random catastrophes.
- Why it worksReaders care about characters more than events. In The Fifth Season, N.K. Jemisin uses cliffhangers that threaten what Essun values—her children, her survival, her identity. The tension comes from caring about Essun, not from arbitrary danger.
- How to do itBreak chapters when characters face decisions or revelations that change their understanding of themselves or their situation. In Red Rising, Pierce Brown ends chapters when Darrow’s identity or loyalties are threatened, not just when physical danger appears.
Do
Tie cliffhangers to character fears, desires, or relationships.
Avoid
Using generic danger (explosion! attack! mystery figure!) without character context.
Balance Revelation and Withholding
Strong cliffhangers give enough information to create questions but not so much that readers feel manipulated.
- Why it worksMystery without context is frustrating. In Gone Girl, Gillian Flynn’s cliffhangers work because readers have enough pieces to theorize but not enough to solve the puzzle. Each chapter break makes readers want to test their theories.
- How to do itAnswer a small question while raising a larger one. In The Silent Patient, Alex Michaelides ends chapters by revealing new information that reframes previous scenes. Readers learn something, but that knowledge creates new questions.
Do
Give readers something to chew on between chapters.
Avoid
Cutting to black without giving readers any new information.
Make the Stakes Clear Before the Break
Readers need to understand what’s at risk when the chapter ends.
- Why it worksUnclear stakes create confusion, not tension. In The Martian, Andy Weir’s cliffhangers work because readers always know what Mark Watney stands to lose—his life, his sanity, his chance at rescue. The stakes are established before the chapter break.
- How to do itEstablish consequences before creating suspense. In Children of Blood and Bone, Tomi Adeyemi shows what failure means—death, oppression, loss of magic—before ending chapters on tense moments. Readers know why they should worry.
Do
Clarify what failure looks like before the cliffhanger.
Avoid
Creating tension without establishing why the moment matters.
Vary Cliffhanger Types
Not every chapter should end with imminent danger. Different types of cliffhangers create different reading experiences.
- Why it worksRepetition dulls impact. In A Court of Thorns and Roses, Sarah J. Maas varies between action cliffhangers, emotional cliffhangers, and revelation cliffhangers. Readers can’t predict the pattern.
- How to do itAlternate between physical danger, emotional breakthroughs, relationship shifts, and new information. In The Poppy War, R.F. Kuang ends some chapters with battle tension, others with political revelations, others with Rin’s internal struggles.
Do
Mix action, emotion, and discovery across chapter breaks.
Avoid
Ending every chapter with the same type of tension.
Honor the Promise
The chapter after a cliffhanger must deliver on the tension created. Deflating the stakes immediately makes readers feel cheated.
- Why it worksBroken promises erode trust. In Catching Fire, when Suzanne Collins ends a chapter with the Quarter Quell announcement, the next chapter doesn’t ignore that tension—it explores Katniss’s reaction and the implications. The cliffhanger mattered.
- How to do itBegin the next chapter by addressing the tension raised. In Throne of Glass, Sarah J. Maas doesn’t use cliffhangers as fake-outs. When she ends a chapter on danger, the next chapter shows the confrontation or escape, not a sudden scene change that reveals the danger was nothing.
Do
Follow through on the tension you created.
Avoid
Revealing the cliffhanger was a misunderstanding or false alarm.
Ground Cliffhangers in Inevitability
The best cliffhangers feel like they had to happen this way. The story logic demands the break at exactly this moment.
- Why it worksInevitable cliffhangers feel organic. In The Hate U Give, Angie Thomas ends chapters when Starr reaches points of no return—moments where she must make choices that change her trajectory. The cliffhangers emerge from character arc, not arbitrary placement.
- How to do itLet escalation dictate where chapters end. In An Ember in the Ashes, Sabaa Tahir breaks chapters when characters cross thresholds they can’t uncross. The story creates the cliffhanger; the cliffhanger doesn’t force the story.
Do
Place cliffhangers where narrative momentum naturally peaks.
Avoid
Forcing cliffhangers into scenes that don’t support them.
Final Thoughts
Earned cliffhangers plant questions early, use character investment over plot tricks, balance revelation with withholding, clarify stakes before the break, vary cliffhanger types, honor promises in the following chapter, and ground tension in story inevitability.
Readers stop feeling manipulated. They lean into the suspense because the story earned their investment. The break feels natural rather than forced, and the anticipation comes from caring what happens next, not from shock tactics.
That’s when cliffhangers stop feeling cheap—and that’s when they become tools that deepen engagement rather than break immersion.
Extras
- Read about Salt & Bone
- Sign up for the newsletter to get weekly tips
- The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
- Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo
- The Fifth Season by N.K. Jemisin
- Red Rising by Pierce Brown
- Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn
- The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides
- The Martian by Andy Weir
- Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi
- A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas
- The Poppy War by R.F. Kuang
- Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins
- Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas
- The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas
- An Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir