Cliffhangers — Hanging On To Every Word
An Ode to Scheherazade
Do you want your stories to go viral?
Then learn to write like Scheherazade (master storyteller and heroine of the Arabian Nights), creating compelling “cliffhangers” that will have readers hanging on every word and begging for more! Normally cliffhangers are at the end of the story, but I think having a brilliant opening hook also counts.
Anyway, “cliffhangers” are the literary devices I am exploring for the #ABCBookReviewChallenge, where I happily work on Holly Jahangiri writing challenge for each letter of the alphabet.
Druids and Time Travel
The book I chose for “cliffhangers” technique is the book “Kiss of the Highlanders” by Karen Marie Moning. The book ends with a letter to the hero from his father with these ominous words.
“Dageus has disappeared. Dageus has gone DARK.
Find him.
Save him.
And if you cannot save him, then KILL him.”
Whaaaattttt?
The words themselves leave you frothing at the moment to learn more. Plus, Dageus is the hero’s twin brother! And they are both DRUIDS, capable of performing magic! To add suspense further, this book is supposed to be a Highland romance!
Talk about building anticipation!
All the books in this particular series work this way. If you pick one book, you want to read the whole series! The stories are standalone yet intertwined in a marvelous way that keeps you at the edge of your seats.
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Another writer with captivating storyteller skills is Niru — check out the way she describes a creative technique in this post below. She builds up buzz even as she creates a story, leaving it unfinished just so readers keep coming back to see if she completed it! Just like Scheherazade herself! :)
Do you know of any other writers who use the cliffhanger technique with superb effect? Share in the comments below.