Cliff hangers keep your readers reading by building up the story’s tension. They literally leave your reader hanging.

Cliff hangers should always involve your characters:

• A character arrives
• A character feels something
• A character forgets something
• A character is jolted into action
• A character leaves
• A character makes an important decision
• A character makes an urgent demand
• A character reacts badly
• A character reacts internally to events
• A character remembers something

Your reader has to turn to the next chapter to find out what happens to resolve the tense situation you have created.