Tiffany Snow: All about the cliffie, love it or hate it

Tiffany Snow, author of In His Shadow (out today!), explores the payoffs of cliffhangers done right (and irritations of cliffies not done right).

Tiffany:Who shot J.R.?

If that question sparked a memory of Dallas and an endless summer of speculation, then you're already familiar with one of the most well-known cliffhangers of all time. A brilliant idea to keep viewers tuning in for more. But what about in books? In a form of entertainment where the next installment might be a year or more away, can an author get away with a book-ending cliffie without angering her readers? Absolutely. Should she? Well, that depends.

First, let's differentiate between an actual cliffhanger and just an ongoing series with unresolved issues/plotlines/story arcs at the conclusion of a book. The latter is what makes a series a series. According to tvtropes.org, an actual cliffhanger "ends an Act, Break, episode, or even a whole season (or a film or novel in a series) with some or all of the main characters in peril of some kind and the audience is made to wait for the outcome. A Cliffhanger can also be centered around surprising revelations; either one just made, or one being saved for the resolution" of the cliffhanger.

Karen Marie Moning famously did it with her Fever series. Each book ended with a cliffhanger that was progressively worse (for the heroine) with each book. However, the genre and point of view allowed for it. Readers of urban fantasy and paranormal are looking for a different story than a contemporary romance reader. They expect an ongoing series to be a long, complex story and aren't surprised by a cliffhanger ending that has them chomping at the bit for the next book. On the other hand, a contemporary romance or romantic suspense reader won't take as kindly to a cliffhanger in an ongoing series.

However, no rules are set in stone, and I've written cliffhangers at the end of a novel. Readers who are invested in a series of books, regardless of genre, will accept a cliffie, and, a particularly good place to use one is immediately prior to the last book in a series. In my Kathleen Turner Series, I used that to good effect in the second-to-last book with the time-honored Beloved Major Character Shot kind of way. With the added drama of the love triangle in the series, readers wondered if this would be a resolution to the triangle, i.e., a character death.

A writer who has taken the cliffie to a new level in the romance genre is H.M. Ward in her serialized The Arrangement series. Novella-length stories, each ending with a cliffhanger and with the next installment publishing relatively quickly, had readers eager for more. While many avid readers were on-board with that format, there will always be some backlash from readers who just do not like cliffhangers in their romance novels. But, if done right and done well — with the next installment sooner rather than later — Ms. Ward's shown it can be done to great effect.

The payoff for the reader has to be enough to justify the anxiety a cliffhanger produces. Romance readers are expecting a happy ending with everything tied up in a neat bow. If a book ends with a cliffhanger instead, then the resolution (when it comes) should be worthy of their emotional investments. The worst cliffhanger payoff in history takes us back again to Dallas with its Bobby Returns cliffhanger, ending a season with Pam walking in on a supposedly deceased Bobby alive and well in the shower. Speculation ran rampant all summer long, and for those of you who remember, no doubt you're already groaning at the "it was all a dream" resolution — a perfect example of how to tick off your audience by not only giving them an inadequate payoff, but also discounting their previous investment of time and emotion.

Using cliffhangers wisely and with care can inject added drama and excitement into a series, and they don't have to come at the end of a book. It's rare that I won't end a chapter with a small cliffhanger because, after all, I want my readers to keep turning the pages late into the night because they "have to find out what happens." Like a figurative roller coaster, mini-cliffhangers throughout a book can give readers repeated emotional highs of anxiety followed by payoffs that make them glad they picked up that novel.

The cliffhanger that I personally think should be avoided 99% of the time is the Ambiguous Ending cliffhanger. Gone With the Wind comes to mind, as does the film Inception. Readers want to know what happens to the characters they've become invested in, so an open ending that leaves ambiguity as to the burning question throughout the book ("Will Scarlett and Rhett get together for their HEA?") may leave readers with a sour taste.

What about you? What do you think about cliffhangers? Love them? Hate them? Have a favorite? Tell me in the comments.

Here's the blurb about In His Shadow (courtesy of Montlake Romance):

Ivy Mason is hiding—from her past, from herself, and from anyone who could love her. The only kind of love she's ever known hurts, leaving scars on her body and soul. Now, her world may be boring and predictable, but that's exactly what she wants. Until Devon Clay walks into her life.

A lonely man in a deadly profession, Devon works as an agent for an underground British agency known only as the Shadow. Nothing about him is safe or ordinary. The danger that consumes his life turns into an addiction Ivy can't resist ... even if it proves fatal.

As Ivy's past begins to catch up with her, she wonders if love really is the twisted thing she's always thought it was. Maybe it could be more with this man, who's shown her that she doesn't need to protect herself from everyone. Is what she feels for Devon worth the risk? He may save her heart or break it, if she manages to stay alive.

Find out more about Tiffany and her books at www.tiffanyasnow.com.