Writer's Fallout Shelter

A good thing to try is leaving the reader wanting more at the end of a chapter. First chapters are there to explain and build up the story, keeping the reader's attention and holding it enough to make them want to read more. This is done by presenting the character(s), setting up the scene, and describing a problem. If the language of the chapter is good enough and able to understand, the pace is not dragging or at a breakneck speed, and the situation is interesting enough, you'll have already hooked the reader.

A simple way to figure out chapters is to figure out subplots. When one is finished, move on to the other. Or intermingle them within the chapters and slowly finish each one as the story progresses. Sometimes a chapter can end when a subplot is finished, other times it can end when the characters are right in the middle of something. If you leave the chapter with a cliff-hanger, the reader will be more likely to turn the page to find out what happens. And sometimes the day, night, action, or descriptions just wear down and the chapter needs to be finished.

Writing chapters is something that the writer should feel as they go along. It takes practice to get it just right. You can study books (leisure ones) and see how famous authors accomplish this task. Then when you start writing your chapter, you'll have a good feel for it and know when it should end.

I never had a problem with chapter endings. I always did the cliff-hanger method or the winding down method. It was chapter beginnings, especially at the very beginning of the story, that I had problems with. A convenient thing with cliff-hanger endings is that they're easy to pick up with the next chapter. However, if you use this method too much, the reader will get irritated with you. While they'll continue reading, they might lower their opinion of you as a writer, even if they liked your story...

Hope that helps...