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Mystery: March 26, 2014 Issue [#6225]

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Mystery


 This week: Hanging over the edge
  Edited by: Arakun the twisted raccoon Author IconMail Icon
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Table of Contents

1. About this Newsletter
2. A Word from our Sponsor
3. Letter from the Editor
4. Editor's Picks
5. A Word from Writing.Com
6. Ask & Answer
7. Removal instructions

About This Newsletter

Quote for the week:
No object is mysterious. The mystery is your eye.

~Elizabeth Bowen



Word from our sponsor

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Letter from the editor

Serialized westerns of the 1930s came to be called "cliffhangers" because episodes often ended with the main character in a dangerous situation, such as dangling off the edge of a cliff. "Tune in again tomorrow," a dramatic voice would say, "to find out whether Mary Sue falls to her death."

The term cliffhanger is still used to describe a suspenseful situation occurring at the end of a chapter, scene, or episode. While the cliffhangers in those early serials were often melodramatic and cheesy, they can be a great way to keep a reader's interest if used carefully. Authors such as Dan Brown and Dean Koontz are masters of the cliffhanger at the end of a chapter. Their stories have kept me up all night turning "just one more page" more than once.

Here are some guidelines for using cliffhangers wisely:

Create likeable, interesting characters. If the readers don't like your characters, they won't care enough to keep reading, no matter how dire the situation.

Make sure it makes sense. Don't create an unrealistic situation or make your characters do something stupid just to set up a cliffhanger. It should be a logical development in the story.

Every chapter or scene doesn't need a cliffhanger ending. While every chapter should have some kind of hook to keep the reader's interest, save the real cliffhangers for the most suspenseful, important developments.

Give your readers something worth waiting for. When you use a cliffhanger to create suspense for your readers, don't disappoint them with an anticlimactic event. For example, if a character says, "I know who the killer is," at the end of a chapter, he should not say, "Just kidding," at the beginning of the next.

If you end a story with a cliffhanger, give the reader some closure. Be careful of ending a story with a cliffhanger, unless you also create some resolution. Your characters might solve the current mystery, but hint that the story isn't completely over. Maybe the answers your characters have found create more questions that can be the subject of a sequel.

Something to try: Write a mystery story using cliffhanger endings.


Editor's Picks

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Minkah's First Case Open in new Window. (13+)
A Mystery Tale set in Ancient Egypt.
#808822 by FÐ Spread the Christmas Joys Author IconMail Icon


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This item number is not valid.
#1880714 by Not Available.


 
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Floods and Flurries Open in new Window. (13+)
A discovery of bones prompts his love to tell her secret.
#1965865 by K Renée Author IconMail Icon


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The Case of Matthew Stone Open in new Window. (13+)
A puzzling case for a quirky detective.
#1464312 by Lornda~Thoughts with Bikerider Author IconMail Icon


The Diaries of Lisa Lansing Open in new Window. (18+)
"I'll Always Be Your Friend" & "Yellow Bandana" in one book. Warning: cliffhanger ending.
#1290888 by L. A. Powell Author IconMail Icon


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Twisted Tales Contest Open in new Window. (13+)
A monthly contest for stories with a twist. Get 500 GPs for entering! Dec round open!
#1269187 by Arakun the twisted raccoon Author IconMail Icon

 
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Word from Writing.Com

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Ask & Answer

Question for next time: Do you like to have everything explained at the end of a story, or leave some questions unanswered?

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