Had a debate with my sister about whether cliffhangers are lazy writing or genius hooks

She said they're just a trick to make you buy the next book, but I argued they keep the story alive in your head between reads. Which side do you land on when your book club picks a book that ends with a big reveal?

2 comments

2 Comments

jessicamiller14d ago

@quinn_nguyen you basically just described why I will die on the "good cliffhangers are genius" hill. A bad one is just the author being like "okay bye" in the middle of a sentence, which is basically literary blueballing. But a solid cliffhanger? That's the difference between forgetting a book on your nightstand and still thinking about it while you're brushing your teeth three days later. Your book club experience proves it too - a lazy ending just makes people mad, but a well-placed hook makes everyone a detective for a week.

quinn_nguyen14d ago

Oh man, my book club picked this thriller last year that ended on a HUGE cliffhanger - the main character was about to open a door and it just cut off. I was SO mad at first, but then I couldn't stop thinking about what was behind that door for a whole week until our meeting. We actually had a better discussion than usual because everyone had their own theories about what happened next. So I guess I land with your side - a good cliffhanger keeps the story alive in your head, but a BAD one feels like the author just got lazy and didn't want to finish the scene.