 Hello, hello, writers. I'm Christine Kiefer, author of fantasy fiction and creative writing resources And you are listening to the well-sturried podcast where I share insights, encouragement, and actionable advice designed to help you craft sensational novels and build your best writing life Always in 30 minutes or less so you can get back to writing of course. Ready for the show? Let's get talking Hello writers and welcome back to another episode of the well-sturried podcast Today is Friday, February 14th. Happy Valentine's Day, and I am your host, Christine Kiefer Today we are going to discuss how to craft page-turning chapter endings This piece is actually one of the shortest that I have published on the well-sturied blog in quite a while But though she is small, she is mighty. I'm quite proud of this piece, and I think you are going to find it insightful When it comes to the topic of what makes a story a page-turner I think this article and episode are going to take a different direction than you might expect We are going to dig deep into the definition of a scene and how having a strong understanding of scenes and how to craft them can truly help make your stories irresistible So without any further ado, if you would like to read along as you listen in simply head on over to well-sturied.com slash page-turner How to craft page-turning chapter endings As writers one of our core missions is to craft stories in which our readers can invest Stories so captivating that readers fly through the pages The most opportune time for readers to set a book aside comes when they finish a chapter In that space between one page and the next, readers ask themselves just how much they care about the fate of the characters Do they need to know what happens next? If their gut says no, they'll likely set the book aside And there's a decent chance they might not pick it up again To pen a deliciously addictive book It's therefore essential to consider the page-turning power of your chapter endings Where a dull closing page will deter readers a few intriguing lines can hook them in for yet another scene But how exactly do you go about instilling readers with the need to know what happens next? The problem with cliffhangers Many writers turn to cliffhangers that is endings that leave readers in suspense to keep their readers turning pages Suspense after all is a valuable storytelling tool So long as readers care about the fates of the characters involved the high stakes uncertainty of suspense demands resolution As such, there's nothing wrong with utilizing a few well-placed cliffhangers throughout your book However, trouble arises when writers rely solely upon cliffhangers to create page-turning interest Cliffhangers, you see, are born out of conflict and constant conflict in storytelling is exhausting Well-paced stories need scenes in which characters address the consequences of recent events Celebrate their victories, regroup, resolve differences, make plans of action, and so on When you don't give your characters and by extension your readers an Opportunity to breathe between conflicts you end up with a story that feels contrived That relies upon flash-and-bang action in a desperate attempt to entertain readers Rather than a masterful story in which conflict arises naturally out of the characters choices and experiences Readers know when they're being baited and they don't take kindly to such contrived attempts to hook their interest If you want to craft a truly irresistible story, it's time to move beyond the cliffhanger The power in posing subtle questions To better understand how to craft page-turning chapter endings, we must take one step back and talk about scenes Every chapter contains at least one scene after all and it's the end of a scene that will also serve as the end of a chapter Therefore, it's vital that you understand what a scene is Or rather, what it isn't A scene is not merely an event for a brief moment in time It's an incident It's happenings result in consequences that are yet to be determined Therefore, every good scene contains a turning point By the end of a scene Something has changed Whether internally, externally, or interpersonally, your characters are no longer in the same place they were when the scene began This shift can be monumental or it can be subtle, but what it cannot be is trivial Every scene must serve a purpose within the larger context of your story If you can remove a scene without affecting readers' understanding of your story's arc That is the sequence of events that comprises its plot Then that scene isn't a scene at all It's an inconsequential snippet Because scenes contain turning points, they introduce or highlight tension that re-orients your characters toward the next conflict in their journey A cliffhanger certainly achieves this goal But it does so with all the grace of a man hanging from a precipice screaming Do you want to know whether I'll live or die? Experienced writers, on the other hand, understand the power of subtlety They know that a simple revelation can introduce just as much tension as the sudden appearance of a gun Both instances raise the question of what will happen next But subtle turning points do so without dragging contrived conflict into the mix Such subtlety can manifest as unfulfilled desire The unpaid cost of a moment's peace or the possibility in a raised brow It can be found in the beginning of a rift between friends or an unexpected understanding between enemies It can even appear as the chill finger of unexplained fear or the sudden grip of guilt As a lie or as the words one never meant to speak Subtlety is quiet and often unassuming But never mistake it for inconsequential If you've taken care to craft characters whose journeys readers can invest in Then readers will want to know the answers to the questions that tension poses No matter how modest Trust in your reader's capacity to care And in your ability to encourage them to do so Then pen your scenes with the page turning power of turning points in mind When you do you can't fail to craft a story that will see readers flying through the pages to discover what happens next Thank you for listening to today's episode of the podcast writer I hope you found it helpful to your writing journey If so, make sure to subscribe to the podcast so you never miss a new episode And to give the podcast a quick rating and review Doing so goes a long way toward helping the podcast reach new writers And lets me know that you're enjoying what i'm creating You can also give me a shout out directly on twitter at christen underscore keeper For additional guidance as you work to craft sensational novels and build your best writing life Be sure to head on over to www.well-storied.com Where I share blog posts, workbooks, e-courses and other helpful resources for writers Again, that's w-e-l-l-s-t-o-r-i-e-d.com Thank you again for tuning in to today's episode my friend Until next time, happy writing