Use Big Bang-Cliff Hangs to Create Page-Turners
Identifying which of the two broad storytelling structures best suits your story, linear or nonlinear, is a key to storytelling success, but it’s not the only structural decision authors need to make. In addition to choosing the best overall structure for your story, you also need to consider structure at the chapter level.
Every chapter offers a new opportunity to hook your readers’ interest. The most effective way to do this is to start with a Big Bang, something that immediately inspires reader curiosity. The incidents that follow the Big Bang should satisfy that curiosity and seamlessly lead to a Cliff Hang, an ending that inspires more curiosity. This Big Bang-Cliff Hang structure keeps your readers turning pages.
To work, Big Bangs and Cliff Hangs must be noncontrived, noncoincidental, and utterly unexpected. This one key element—surprise—represents the essence of suspenseful storytelling. As you develop the Big Bangs and Cliff Hangs for your stories, it’s important to note that not all Big Bangs or Cliff Hangs have to be loud or shoot-’em-up spectacles. The guiding metric should be whether the Big
