Hi! You Can Call Me Calliope. I Love Reading, Writing, And Procrastinating On Both Of The Above. I Post

Okay so a production of Hamlet that ends with “Goodnight, sweet prince,” etc. and then Horatio looks up and sees the audience for the first time and is both shocked and furious, because his world is falling apart and you sat there and watched.

Death of the author: Treating the author’s stated interpretation of their own work as merely one opinion among many, rather than the authoritative Word of God.

Disappearance of the author: Treating the context and circumstances of the work’s authorship as entirely irrelevant with respect to its interpretation, as though the work had popped into existence fully formed just moments ago.

Taxidermy of the author: Working backwards from a particular interpretation of the work to draw conclusions about what the context and circumstances of its authorship must have been.

Undeath of the author: Holding the author personally responsible for every possible reading of their work, even ones they could not reasonably have anticipated at the time of its authorship.

Frankenstein’s Monster of the author: Drawing conclusions about authorial intent based on elements that are present only in subsequent adaptations by other authors.

Weekend at Bernie’s of the author: Insisting that the author would personally endorse your interpretation of the work if they happened to be present.

all i want for christmas is for my wip to write itself

checking in with my wips to see if they’ve written themselves

"Oh. Oh," moments can be great.

"Oh shit," moments are even better.

But the long-suffering sigh of acceptance that comes with, "Oh. Right. Yeah. Of course." Like, come on, what could I have been thinking? There's no other way this could have gone.

i want you carnally *shoves a knife into your abdomen*

grabbing new writers by the shoulders. it is important to write what you love and to love what you write. if you spend all your time trying to make something other people will approve of you will hate yourself and everything around you. learn at your own pace. you have time. i’m proud of you

Did you use a pic crew for your pfp? If so, could you put the credits in your bio? /nm

yeah ofc! I had to do some internet hunting bc i couldn't remember what the picrew was but it's there now 👍

Writing Cliffhangers

Intro

Credit: https://getproofed.com/writing-tips/5-tips-on-writing-a-cliffhanger-ending-for-your-novel/

Ah, cliffhangers. Writers love them, readers have a love-hate relationship with them. I don’t have any statistics for this, but I would say that generally, all book series have at least one cliffhanger ending. Cliffhangers convince readers to continue a series, often leaving off at a critical point where the characters and world are in peril. However, cliffhanger endings can also come off as gimmicky, or as a cheap marketing ploy to get you to buy the next installment in a series. So how can you write a cliffhanger ending correctly, have it make sense, and have it belong? Here are some tips!

1. To cliffhanger or not to cliffhanger

Not every tale has to end on a moment of tension, so a cliffhanger ending isn’t always right for your story. Ask yourself:

What do other books in your genre do? Are cliffhanger endings common?

How else could I end the story? Would it feel more natural to do so?

What would a cliffhanger ending leave unresolved?

If you’re using a cliffhanger as a gimmick, you risk annoying your readers. And you should never end on a cliffhanger just because you don’t know how else to end your story! Only do it if it fits with the story you’re telling.

2. Type of cliffhanger

A cliffhanger ending can take many forms. Common types include:

Leaving the story in a perilous situation

Creating ambiguity about what happens next

A character revelation that contradicts something we thought we knew

A thought-to-be resolved situation turns out to be unresolved still

All these will create a situation where the reader wants to know more, but make sure to pick an ending that will work with the rest of your story!

3. Your story must be complete

Even if you end on a cliffhanger, your story still needs to feel finished. Simply stopping before the grand finale where the hero confronts the villain won’t work: it will feel incomplete, like you’re just teasing the reader.

Instead, focus on resolving the main conflict (i.e., the thing that has driven the narrative forward) in your story first. After that, you can introduce the cliffhanger ending to set up the next story or create a sense of ambiguity.

4. Set up your cliffhanger ending

While a cliffhanger ending may involve a twist, it shouldn’t come completely out of the blue. Rather, you should plant the seeds throughout your story. For instance, if your story ends on the protagonist discovering a shocking piece of information, you’ll want to leave clues for the reader earlier on.

This might be a passing comment made by a minor character, or a warning that the protagonist ignored to continue their quest. But it should be something seemingly innocuous that takes on a new meaning when its significance is finally revealed, leading to your cliffhanger ending.

5. Hint at the future

Finally, if you’re planning a sequel to your novel, give some hints about where the story might go next. For example, your story might end with the protagonist victorious, only to discover the antagonist was just an agent of an international spy ring. You could end there, with your lead character shocked at their discovery, leaving the rest ambiguous.

But you could also hint at what might come next. Maybe the protagonist swears revenge. Maybe they realize they need to go on the run. Or maybe they discover a conspiracy and set out to reveal it to the world.

You won’t want to overdo this--nobody likes a massive, suspense-destroying infodump at the end of a story. But hinting at the future is a great way to engage the reader’s imagination and set up the next installment of your story!