_JustAnotherWriter_1 asks: How do I know when to stop in terms of chapters?
AND
Jily25 asks: How do you end every chapter with a cliffhanger?
These two questions are related to each other, so I'm combining them into one entry.
Chapter breaks are arbitrary, and different authors like to handle them differently. Here are a few different ways:
Alternating POV
In many books with alternating points of view (POV), each chapter represents one person's POV. So each new chapter means a change in POV. This makes it clear to to the reader what's going on, so they know to expect the change. So when someone else takes over narrating the story, it isn't confusing or jarring.
Rainbow Rowell, a well-known Young Adult Contemporary author, uses this method, and a few of her chapters are as short as one sentence. Because that's all that character had to say during his or her turn telling the story. I personally like it, but some people find it weird. To each their own.
End of a scene
One of the most common places to end a chapter is at the end of a scene. Maybe it's at the end of an argument, or when a group comes to a decision, or when the main character goes to sleep. Stories have an ebb and flow to their pacing, and it takes practice to "feel" this while you're writing. Reading a lot of other books helps you get a sense of this ebb and flow. Ending a chapter at the end of a scene is best when the pacing is slower.
Turning point
This is where chapter cliffhangers come in. When action is happening, and the pace is picking up, there are often big revelations that change the direction of a story. This is where you'll most often see chapters breaking right in the middle of a scene. Some writers may think it's jarring to end a chapter right in the middle of a scene, but this is a turning point. When the reader discovers the Big Reveal, their jaw will drop and they'll think, "That changes everything!" Everything after that story will be seen with different eyes, because they have this new knowledge, so it makes sense to start a new chapter.
Examples of Big Reveals:
1. The best friend isn't who we thought he was.
2. The main character discovers a world that he never knew existed.
3. A parent announces that the family is moving.
They don't have to be Big Reveals either. They can be little things that change the course of the main character's direction. For example:
1. The main character is astounded to learn she aced the test she thought she failed.
2. An enemy doesn't hate the main character after all.
3. A rainy day outside changes the day's plans.
Cliffhangers
Not every chapter needs to end on a cliffhanger. In fact, they shouldn't. It should be done in key places of your story where things change dramatically. This gives those chapters more punch. The key to ending on a cliffhanger is the build-up. You lead the reader down one path, and the reader thinks she knows what's going to happen next, and then POW. You drop in the Big Reveal. To read more about how to do this, read the earlier chapter I wrote about Plot Twists.
As for how to actually write the cliffhanger, my favorite method is one sentence, standing alone in its own paragraph, stating the unexpected. It's like the punchline of a joke. When telling a joke, there's the setup and the delivery. The listener knows something funny is coming, but they don't know what. The punchline is effective because it's brief, instantly changing the reader's perception. When a chapter ends on a cliffhanger, it gives the reader time to sit there and mull over what just happened. To let the new information sink in.
Some examples of one-line chapter endings (I'm just making these up. These may or may not exist in actual books):
- I was a witch.
- Jesse had turned.
- Standing on my front porch, idly picking at a hangnail, was Tom.
- She had to be the one to do it.
dream-is-reality makes a good point in the comments: Each chapter has to fulfill a goal, typically a plot point. If it doesn't, then does it really need to be there?