Watching Late Night Films

Oh dear, we've all done it.  That film that we've quite fancied watching is on TV but quite late in the evening.  We decide to watch 5 minutes, just to see how it goes, and hours later we're still glued to the sofa, bug eyed and desperate for bed, longing for the film to end but somehow unable to stop watching.

Unless it's on Film 4 or some other commercial channel, which gives us handy cop-out sessions in the form of commercial breaks.  It's one thing to leave a film when it's in full swing, quite another to leave when the programmer has decided to break it into sections and give us ads for insurance companies in the breaks.  

Novels have breaks too, in the form of chapters.  As writers, we want to keep our readers glued to the book late into the night, so we don't want them to use the excuse of the chapter break to put the book down.  This means we have to think about the ending of each chapter very carefully.  

Does it make the reader want to read 'just the first page' of the next chapter?  Once we've got them reading the first page of the next chapter they're bound to carry onto the next, and the next.  Ways to make the reader stay with the book are by using what could be crudely called cliffhangers.  Examples of a cliffhanger could be the arrival of an unexpected character or the making of an unexpected announcement.  It could be something that is unresolved, a niggling question, or a statement that is left hanging in the air.  

It doesn't matter what it is, so long as it doesn't help the reader put the book down.  Examples of things that help you put the book down would include questions resolved without new ones being raised or characters going to sleep (this works by suggestion).  

But chapter ends are only the most visible form of break. There are usually spaces after scenes, so you really need some hook to get people reading on after a scene ends.  And readers can break away from the text mid-scene for example to check something someone said earlier, or if they're puzzled over the use of a particular word.  Any time a reader gets confused and pulls away from the story world you've created for your novel then potentially you've lost them.  

Your writing should be so smooth that before they know it, they're the ones stuck on the sofa, bug-eyed and desperate for bed, but unable to stop reading.  In effect, your aim as a writer is to induce sleep deprivation in your readership.  

On Chapter Endings

Learning to manipulate your chapter endings is vital if you want to write a page turner.  Most people read in bed and aim to read a chapter before they go to sleep. Ideally they come to the end of the chapter and it's so intriguing that they start the next one to see what happens next.  Having started the next chapter they 'have' to finish it, then at the chapter end they're about to put the book down, but think they'll just have a quick look at how the next one starts, and before they know it they're sucked into reading the whole book even though their eyelids are drooping and they feel sick with tiredness.  

Depriving ordinary people of sleep is part of your job as a writer.

How to do it?  Simple - each chapter needs to end with something that intrigues, puzzles, moves the story in a different direction, whatever.  It may be an internal revelation or an external event.  It might be a question or something someone says.  It could be almost anything, so long as it leads the reader on to the next chapter.  

Here's a scenario.  The main character, a servant girl, has been raped by a rich and powerful man.  She hasn't told anyone because of the shame and who would believe her word against his?  Then she's told by another servant that her best friend has just gone off to meet this rich and powerful man alone in his isolated house.  She realises that her best friend is in danger.  She tells the other servant what happened, and that the best friend is in danger.  Together they rush to the rich and powerful man's house.  They arrive just as the rich and powerful man is opening the front door.  They grab the best friend and all three run away.  He (along with his gang) chases them.  They out run the gang, and get back to safety.  There, the main character reveals what's happened in the past, and the three of them decide to report him.  They go to sleep, happy that the best friend is saved and that the main character will finally get justice.

Where would you put a chapter ending?

First of all, not where I've ended the scenario.  Think about how many picture books for small children end with main characters all settling down for the night.  It's not a coincidence that a surprise picture book best seller is called "Go the F*** to Sleep" as it reflects many parents desire at the end of a working day.  But I'm not talking about writing for small children.  Characters going to sleep at the end of chapters is almost asking the reader to put the book down and drop off. 

I think there are 3 possible places to put a chapter ending.  

1 - where the main character realises that her friend is in danger.  She has a decision to make - if she tells what happened to her she is shamed, and/or she may not be believed, but if she doesn't, her friend may well be attacked.  Which decision will she make?  Read on to find out...

2 - the main character has told the other servant what has happened and they both realise the danger.  They decide to try to rescue the best friend - but will they get there in time?  Read on to find out....

3 - they've rescued the best friend and are running away - but the rich and powerful man and his gang is chasing them.  If they are caught they'll all be in danger.  Will the gang catch them?  Read on to find out...

Which one is best would be up to the writer.  Basically, each alternative ends with a question (one which of course you would be writing more subtly than I have done here).  The reader must go on to the next chapter to get the answer and once they're on the next chapter you've done it.  They're hooked and, hopefully, sleep deprived.

Writing without Chapters

A chapter is a useful tool for the reader. It divides the novel up into easily manageable sections so the reader can spread out the contents over several days or weeks, perhaps a chapter before bedtime.

A chapter is a useful tool for the writer. It divides the novel up into easily manageable sections so the writer can spread the labour of writing the darn thing. It makes it easy to plan a book - say, three scenes per chapter of about 1500 -2000 words each scene, and twenty scenes - and there you are. Novel written.

Except it's not that easy. A chapter is not a useful tool for good story telling. A chapter is not a useful tool for rewriting. A chapter is not a useful tool for rearranging. Okay, I'm going to go headlong against those who like to plan out their novel before they start writing, but in my opinion a chapter is not a useful tool for writing a novel that works.

Writing by chapters inhibits creativity by arranging it into nice chunks. It's the Tick Box approach to writing, no deviations allowed. I've heard writers say that they couldn't possibly move this scene some place else, even though they can see why it's been suggested, because then the chapter would be too short. And rewriting is often out because it upsets chapter balance. And the amazing cliff-hanger which will have the readers turning the pages faster than a Zeotrope machine can't possibly go there because it is ordained that the chapter finishes six pages later on.

Sectioning the novel into chapters is about the last thing I do before it goes off to my editor. They may be between 1000-6000 words, but I'm looking for variety in length and brilliant chapter ends. As the novel gets towards the end, the chapters become shorter to help pick up the pace. Above all, the chapters go where it suits the story-telling and not the other way around.

Chapter Ends

I'll let you into a secret: I'm a bit obsessed by chapter ends. It's one of those little corners that seem to be left out of books on writing, but it's an important area for a writer to master. Think about it. Most people read late at night. They want to read a chapter before turning the light out. Your job is to get them to read another chapter, and another. And another, all the way until The End.

Watch soaps for masterclasses in how to get people tuning in the next day. There's always a sudden revelation, a question that must be answered or a dramatic situation to be resolved. When writing we might choose to be more subtle about it, but essentially the trick is the same. Make the reader read 'just a little bit' of the next chapter, and you've got them hooked.

Some writers do this naturally. JK Rowling is a good example, as I discovered when I read the first Harry Potter books aloud to my children. The chapters are long and it's hard to find a natural point at which to stop. Unless you want to read for an hour you end up breaking in the middle of paragraphs. Small wonder she gets kids reading; the books are compulsive page turners because there are no places to stop.

The worst thing is to end the chapter with them all going to bed and zzzzz-ing away - you might as well write 'put this book down now'. The exception is when you're writing a picture book, when parents are reading hoping their children will drop off at the end of it. So, if you want to write a page turner, pay attention to your chapter ends. Keep them reading.

My next event will be speaking at Corsham Library, Wiltshire with fellow New Romantics Lucy Diamond and Veronica Henry 3rd June at 7.30pm. Come and join us!

Writing without Chapters

A chapter is a useful tool for the reader. It divides the novel up into easily manageable sections so the reader can spread out the contents over several days or weeks, perhaps a chapter before bedtime.

A chapter is a useful tool for the writer. It divides the novel up into easily manageable sections so the writer can spread the labour of writing the darn thing. It makes it easy to plan a book - say, three scenes per chapter of about 1500 -2000 words each scene, and twenty scenes - and there you are. Novel written.

Except it's not that easy. A chapter is not a useful tool for good story telling. A chapter is not a useful tool for rewriting. A chapter is not a useful tool for rearranging. Okay, I'm going to go headlong against those who like to plan out their novel before they start writing, but in my opinion a chapter is not a useful tool for writing a novel that works.

Writing by chapters inhibits creativity by arranging it into nice chunks. It's the Tick Box approach to writing, no deviations allowed. I've heard writers say that they couldn't possibly move this scene some place else, even though they can see why it's been suggested, because then the chapter would be too short. And rewriting is often out because it upsets chapter balance. And the amazing cliff-hanger which will have the readers turning the pages faster than a Zeotrope machine can't possibly go there because it is ordained that the chapter finishes six pages later on.

Sectioning the novel into chapters is about the last thing I do before it goes off to my editor. They may be between 1000-6000 words, but I'm looking for variety in length and brilliant chapter ends. As the novel gets towards the end, the chapters become shorter to help pick up the pace. Above all, the chapters go where it suits the story-telling and not the other way around.

Chapter Ends

I'll let you into a secret: I'm a bit obsessed by chapter ends. It's one of those little corners that seem to be left out of books on writing, but it's an important area for a writer to master. Think about it. Most people read late at night. They want to read a chapter before turning the light out. Your job is to get them to read another chapter, and another. And another, all the way until The End.

Watch soaps for masterclasses in how to get people tuning in the next day. There's always a sudden revelation, a question that must be answered or a dramatic situation to be resolved. When writing we might choose to be more subtle about it, but essentially the trick is the same. Make the reader read 'just a little bit' of the next chapter, and you've got them hooked.

Some writers do this naturally. JK Rowling is a good example, as I discovered when I read the first Harry Potter books aloud to my children. The chapters are long and it's hard to find a natural point at which to stop. Unless you want to read for an hour you end up breaking in the middle of paragraphs. Small wonder she gets kids reading; the books are compulsive page turners because there are no places to stop.

The worst thing is to end the chapter with them all going to bed and zzzzz-ing away - you might as well write 'put this book down now'. The exception is when you're writing a picture book, when parents are reading hoping their children will drop off at the end of it. So, if you want to write a page turner, pay attention to your chapter ends. Keep them reading.