From cliffhanger to cliffhanger

I've been re-writing Auroradawn again this week.  Originally the two viewpoints were in the same chapter, separated by section breaks.  In my re-write I'm keeping each chapter to one viewpoint.  That means I can deepen the character of Baak, and I've had to develop his story considerably to fill those chapters.

But what it's also meant is that I have more scope to play with cliffhangers.  Having two viewpoint characters means a situation can be seen from two angles, and the choice of where to switch between them can give me many cliffhangers. 

I can also end chapters on "mini cliffhangers", leaving the narrative where the character is worried about something, or is misunderstanding the situation.  I call these "false cliffhangers", and they tend to take the form of a character thinking that a person or situation is dangerous.  Then in the next chapter that situation is resolved, and the reader finds out that it wasn't dangerous - at least, in the way they thought.

In the chapters I was re-writing this week I had Arrien trapped in a rockfall when the antagonist collapses a cave on top of her.  In the past I would write too far beyond the cliffhanger and dissipate the tension of the scene.  Now I've learned to leave the narrative at the point where the blocks of rock are falling down on her.  And the nice thing about having two viewpoints is that I can then switch viewpoint and leave the reader not knowing what's happened to Arruen.

This switch also provides tension for Baak's viewpoint, as he's arrived at the cave as the rockfall is happening.  He knows his sister is trapped inside the cave, but he doesn't know whether she's alive or dead,  in this way the same cliffhanger can be stretched out over two chapters to keep the tension of the narrative up.  

These days I've learned to think strategically, and to write from cliffhanger to cliffhanger.