Comicality

The new chapter is coming. New chapters for everything is coming. Just hang in there with me for a LITTLE bit longer, k? These stories can't just be good....they've gotta be magic. I've got a standard to uphold, after all!

Youtube decided to start censoring all gay teen short films, and wiping out all favorite lists that include anything that MIGHT make the gay youth feel okay and normal about who they are. Just out of nowhere, for no reason. Saying that it violated their 'child safety' rules and regulations. But that's bullshit! So I'll be posting ALL of the stuff that I had suddenly 'removed' from my youtube account without warning. You guys please feel free to stop me when you find a short film that you think is 'dangerous' (Their words, not mine) for gay teens. K? What's so offensive about liking and sharing the stuff that I find on Youtube? Why am *I* getting a strike on my account??? Wednesday is now "Gay Like Me" short film day. Since 'shame' is the agenda for those who don't have to live with it these days. Every week! Every Wednesday! I'll be right here with another one! FUCK those people! Seriously! These are all gay short films that I had on my account that, for some reason, they found so dangerous and offensive. Like I said...you tell me what YOU think about them, and why they needed to be erased from my account. Is *THIS* what they were so afraid of??? Maybe I'm missing something here. Enjoy! This week's Short Gay Film - "Daddy"

Benicio, Stefan Benz, and Ruel, are the top three on my list of cuties that will be huge once this global mess is over and done with!

Beautifully said! Thanks Arch Hunter! It'll make a great story someday!

https://imagine-magazine.org/ A brnd new issue is up for Imagine Magazine tonight! The March Issue is full of new stories, including a new featured Author, the return of Sean E with his new work, more from MrM, and Juju, and Jeffsfort, and ACFan...and of course, you're truly! So check it out when you get a chance! And hit that green 'Like' button to show our writers some love! K? We all work hard to bring some fun into your lives...give a little something back. K? Take care! And I'll seezya soon!

Book 10 was supposed to go up right away when I created that space, but Windows crashed my laptop and erased everything. Like...I was SO brokenhearted! You have no idea! BUT, a new Billy will return soon, along with the completed ebook number 9! K? I just wish everybody could have seen the original version of the finale....

Good point @Myr...well said. The tell and show thing is definitely something that I try to keep a decent balance with. But I am a notorious abuser of the '-ly' tactic too. Hehehe! I'll add this concept to my brain bank for later.

Adjectives... The simple act of using extra words to further describe the sights, sounds, and feels, of the picture that you're trying to paint for your audience. A single adjective can change the whole perspective of the current scene that your readers are engaged in at the moment. For example, let's say they walk into their bedroom and there's a body laying in their bed. Ok, so what does that mean? The truth is...it can mean a LOT of things. An adjective will set the tone for the entire moment that you're immersed in. Is it a 'sexy' body? Maybe it's a really hot guy, and he's been waiting for your main character to come home from work. That's going to paint a whole picture for everybody that's reading it. However...what if it's a 'dead' body? Oh my! Well, that's a whole different scenario now, isn't it? What if it's the sleeping body of a relative or a close friend? What if it's a 'strange' body that your protagonist doesn't recognize? And he's asleep while your main character tries to figure out who the hell he is. This can go an almost infinite number of ways, and the adjective is the key to opening the portal to the story that you're trying to tell. Further adjectives can add even more finesse to pictures in your head, and can entice your audience to lean in and want to investigate further. Just the right adjective at just the right time can turn a plain, informational, sentence into a work of art. So use them wisely. It matters. While writing, there will be many times when simplicity is best. But, whenever you can, try to avoid using words like 'things' and 'stuff' and 'a lot of people' and words that are functional...but extremely vague. I'm not saying that you have to stress yourselves out trying to come up with something overly poetic or witty, but try to keep from making this foggy, unclear, words a crutch to lean back on. Because when you go back and look at your work later, you might be shocked how many times you use them. Adjectives are unlimited...learn how to weave them into your narrative. Be descriptive. Let your readers see what you see, feel what you feel. It makes for a better reading experience. Now, professionally...I won't beat around the bush about this...you are going to run into some occasional backlash and criticism when it comes to adjectives in your writing. Hehehe, I don't know why, but it'll happen. So expect it. I've had writing classes where teachers don't want you to use an adjective that uses 'ly' at the end of it. (Quickly, Angrily, Happily, Shyly, Sadly) It is extremely frustrating for me to try to write like that! LOL! It can be done, sure. But it can be done the same way that I could probably walk around a shopping mall with two cinder blocks chained to my ankles. I could probably manage, but WHY? Leave me alone! Set me FREE, dammit! Hehehe! I think that adjectives of all kinds can be used effectively in your fiction, no matter what you're writing, you just have to find out how to do so without going overboard. And without having those adjectives end up being wasted or sounding empty. As with everything else that goes along with being a writer...it takes practice. Don't ever forget the discipline of practice. I can't stress that enough. It's like trying to build and maintain biceps and six pack abs with no exercise. It just doesn't work like that. So, today, I want to talk about adjectives. Some of the do's, some of the don'ts, and the difference between constructive adjectives as opposed to empty adjectives. Now...you may ask, "What is an 'empty adjective'?" To put it in layman's terms...it's an adjective that doesn't go anywhere or have anything to do with the issue at hand. It is completely disconnected from what it is that you might be trying to say. Now, I have been known to use these empty adjectives myself on occasion, simply because it feels comfortable to me while I'm writing, and I feel like it sounds good. But when I go back to do a final self edit, most of them always get cut from the finished project. They're just not needed. They come of as lame and inauthentic in the long run, and it can take points away from the overall feel and momentum of your story if you're not careful with when and where you decide to break the rules. One of the best examples that I can think of comes from a certain American politician that I won't name for the sake of keeping the peace. Hehehe! Let's call him...ummm...'Ronald'. This is the epitome of chronically using 'empty adjectives' that go absolutely nowhere and prove nothing at all. It's a conversational trick. It's a lie, wrapped in a lie, wrapped in a fake emotional attachment that doesn't exist. It is literally like nails on a chalkboard for me to try to even make sense out of it. It's like having to dig through a puddle of mud to try to find a point...and then, when you find it...it wasn't worth finding in the first place. It's maddening. Imagine if GayAuthors made a post that said, "Comicality's stories aren't really that good. But at least they get attention." And I went out of my way to post, "Well, the failing GayAuthors site doesn't know what it's talking about. And they're not doing big numbers anyway." Well...that has nothing to do with anything. It isn't an argument, it has no point, it doesn't even address the situation. It's just childish name calling, and when looking for a point...where is it? Was that my defense? If Charles Manson told me the sky was blue, and I talked about how he was an awful person for ten minutes...well, ok sure, but...is the sky blue, or isn't it? Where did you lose me? Hehehe! What were we talking about again? Adjectives are supposed to cling to the people, the objects, or the subjects that you're talking about. They're meant to add color and detail to what you're describing. Something that I've noticed more and more lately is that people will use random words because of their emotional connection to the words themselves...but that doesn't mean that they have any real 'meaning'. When used in context with the moment that you're creating for your characters, do your adjectives really connect to what you're talking about? If you wrote, "We had a very strong conversation." or "I looked in to it strongly."...well what does that mean? I know what the word 'strong' means, and I know the emotional connection to that single word...but how does that relate to what you're talking about? What is a strong conversation? Were you...wrestling with your shirts off when you said it? Were you shouting at each other? How does 'strong' and 'conversation' match up in any way? You can have two characters that are mad at one another, and they had a strongly worded conversation...sure. That makes sense. Because 'strong' is connected to the words. But you can't just toss random words out there and expect them to have any impact as an adjective. Saying something is horrible, or strong, or bad, mad, sad, rude...and you don't make them connect to an actual point or use them to demonstrate a flair for enhancing the picture you want to pain for your readers...then those are wasted adjectives. Learn how to spot them, and edit them out. Trust me, you won't miss them when they're gone. How do you connect your adjectives with focus in order to give them more than a temporary emotional bond with a floaty word that isn't anchored to anything? Think about it this way... Let's say that your protagonist is eating lunch in the food court at the mall, and a beautiful boy catches his eye from across the room. And the first thing he notices is hair. So, we're going to use 'hair' as our adjective anchor in this example. K? - He has hair. That's obvious. But we know there's something special about it, because it caught his eye. So let's enhance that picture a bit more. - He has longish hair. The word 'longish' is connected to our anchor, and now we've got a bit of a clearer picture of what our main character is staring at. - He has longish, blond, hair. Ok, a bit more description, but it's not floating away from our anchor. Both longish and blond are still connected to his 'hair'. Does he have 'strong' hair? No. That doesn't really make sense. Unless he's using it to pull a tractor trailer behind him or something. - He has longish, blond, curly, hair. - He has shiny, longish, dark blond, curly, hair. And so forth and so on. You can do that all day if you really wanted to (Don't overdo it though), but you have to make sure that you're staying focused on the very thing that you're trying to describe. That way, anyone can look at the three pics below and know exactly which boy I'm talking about in this particular scene... 000000 Don't mistake the meaning of a single random adjective with having meaning in the context of a sentence. We know what 'failing' means, and we know how that's supposed to make us feel...but what does it have to do with what you're talking about? Why even bother to add that? It's just another layer of mud that readers have to dig through to see if they missed something that made that particular description even remotely necessary. It's like saying, "My dream boy lit a 'heartbreaking' candle." Can candles be heartbroken? I know what heartbreak is, and I know the emotional response attached to the word heartbreak, but how am I supposed to connect that adjective to the candle? You can't just 'trick' people into feeling how you want them to feel by attacking their emotions with random words and hoping it'll bully them into seeing the situation a certain way. Describe and flesh out the moment. That's your job as an author. Appeal to their logic and sense of true understanding. The appropriate emotions will follow on their own once they understand the moment as a complete and detailed experience. Don't simply throw out words like sad, tragedy, and disaster, and expect your audience to automatically think, "Oh man, this is such a sad and tragic disaster..." That's not writing, that's hypnotism. Hehehe, not the same thing. And it easily breaks itself down and falls apart for anybody who is truly paying attention. Remember, adjectives aren't supposed to invoke emotion on their own. They're there to elevate the descriptions and the feelings of the scene itself. The emotion has to be earned through the writing itself, adjectives are just a writer's way of sprinkling a little bit of added sugar on top. Don't take shortcuts and try to force your readers to feel something that they have no reason to feel. Find your anchor, whatever you want to latch on to, and make sure that all of your descriptions are there to enrich that one vision...and nothing else. If you say something is big, and great, and strong, and powerful, and massive...cool. What's big, and great, and strong, and powerful, and massive? "My ice cream cone." Ok...you just lost me. Hehehe! NONE of those words are connected to an ice cream cone in any way shape or form. I know what they mean, but...what are you talking about? Thanks. You just wasted my valuable time. Sorry I asked. I hope this will help you guys learn to recognize these little missteps when you see them in your writing, or in other people's writing. In movies, in music, and anywhere else that you might want to see if the words are matching up to the meaning behind them. Or if they come off as being completely detached and wander off into some limbo that isn't connected to anything of value. Don't fake it, it will only come off as a distraction and it will give your descriptions less meaning and next to zero impact. I hope this helps with your writing moving forward. I know that we all do a lot of writing on autopilot sometimes, and it's relaxing and it's fun, but the way that you think about the words you use can help give your project a really nice shine, and your audience will appreciate that. Cool? Take care! And I hope to see you next time!

No apologies needed at all, dude! ((Hugs)) Seriously, like I said, you've been awesome about reacting and giving feedback on the series. And I'm super grateful that you took the time to do that. It's like...you read through a chapter, you reach the bottom of the page...the 'like' button is right there...click it and move on to the next chapter. It REALLY makes me happy to know that people enjoy what I do. That's all I need. No money, no praise or worship, no big banners screaming 'yay, Comsie'! Just click a button...and you can be sure that I'll stay motivated to bring you all as much joy and good feelings as I possibly can. But...some people just refuse to do that. So...shrugs...it is what it is, I guess. Anyway, you have been consistently sharing your appreciation for the chapters, and I thank you for it. I do notice. And anybody that leaves a comment on one of my stories...I make sure to click the like or love button for every last ONE of them! Over the last two years or so I've made it a priority. Because your love and support is the only fuel that I have to run on. The way I show my appreciation is by letting you know that I'm reading, and thanking you for taking the time to care. So thanks for that. I mean it. You keep me going strong.

Hehehe, he's almost TOO cute! ::Giggles:: (Dances and shakes my booty) "Awwww, shidee doo, shidee doo!" LOL! Adorable!

Not much to say! Just run over and check it out! And let me know what you think when you get a chance! ((Hugz)) Enjoy! https://gayauthors.org/story/comicality/jessie-101onlinecelebrity

"Jesse-101" Online Celebrity Chapter Thirty Four: "The Level Of Wow" I was doing my best not to fidget or look too anxious, fearing that Scotty or Artie would see me and start figuring out the devious plot that Jesse and I worked out to get them together in the same room for the first time. We didn't want to rush it. Just...sit back and watch. It was like watching a flower blossom through a time lapse camera. Don't interfere...just let it happen. You know? There was

I totally understand. I really do. Chapter 450 was pretty much finished and ready to be posted a looooong time ago, but a random Microsoft update completely destroyed my computer and erased soooooo much of my hard work and emotional input. It was DEVASTATING to me! I mean, I know that I post new chapters of stories, and people burn through it in about 20 minutes and ask for more. But I don't think they realize how many hours, days, weeks, months, I put into crafting these stories and characters and writing the dialogue and adding emotion and edit and format it all. What takes people 10 minutes to read, probably took me two or three weeks to write. I'm always happy for the feedback and the comments, and I'm honored to have people read anything that I put out. But I'll be honest...sometimes, I put my heart and soul into a new chapter, and it's like, "WOW! 500 People read this chapter! How many comments did I get? How many 'likes'?" Ten. Maybe? Oh...ok. So people just got their free entertainment and didn't say anything? K. Whatever. Sometimes, it sucks. And, like you said...you sat down and read 400+ chapters of Billy Chase in a week! And you've been leaving comments and hitting the like button too! I see that! So THANK YOU for being a true fan and supporting the effort I put in! It means sooooo much to me! Thanks for being a fan! ((Hugz)) But, obviously, hehehe....I can't write the next 400+ chapters in the next week. Like, that's just an inhuman goal to even pursue. I've got to eat, sleep, and relax, just like everybody else. But I work hard. I promise. My one defense has always been, "Show me ONE other person that puts out material as fast and as often as I do...and I'll match 'em." That being said...the final chapter of Billy Chase Book 9 will be available much sooner than you may think! So keep your eye on the site! K? Hehehe! I tend to pull off a few magic tricks here and there! Thanks for the comment! ((Hugz)) And thanks for the reactions on every chapter too! You're the best!

A brand new chapter of "Savage Moon: The New Breed" is now up and ready for you guys to read! I really hope that you like it! Check it out, and let me know what you think when you're done, K? ((Hugz)) You can also find all of the previous chapters at the stories link below! Just scroll down to "Savage Moon" on the stories list! Cool? I don't have a way to link them all together in order otherwise, but you get the idea. ENJOY! >:P https://comicality.gayauthors.org/stories.html

I didn't! Hehehe!

"Savage Moon: The New Breed 36" Even though I was WAY too terrified to take my eyes off of the attacking members of my brethren, I tried to close my eyes for a quick moment to see if I could block out all of the chaos and noise around me long enough to concentrate. I wasn't quite sure what I was supposed to be focusing on...but I started taking deep breaths and balled up both of my fists, hoping to figure it out pretty damned fast! "Wesley! Wesley, what are you doing?!?!?" Isaac

I think that DEFINITELY qualifies! LOL! Just be sure the next chapter doesn't start off in a coffee shop with a casual conversation, where one character asks, "What happened with that private jet fiasco you were trapped in?" And he's like, "What private jet?" Ho hum... Hehehe, THAT would be a kick in the gnads!

Great answer, DK! Thanks!

It'll be up tomorrow.

The next chapter will be up VERY soon! And if you want to read any one of the many many MANY spinoff stories surrounding this series, you can find it in the "GFD: Worlds" section! Cool?

Youtube decided to start censoring all gay teen short films, and wiping out all favorite lists that include anything that MIGHT make the gay youth feel okay and normal about who they are. Just out of nowhere, for no reason. Saying that it violated their 'child safety' rules and regulations. But that's bullshit! So I'll be posting ALL of the stuff that I had suddenly 'removed' from my youtube account without warning. You guys please feel free to stop me when you find a short film that you think is 'dangerous' (Their words, not mine) for gay teens. K? What's so offensive about liking and sharing the stuff that I find on Youtube? Why am *I* getting a strike on my account??? Wednesday is now "Gay Like Me" short film day. Since 'shame' is the agenda for those who don't have to live with it these days. Every week! Every Wednesday! I'll be right here with another one! FUCK those people! Seriously! These are all gay short films that I had on my account that, for some reason, they found so dangerous and offensive. Like I said...you tell me what YOU think about them, and why they needed to be erased from my account. Is *THIS* what they were so afraid of??? Maybe I'm missing something here. Enjoy! This week's Short Gay Film - "Breathe" (Now, REMEMBER...this is one of those 'dangerous/child endangerment videos that Youtube was talking about! ::Rolls Eyes::)

Wow...you guys are bringing back some very good fantasy memories from my 'tween-hood'! LOL!

You know, there's a quote that says that jealousy in a loving relationship is a lot like salt in your food. Just enough can enrich and enhance flavor, but too much can bitter the taste. I think that, when it comes to putting cliffhangers in your stories, perhaps from chapter to chapter, or maybe even from completed novel to completed novel...the same rule applies. I mean, sure, you can write cliffhangers all day long if you really wanted to...but it can get tiresome in the long run. In fact, I think they would get to be pretty frustrating and predictable if you use them too often. And that would be a serious blow to your writing in general. Now, when I say 'cliffhangers', I'm not just talking about writing a compelling chapter that will make your readers curious and highly interested in what is going to happen next. I think we should all be doing that with every chapter that we write anyway. I'm talking about a big, shocking, 'dun dun dun', moment that rocks your readers and shakes the story up in one way or another. A major event, or a secret reveal, or a big plot element that comes out of nowhere and threatens your characters' stability and the balance of the story itself. There's a difference. The best way for me to describe the difference between the two would be for me to use "The Empire Strikes Back" as an example. The way that the movie ends...there are SO many loose ends that are just left up in the air. It's actually a really dark ending for, what was mainly thought of as a kid's movie. Nothing really gets resolved, the heroes are scattered and defeated, you don't really know what happened to Han Solo, Luke Skywalker loses a hand and finds out his father is one of the most evil men in the galaxy...it's almost kind of depressing when you really think about it. Hehehe! Now that is a definitive ending to that particular chapter of the story...but it leaves so many questions open that everybody watching immediately has a huge incentive to see what happens in the next movie. I guess you could call that a 'soft cliffhanger'. Enticing, but satisfying in its delivery of a clear 'ending' and a break in the overall storyline. Now...a 'hard cliffhanger'? That would be like if Luke is fighting Darth Vader, he loses his hand, and hears, "No...I am your father!" "Nooooo!!!!" Fade to black! Roll credits! Hehehe! Had the movie ended right there, it would have been a huge WTF moment for the audience! Intriguing, yes...but...ARRRGHHHH!!! You don't even get to see the end of the fight. Just, 'I am your father', cut to the credits, 'to be continued'! Oh yeah...spoiler alert. Hehehe! Well, let's be honest...if you don't know that from Star Wars, and the prequels, and the sequels, and the animated series, and decades of pop culture, by now...chances are you really don't care at this point. LOL! But, that's the difference. On occasion, a real surprise ending can be used to spice up your story and really throw your audience into a tailspin that they were never expecting to get caught up in. And when the comments come rolling in, you can take pride in knowing that you delivered the kind of sucker punch to the gut that you were trying for! Hehehe! But don't overdo it. When used correctly (and sparingly), a really good 'zinger' of a cliffhanger can enhance your story in many ways, and actually generate a much deeper interest from your audience when it comes to the next chapter. It creates excitement, inspires a craving for more, and can actually spawn a discussion between readers outside of the story itself. But you have to know when and where a cliffhanger will be the most effective, and which one to use to carry the story forward. You can only throw so many monkey wrenches into the gears before the whole system breaks down and ceases to work the way you want it to anymore. So you don't want to let those big surprises get stale and wear out their welcome. This time around, I'd like to talk about cliffhangers. And a few do's and don'ts when it comes to keeping your readers on edge, without desensitizing them to the impact that you were hoping your cliffhangers would have. I can remember when I was in elementary/junior high school, and this was in the 80's, so marketing toys to children was...shameless to the point of being absolutely obscene. Hehehe! But I was the target audience, so what did I know back then, right? Anyway, I remember after school cartoons, and the tons of action figures and sugary breakfast cereals that were being sold to us with every commercial break. Inspector Gadget, He-Man, G.I. Joe, Transformers, Thundercats, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles...these were the cartoons that most kids would run home to see during the week after school. But out of all the cheesy, patronizing, commercials that I remember from that time...one series of advertisements sticks out to me. It was for this collection of action figures called the 'Sectaurs'! They were half-man, half-insect, warriors that were always fighting with each other for some reason. You know, the typical 'blah blah blah' good versus evil trope. Whatever, kid...just ask your parents to buy my shit! Right? But the interesting thing about the advertising campaign for these toys was that it was marketed as a serial story. A commercial would start, where the figures were involved in some sort of combat situation...something 'surprising' would happen...and then the commercial would end with a big cliffhanger that you had to come back to later in order to find out what happens next in this crucial part of the story. Now, understand, this was before TV shows had become like they are today. That wasn't necessarily a thing back then unless it was an actual daytime soap opera. Not really. It didn't matter if you watch the episodes of 'The A Team' or 'Family Ties' out of order. There were no spoilers involved if you missed an episode of 'The Smurfs' or 'Superfriends' on a Saturday morning. Every episode stood on its own, and was pretty much interchangeable with any other episode at the time. But here was a series of commercials that was building a linear story arc, developing characters, and hitting you with a cliffhanger every single episode...and all within the limited time span of thirty to thirty five seconds. You want to find out what happens next? Watch this same cartoon next week, and check out the next installment during the commercial break! At the time, I had never ever seen anything like that on TV. It was the coolest thing ever! It FORCED you to watch the commercials. Because, how else are you going to find out what happened to your heroes after the last ad? You couldn't miss a single addition to the story, or you'd be completely lost in the next one, as well as the conversations going on with your friends on the playground the next day! Hehehe, and the term 'spoiler' hadn't even been coined yet! So it was, like...a different world, I suppose. I'm so glad that I was able to find a bunch of these old ads on Youtube to demonstrate my point. This is a taste of what I'm talking about. The more I think about it, the more I realize how truly brilliant this marketing campaign was. Imagine watching cartoons as a kid, and having to wait for the next commercial break to get your REAL fix for the afternoon. Hehehe! (My apologies for the video and audio quality. But there was no HD anything back then either, so it's a miracle that anybody was able to upload these at all! Hehehe!) 0 0 Now, again...these advertisers were all attempting to tell a story, solve a problem, and create a new cliffhanger, in thirty seconds flat. That's ten seconds for each part of a three act chapter. Luckily, you guys have a lot more room to plot things out as writers. But you sort of get the idea, right? A good cliffhanger is all about questions and choices. What kind of threat does the current situation pose for your main character, and what are his or her options in terms of finding the best way out of it? This doesn't have to be a physical threat, where your protagonist is about to have his skull cracked open with a giant rock or eaten by a monstrous spider. It simply has to leave the story standing at a fork in the road, with the big decision of which path to take left over, consequences and all. Is your main character going to finally talk to his big crush for the first time? Is he going to finally speak up and come out to his parents, or his best friend? Is he going to put his key into the ignition of the car and try to drive home...even though he's been drinking heavily and knows that it's a risk to even try? When creating an effective cliffhanger, I feel that there has to be multiple outcomes available for the reader to ponder until the next chapter is available. What now? You've just been caught kissing another boy by your boyfriend! You've just challenged the school bully to a fist fight! Maybe you've had enough of the pain, and you're crying while holding a bottle of sleeping pills in your trembling hand! The question remains...what now? THAT'S where you cut the chapter off! Boom! And now, any reader who is invested in this character and this story...can't just turn away! Nooooo! Don't stop there! Where's the next chapter? I won't be able to sleep tonight if I don't know how this turns out. Cleverly placed throughout your project, these cliffhangers can create an intense escalation of events that will keep your readers locked in until the very end. Present a dire situation to your audience, maybe give a hint or two as to what choices are available to them...and then fade to black without a definitive answer. You want to know what happens next? Keep reading. Otherwise, it's just going to fester in the back of your mind until you decide to come back for the next scene. If this sounds manipulative...that's probably because it is. Extremely so. Hehehe! But one of your main tools as a writer when it comes to generating a flow and a continuous sense of momentum in your story...comes from mystery. And mystery comes from having the readers ask questions. Questions come from choices. If the main character takes Path A...what will that lead to? If he takes Path B...what would that lead to? I think the BEST cliffhangers contain elements of reward and consequence on all of the paths that can be taken, no matter which one your protagonist chooses. The main character can't win without sacrificing something important to them, and sometimes..it may seem like the main character can't win at all...but must make a choice regardless. If you can paint the picture of a serious dilemma in just the right spots of your story? Your audience will drive themselves crazy trying to figure out the next step, and they will come back, thirsty for more. Every time. However...you can't keep pulling the same rabbit out of a hat and expect it to have the same 'Wow' effect every chapter. The best thing about cliffhangers is that they're unpredictable. They pop up out of nowhere, and they raise the eyebrows of everybody reading, because they didn't see them coming. One good way to accomplish this in your story is to completely flip the tone of your chapter at the very last minute. If it's a romantic, happy, warm and fuzzy, chapter...have something shocking or maybe even tragic happen in the last few paragraphs. If it's sad, angry, or a chapter where there doesn't seem to be any hope at all of your main character getting access to the boy of his dreams...maybe he comes home and his dream boy is sitting on his front steps...wanting to talk. Instant exhilaration. I like to call this 'flipping the coin'. Immerse your readers in one emotion, and then suddenly drop them or pick them up to feel the exact opposite at the end of your chapter. And JUST as they're getting accustomed to the bait and switch...you cut them off, and you let them decide if they want to jump forward to see what happens next. The rapid emotional shift in tone, followed by that final period at the end of the last sentence in that chapter, will create the desired effect. Trust me. It's a dirty trick, but it works. Hehehe, don't judge me! I'm not being MEAN! This is what authors do! Use this technique to your advantage whenever you see fit. It won't turn you into a literary sadist, I promise. There is one thing that you DON'T want to do with a cliffhanger, however...and that's cheat your audience. You want to make good on your promise that, whether good results or bad results, the next chapter will be worth the wait and that it follows the precise set up that precedes it. The worst thing that you can do is try to somehow 'rewrite' the previous chapter to say something that it didn't say the first time around. Setting up a powerful cliffhanger takes planning. Events have to not only be set into motion ahead of time, but you need time to let those events breathe in the background for a chapter or two before you bring them back for that special 'gotchya' moment. If your main character was abandoned by his mother at birth, and you have plans for her to come knocking at his front door to introduce herself for the very first time...don't just have it happen out of the blue. You need to start setting up that moment waaaay before then, much earlier in the story, and then let it sort of fade into the background for a while so other elements in the story can take center stage for a few chapters. Then...knock knock...and BOOM! There's your cliffhanger! It has an impact far greater than just randomly having her show up for no reason. It feels fraudulent. Readers will think you just threw that in there for the sake of a gotchya moment...and you end up exposing the magic trick. Plan ahead. The worst thing you can do is finish a chapter, come up with a completely different idea further down the road, and find yourself trying to ret-con your way out of it. That's a cheat. And a big no-no. Hehehe! You have to remember that you have an audience that is truly invested in you as the narrator of this story, and they're putting their faith in you to tell the truth at all times when setting up a big cliffhanger like the ones you may have in mind. You don't want to ruin that trust if you can help it. It'll piss them off, big time. Here is a scene from one of my favorite Stephen King movies, "Misery", that depicts this idea perfectly... Sometimes, you have to remember how long it takes to write a complete story from beginning to end, and you don't want to disrupt the suspension of disbelief and take your readers out of your vision by making continuity errors like these. Your audience is reading closely. Much closer than you may think. So if you're editing things yourself or have an outside editor checking things out for you, try to catch anything that might be bordering on a cop out when it comes to cliffhangers. I think this is best avoided by not 'going back' when you start the following chapter. Don't start off by recreating the end of the last chapter and changing the details. That's walking on thin ice. If you want a cool cliffhanger, just cut the chapter off with your hero in the car, getting ready to go off of the cliff. Stop right there. And then start your next chapter by having 'Rocket Man' find a clever way to escape the car. That would be much more entertaining, in my opinion. And it will show the ingenuity of your protagonist, strengthening him as a character in the long run. Another example, don't have something big happen...and then start off the next chapter with your protagonist waking up in a cold sweat. "Oh, it was all a dream!" That weakens the impact of your cliffhanger, and your audience might not trust you the next time you toss some major drama their way. Stay away from that stuff. It's considered a cheat. And your readers won't be happy about being left in the dark for an extended amount of time, only to be fooled with some fictional sleight of hand. K? Anyway, that's my personal take on writing cliffhangers. The important points to remember are... Don't overdo it. A cliffhanger here and there is great. But too much ruins the flavor. Cliffhangers are based on suspense. And suspense is created by mystery, questions, and choices. Rewards and consequences. Readers should be asking themselves, "What now?" Pose that question, and bait them into the next chapter by promising them an answer. Don't try to change the details of the cliffhanger by going back to tell readers details that contradict or attempt to ret-con the previous chapter. You're better off cutting the chapter before the necessary ret-con takes place. Reader/Writer trust is important. Never take that for granted. I hope this helps you guys out when you consider adding any cliffhangers into your projects in the future. It's just a few things to think about, and interpret any way that you like. Take care! And I'll see ya on the next go round!

Thanks for the answer, Page Scrawler! Very enlightening!