You need to keep your readers asking for more. You can't satisfy their needs at the end of each chapter. You need cliffhangers.
Cliffhangers are what leave the readers in suspense, asking them for more. They want to be asking "what is going to happen next?" If you leave your readers going "I want moreeeee," then you are doing it right.
The thing is, readers hate cliffhangers. They hate being left in suspense, but without them, they wouldn't be asking for more. However, this can be avoided if you end your chapters in the right manner.
Cliffhangers are where you leave your readers in suspense, if you haven't caught onto that yet. But as I said above, readers will hate you if you use too many cliffhangers. Not enough and you fail to keep your readers attached. The balance is difficult to acquire, but it can be done. The key is to not end every chapter in a SUSPENSEFUL cliffhanger.
Don't end your chapter until the setting is done. A cliffhanger is an opening to the next scene, or chapter. Sometimes it can be suspenseful. Sometimes it leaves the readers going "I can't wait for more." You CANNOT end every chapter with a BANG and leave your readers there for a week or two. They will probably hate you and stop reading your story. I've done this before, and I bet every Wattpader will experience this at some point.
Again, suspense is good, but you shouldn't throw your readers off a cliff. Satisfy them a little bit. Finish up the scene THEN throw in the cliffhanger. If your next chapter is in the same place, you just ticked off your readers for absolutely no reason. You see, the cliffhanger is what is supposed to make them go to the next chapter AND open up the next scene.
How do you write a cliffhanger though? To be completely honest, it's all up to you. Just make sure you finish up the scene. You see, the way you get your readers to read all the way through is to make your story interesting. Keep the plot exciting. Without cliffhangers, the transition between each chapter would be choppy, which is not interesting and definitely not exciting. Set up the next scene. That is the key statement of a cliffhanger: setting up the next scene.
Leaving a FEW suspenseful cliffhangers is okay. Just remember to not do it too often. Keep them interested, but don't leave them in suspense every time.
-OrangeGuy
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