: Re: Should I end my book on a major cliffhanger? I am writing a YA fantasy series, and I'm wondering if the first book should end in a major cliffhanger. Right as the book ends, the main characters

@Rambettina586

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Having a complete story I think is better than a cliffhanger. Honestly, if your book is good enough, your audience would want to continue the story without being manipulated by a "tune in next time to see how our heroes get out of this" type of ending (which let's be honest, that's usually what cliffhangers end up being). Think of the LotR: The Fellowship of the Ring movie ending. Thematically, it's a complete movie with all but the overarching goal tied up, and there's no "Tune in next time to see whether Frodo and Sam survive" ending; they just get on a boat and start towards their next destination.
I would need to know more as to the plot of your story, but, let's say, there's an overarching goal your characters need to complete. The climax of your first book is a battle or action scene (hypothetically speaking), but that scene is, in the grand scheme of things, not the battle to end the war (metaphorically speaking). Continue your story past that battle and into the falling action (the heroes recover or move on to the next battle) and end it there. Your heroes aren't endanger and there's no "tune in next time..." feeling. The story is complete but the overarching goal is not. Your audience is satisfied with the book being a one off adventure of sorts but need to know whether the overarching goal is completed in the next installment. So, they come back for next installment without the manipulation of "Tune in next time to see how our heroes get out of this".
That's how I would go about it. Hope that helps

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