IWSG Blog Post - Cliffhangers

The awesome co-hosts for the December 4 posting of the IWSG are Ronel, Deniz, Pat Garcia,Olga Godim, and Cathrina Constantine!

December 4 question - Do you write cliffhangers at the end of your stories? Are they a turn-off to you as a writer and/or a reader?

I don’t usually like cliffhangers, whether as a reader or as a writer. I feel betrayed, as if I were cheated out of half the story. The same goes for television and movies. If I know there will be a part two, I refuse to watch part one by itself. (Does anyone know if the new movie Wicked ends on a cliffhanger?)

For books in a series, I expect loose ends, but the story needs to reach a satisfying stopping point, even if it’s not complete. It’s a difficult tightrope to walk, but I hope I accomplished this in my series! I just published the third installment of my trilogy, and it was satisfying to tie things off. Although, now I’m considering a re-edit of book one to bring it up to the standards of two and three. I’m torn between wanting to move on and feeling embarrassed that my first book was rough around the edges. 

What does everyone else think about cliffhangers? Are they frustrating or do you like that edge-of-your-seat feeling?