Follow-Up Question questions

New-ish author here and very new to the forums so if this is out of place

I wanted to ask for some advice. I'm plugging along with my chapters and every time without fail I get to the follow up question and I just trip and fall at the hurdle. There's only one I would say I really nailed and that's because it's a take on There's Something About Mary ,and I've never even seen the movie. Every follow up after that feels like I kinda missed the mark or just settled for something that just gets the reader to the next chapter. Any suggestions

 

As a writer, I never bother with a follow-up question as a writer*. Why? because as a reader, I never even register it.

Because the question is not what's interesting. It never is. The answer is. They can hint at things to come, teasing or joking, tickling readers' curiosity. And as an added bonus, they are listed on the story map, providing another entry point into your story.

You can use the question as a kind of setup, nothing wrong with that. But the pay-off should be in the answer.



* With one exception: to write 'the end'.

 

I guess the one concern I have is less with the typical reader and more potential contributors. I'd want to frame as many of the follow-up questions as I could in such a way that they can easily branch off from that point if they're struck by an inspiration. Of course, the follow-up question is only one component of that. The more important decision is where I'm choosing to break up my chapters in the first place.

 

I have realised I've not used a follow up question at the end of any chapter. To a certain extent I may have missed that it was an actual editable field. I may start to utilise it