"Book fests
The DIY Book Festival (www.diyconvention.com) The New York Book Festival (www.newyorkbookfestival.com) The Beach Book Festival (www.beachbookfestival.com) The Hollywood Book Festival (www.hollywoodbookfestival.com) The Great Midwest Book…"
Hooking Your Reader in One Breath
"I write this sitting in the kitchen sink."
(Dodie Smith in I Capture the Castle)
You know it when you read one.
"It was a pleasure to burn."
(Ray Bradbury in Fahrenheit 451)
Your eyelids raise.
Your mind brightens.
Your lips form "Wow."
You get giddy.
"In the beginning, sometimes I left messages in the street."
(David Markson in Wittgenstein's Mistress)
You're hooked.
"Lolita, light of my life, fire of my loins."
(Vladimir Nabokov in Lolita)
And it all happened within a breath of a few words.
How do you write an opening that hooks the reader
and nails her to her seat?
We're about to find out!
At the end of this month, I will be hosting the Hooked on Hooks event, where writers can link up on my blog with their own hooks for their Works-In-Progress, so we can comment and critique the hooks. In perspiration preparation for this event, made possible through Rach Writes Third Platform-Building Campaign, I decided to try and stitch together the key points of a great hook based on what I've learned from some amazing authors.
Writing a Great Hook
Ann Whitford Paul
Author of Writing Picture Books
Dive Into Your Story with the 6 W's:
Who is the main character
What is the problem, goal, or conflict
When does the story occur
Where is it taking place
What is the tone of the story
WOW! the reader with the opening line
8 Ways to Create a WOW! with the First Line:
Time
Mood
Setting
Opinion
Provocative Statement
Middle of the Action
Conflict
Scrapbook (letter, journal entry, newspaper article)
Les Edgerton
Author of Hooked
(This entire book is about the opening of your WIP,
so I'll only pick out some key points)
First Line Successes:
Give the reader an unexpected response to an event
Give the reader a character who is "cut out of different cloth than Everyman"
Give the reader trouble (either past, present, or future)
Give the reader pleasure, then "drop the forbidden apple into your Garden of Eden"
Give the reader a reason to read the second sentence; provoke the reader's curiosity
Openings to Avoid:
A dream
An alarm clock buzzing
Too little dialogue
Opening with dialogue
James Scott Bell
Author of Plot & Structure
Grab the Reader:
Action
Raw Emotion
Look-Back Hook
Attitude
Prologues
Bond the Reader and Character:
Identify with being a real human being
Sympathy (from jeopardy, hardship, underdog, vulnerability)
Likability
Inner conflict
These authors provide much more detail on the topic of writing hooks,
but the best way to learn is to read and write.
That's what the Hooked on Hooks event is all about!
We're going to write, write, write,
then share and read and comment.
So please come back on Friday September 30th!
Have you written a post about hooks on your blog?
Please leave the URL to that post in my comments!
Helen is in the short story campaign with me,
Three unique and resourceful posts by Helen that all of us will learn from,
so thank you Helen!
If you'd like some examples of great first line sentences, please use the following links:
Keep working on your hooks, writers!
And come back on Friday September 30th to link your "hook" post to my linky Hooked on Hooks!
Comment
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Comment by Kimberly Zook on September 1, 2011 at 3:10pm -
Thanks Bridget! I'll be sure to send you a reminder. I look forward to reading your hook!
-
Comment by Bridget Straub on September 1, 2011 at 12:18pm -
I'll be there asuming of course I don't forget, hmmm, a reminder later in the month perhaps?
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Lone Morch commented on the group 'SWP Authors!'"Mary .... Yes, good point re putting in next printing!! :)
With the shift in distribution, has there been talks about change in costs ?
Good Judith! Go for it. :)"
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