HOOKING YOUR READER
G'day folks,
Hooking
your reader can be extremely hard to do, so it’s good to keep a few things
in mind as you’re writing. I've often mentioned this to my students, but here are three tips from the 'Magic Violinist'.
1. Have a fantastic first line
This is
the hook that needs to grab your reader right away. With the right first line,
you’ll have them interested as soon as they get to the end of the sentence.
Write Practice contributor, Kellie McGann, posted an article about writing a great first
line.
A lot of
the time these hooks are crisp, clean, and intriguing, but not necessarily. You
can have a longer starting line, too, one full of mystery that makes me think,
“What happens next?” It all depends on your style. Here are a few of my
favorites.
My mother
thinks I’m dead. – Legend by Marie Lue
Blue
Sargent had forgotten how many times she’d been told that she would kill her
true love. – The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater
So we
drank it—the two of us. – Glory O’Brien’s History of the Future by A.S. King.
2. Introduce your main character as soon as
possible
Your
protagonist is the character your reader is going to spend the most time with,
so if you show them who it is and what you’re in for right away, it’s easier to
set up the story. This doesn’t necessarily include prologues. I personally try
to avoid those as much as possible. But your first chapter and your first scene
should include your main character.
3. Hint at what’s to come
And
finally, at the end of your first chapter, there should be some kind of
foreshadowing about what’s going to happen in the next chapter, or even in the
rest of the book. My rule of thumb is I try to have a good hook at the
beginning of a chapter and at the end.
Clancy's comment: Hope this has given you a few thoughts. And, a few tips from me: Cut to the chase, don't waffle, cut, cut, cut when revising, and keep your story moving.
I'm ....
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