The Opening Hook: How to Draw Your Readers In

The hook is a tried-and-true technique to snare the readers attention to a degree that she will keep reading even if the family dinner is burning to a charcoal crisp on the stove, her partner says they have something important to discuss, or her all-time favorite television show is about to begin. A good hook leaves the reader unable to resist turning the page. A good hook tugs at your emotions and gets under the reader’s skin, compelling her forward into the story to follow where the writer wants her to go. 

An opening may consist of one line, several paragraphs, or several pages, depending on whether you are writing a short story or a novel. Hopefully the hook is part of your opening sentence, as you want to—no, make that, you need to—engage the reader immediately. Whether you use evocative words, humor, lust, or maybe shock to convey the emotion of the scene, you want to strive for something other than predictable. Different, in this case, is good. Different can often make for a best-seller. 

 We’ve all opened a book with anticipation only to read an opening that leaves us flat. An example of what would likely send any reader into a snooze is if in your opening pages your main character, Lydia, wakes, slides out of bed, and puts on her slippers. Then she makes her way downstairs to the kitchen, deciding if today she will make eggs or pancakes for her husband. After this, she weeds the garden, does some shopping, and drops off the dry cleaning.

 Would a reader care a fig about Lydia? Doubtful. I know I wouldn’t. If you’re bored reading a dull, mundane opening, think about how your reader will feel. Something has to occur in your opening, something that poses a question your reader wants/needs answered; otherwise, you’ll put them to sleep ... or worse, they'll just put your book down, never to return to it. 

 Taking the same scenario, what if in the opening pages Lydia steps into the kitchen to find her husband holding a bloody knife over his head, and their nosy neighborhood association president sprawled and bloody on their freshly grouted white tile floor?

 Now, this is far more attention-grabbing. Not that you necessarily need to have a bomb exploding, blood flowing, or an orgy taking place on page one, but you do want that important something to happen before the reader is yawning and decides to put down the book and go watch whatever reality show is on television that night instead.

 Keep in mind that beginning in the middle of an action scene does not necessarily make your opening a strong hook. You need the lure of the reader wondering what will happen next or what caused the action to occur in the first place. Other things can be used for a strong narrative hook: a mysterious setting; engaging, provocative dialogue; or an intense love scene (my personal favorite).

 Choose where to begin your story with the utmost of care. It can mean the difference between getting your manuscript read or thrown into the editor’s towering slush pile after a few more paragraphs.