I truly hunted for a cartoon that I could put up here, but nothing caught my eye or "hooked" me like this!
For all of you who like to “hook” an editor and a reader on the first page, I’m going to give you the list of items I received from Mary Buckham’s workshop. These are the elements to use on your first page that will hook a reader or editor:
1) The totally unexpected
2) Introduction of a unique character
3) Shocking or clever dialogue
4) Foreshadowing
5) A classic tale or theme
6) A surprise situation
7) Danger or Action
8) Setting that evokes mood or theme
9) Overpowering emotion
10) A question directly raised
You can use one or more of these hooks.
Also from Mary’s Pacing workshop I gathered this information. Some of it I knew some of it was eye opening:
Hooks can keep a reader turning the page and bring up the pacing.
Hooks are:
Action or danger
Overpowering emotion
Surprising situation
An evocative description to pull the reader into a setting
Introducing a unique character
Warning or foreshadowing
Setting a tone or theme
Shocking or witty dialogue
The totally unexpected
Raising a direct question
Where you put hooks:
Opening sentence of a book
Opening paragraph
End of the first page (usually line 16-20)
End of the third page
End of third chapter
Opening a chapter
Ending a chapter
Each new scene
Writing a series- the last sentence of the book
The reasoning on the first five are: If an editor of reader picks up the ms. or book you want to hook them with the opening, then you want to hook them at the bottom of the first page so they will turn the page, and if you can get them hooked at the third page they will keep reading and are snagged . Also you want a hook a the end of the third chapter because most partials are three chapters so whether its an editor or a contest entry, you want the person reading to ask for more.
Your story goal should be made known to the reader by page three.
The beginning of every chapter you need three details to set place- 2 visual and 1 sensory- always set place at the beginning of a chapter.
The strongest hooks raise questions or reactions in a reader.
I didn’t realize there were so many places to put hooks in. I knew the first page and I knew the end of a chapter so they will read the next one, but some of the others were new to me. Also beginning a chapter with three details to set place. I felt if you kept the reader reading, they knew place since they haven’t left the book. So that was one of the many things I learned at this workshop.
And this is only a minuscule amount of the info I learned and will keep feeding you over the next couple of months.
Have you used any of the the above list on the first page in any of your books? If so which ones and give us an example.
