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,
so please check out their books!
Have you written a post about hooks on your blog?
Please leave the URL to that post in my comments!
Please leave the URL to that post in my comments!
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