Hook the Reader

The first line ...

The first sentence of any story is crucial. It can make or break a novel. You need to have a hook. You want your readers to be intrigued and captured by the first line so they keep going. It doesn't matter what genre your book is, you need to hook your reader. 

In the first line, paragraph, and page, you need to establish the setting, introduce your main character, and set the tone. You want to refrain from rambling on about the scenery or having the story start off with a dream or looking in the mirror. This is very important because if your reader is not interested, they will put the book down. 

Here are four examples:   

1) Scarlett O'Hara was not beautiful, but men seldom realized it when caught by her charm as the Tarleton twins were.  (Gone With the Wind) by Margaret Mitchell) 

2) On the battered paper map that's carried the two of them across they're not sure how many American states now, this is Proofrock, Idaho, and the dark body of water before them is Indian Lake, and it kind of goes forever out into the night.  (My heart is a Chainsaw by Stephen Graham Jones)

3)Not so long ago, a monster came to Castle Rock, Maine. (Cujo by Stephen King)

4) The boy who has been missing for ten years steps into the light. (Home by Harlan Coben)

My niece and I play this game when we go to the bookstores. We pick up random books and read the first line to see if it is worth going forward. Does it make you want to know more? In regards to the four examples above ...Who is the missing boy? Where has he been? What type of monster was it? Is it still around? Who are these people with a paper map? Why are they traveling across the states? And why are they stopping in Proofrock, Idaho? And finally ... if Scarlett is not beautiful, why are the men enthralled with her? What does she do to capture them? 

As writers, we want the reader to be so wrapped up in the story that they can't put the book down. We want them to relate to the characters and the situation and feel like they are in the setting—drinking coffee, walking the streets, riding the dragon, flying to the moon. This is why the first line, the first paragraph, and the first page are so important.

Hook the reader. This is the goal.




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