Great Writing Hooks Grab Attention
Eight sets of eyes glared at me. No one smiled. It’s a strange feeling knowing eight of the
town’s most respected ladies formed a lynch mob, and I was guest of honor. Even though I faced severe punishment…seeing those ladies covered with dirt and debris tickled me.
It was all I could do to keep from laughing. The ladies suspected as much. To laugh was to die. I didn’t want my young life to end at the hands of an angry mob of mothers and civic leaders…my own mother being the ring leader. If only I can make the ladies of the bridge club see the humor of the situation. It was my only hope.
Great Writing Hooks Grab Attention: Did the Above Paragraph Grab Your Attention?
Did this excerpt from my book “Pop Bottle King” that’s due to be released in late 2012 grab your attention?
Did it make you ask, “Why was the speaker in trouble? What did he do to the bridge club members? Why was his mom the ring leader of the angry mob?” Why did he want to laugh? Did you feel the tension?
Great Writing Hooks Grab Attention: What Wasn’t Included in the Paragraph?
Great writing hooks grab attention, but they don’t include the weather, flowery descriptions, dates, or monotonous background information.
Great Writing Hooks Grab Attention: Why do people read fiction?
People read to be entertained. They want to be pulled into a story and led down the path of mystery, romance, humor, or some other personal experience. How does the writer grab the reader’s attention? By using a hook.
Great Writing Hooks Grab Attention: What is a hook?
Some say that using a hook means starting a story with action, but that isn’t necessarily the case. The hook means beginning a story with tension of some type whether it be physical, mental, emotional, or implied. Whatever means is employed the writer must pull the reader into the story.
Great Writing Hooks Grab Attention: How do I Create a Great Hook for My Story?
Look at your story. Read until you find the first tension. That’s probably the beginning of the story. Descriptions are only needed to propel the story. They should be judiciously sprinkled into the story as needed.
The above two paragraphs used minimal surroundings. The hero was in a room with a mob of angry women.
The purpose of the writing hook was to pull the reader into the story. In two short paragraphs the reader knows the hero is in a precarious situation that he doesn’t desire. Why is he there? What’s he going to do? Tension is present.
Great Writing Hooks Grab Attention: Practice
Think of situations or plots. Then write two paragraphs about the plot. Does the hook make you want more. If it doesn’t pull you into the story keep working on it.
If your hook pulls you into the story you are on your way to writing a great hook. If a writer can create a desire to know in the reader he has effectively given his story the opportunity to present itself…but a great hook in no way absolves the writer from presenting a good story. (Nobody said this would be easy.)
Great hooks grab attention and are the author’s first opportunity to capture his audience. A writer must entice the reader to want more.
Copyright 2010 J-me
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