How To Hook The Reader

Story Hooks that will never fail (version 2.0)

Picture this: You open a book for the first time, the title sounded interesting enough, the cover looked gorgeous, it seemed like the book was calling your name. That was, until you started reading. Your mind began to drift off about what you would be rather doing. The book you started reading for fun already starts to sound like one of those books you had to read for english class. The first chapter is straight up boring.

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When I start reading a new book, The first chapter is the decider as to whether or not I will continue, and I'm not the only one. We all know that the attention span is getting shorter and shorter (8.25 seconds on average) making your first chapter more and more important. Our readers shouldn't have to dread getting through the first part of our book. Reading is suppose to be enjoyable! Our job as writers is to make sure they do.

Here is some ways we can make sure they get sucked into your book within that first chapter. First of all, Diolouge. Start off with diolouge and make sure it gets sprinkeled in there. No one wants to read a chapter where nothing happens, dioluge is the key to engagement. I can't say how many times I've read a boring book and just skipped to the dialoge to keep me sane through it.

Second, Ask a rhetorical question. It gets your readers thinking and wants them to know and learn more about your topic. If you have ever read any kind of essay this is one of the most popular ways to introduce a topic or problem.

Thirdly, use Onomateopias. These are sound words such as "POP!" and "CRACK!". They are excellent in engaging readers because it makes them question what is going on. Who is going to read the word "BOOM!" and think boring?

Fourth, Add Expressions and feelings. Tell the reader something really sad at the beginnning of your chapter and evoke their interest. Show the readers how sad the little boy's face looks after he's been abused and how happy he is when he finally gets free from that. Or maybe how unsure he is that this going to be different. The feelings your character feels reflects back to the readers making them ache in their heart for the kid you created.

Fifth, Describe something. You already know this one works because that's how I chose to spark your interest in my blog. I painted a picture for you. I had you remember what it felt to be let down by a decieving book cover and title.

Sixth, Internal diolouge. Your character's thoughts but being showed not told. You might be thinking of when the writer says something like she felt sad or he felt angry, but when I mean Internal Dialouge I mean something like: Why did I say that? I just ruined our whole relationship and now I'm all alone- calm down Amanda, surely you can fix this. See the difference? It's like when your character talks to herself/himself, just not out loud. Internal dialouge will also always be italicized. You can do that just by hitting ctrl i or by putting an * directly before and after text. Sometimes there will also be a button you can just hit.

Finally, you can introduce the character to catch your readers attention. Honestly, this final one is my least fravourite. I find it doesn't usually do as well as the other methods. If I use this one, I like to pair it with another one above. Espically since you need to introduce the character in the first chapter anyways, I find that when writing a fictional novel it's best not to get straight to the point. I prefer to trigger emotion in the readers either before or while I'm showing them who my character is.

Did I miss any? Let me know below!