This week: It was a dark and stormy night... Edited by: Lilith of House Martell  
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Here are a few captivating first lines...
"Here is a small fact: You are going to die."
From The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
"It was a queer, sultry summer, the summer they electrocuted the Rosenbergs, and I didn't know what I was doing in New York."
From The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath
"All this happened, more or less."
From Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut
“When I stepped out into the bright sunlight from the darkness of the movie house, I had only two things on my mind:
Paul Newman and a ride home.”
From The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton
"The snow in the mountains was melting and Bunny had been dead for several weeks
before we came to understand the gravity of our situation."
From The Secret History by Donna Tartt
“Happy families are all alike; unhappy families are all unhappy in their own way."
From Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy |
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Think about your favorite book and how the story begins. Does the author grab you on the first page? Perhaps in the first paragraph? Sometimes an author reels us in with the first sentence! Granted harder to do, but it does happen! Whatever happened in those opening lines that piqued your interest, and kept you there, is called a 'hook'. And it's essential in all forms of storytelling.
This week we are going to talk a little about creating a good hook. Coming up with a fascinating hook takes some thought and effort, but it is possible. Take a moment and think about what makes your story interesting. Is it the characters? A mystery? An unusual setting? Once you’ve settled upon the answer to this question, begin crafting your hook around that.
 Grab the reader with the first line
Beginning with an alarming or even shocking first line can catch the reader by surprise. and get them excited to see what comes next. Here's an example from the novel Not Our Summer (2021) by Casie Bazay.
Where does someone even get a bright green casket like that?
This sentence serves two purposes. Not only does it give the reader a hint about the setting, but it also shows that the character is shocked (probably the reader too) about seeing such an odd-colored casket.
Begin the story with action
This is a common way to get a reader engaged with a story quickly. There are varying degrees of action and not all involve high-speed chases or explosions. However, when dropping readers into the middle of a tense scene, it will likely pique their interest.
Here is a great example from Fahrenheit 451 (1953) by Ray Bradbury:
It was a pleasure to burn.
It was a special pleasure to see things eaten, to see things blackened and changed. With the brass nozzle in his fists, with this great python spitting its venomous kerosene upon the world, the blood pounded in his head, and his hands were the hands of some amazing conductor playing all the symphonies of blazing and burning to bring down the atters and charcoal ruins of history.
Hmmm. A fireman instigating a fire rather than putting it out? Now that is interesting. There are many ways to grab readers with action-centered hooks, and it doesn't have to be a fire. The protagonist might be escaping from someone or something. Or getting into an argument. Or witnessing a crime. You can use a flashback to employ this type of hook. The possibilities are endless.
Play with emotions
Another way to hook a reader is through an emotional scene. An emotional response from a character can help a reader connect on a sympathetic level. This sort of connection tends to keep readers interested because they want to know what happens to the character for the rest of the story.
For example, read this opening scene from Monster (1999) by Walter Dean Myers
The best time to cry is at night, when the lights are out and someone is being beaten up and screaming for help. That way even if you sniffle a little they won’t hear you. If anybody knows that you are crying, they’ll start talking about it and soon it’ll be your turn to get beat up when the lights go out.
This scene causes the reader to sympathize with the protagonist. The reader may be concerned for this character’s well-being and want to know more about the situation they're presented with.
By utilizing emotions such as embarrassment, sympathy, fear, anticipation, surprise, or excitement, readers can easily connect with the characters and become more invested in the story.
Hooks are all about engaging the reader as soon as possible. We want readers to be invested in our stories and eagerly reading, right? There are many ways to do this. Play around with your story hook and change it if needed; go with one that works well with the story you want to tell.
My hope is that these few tips can serve as references and help you on your way to creating strong, effective hooks!
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Comments received from my last Short Story Newsletter, "Show me so that I can see and feel it!"
Aiva Raine  wrote:
"Love this excellent example of show vs tell. Thanks for the tips you send each newsletter."
buddhangela's Psychotic Break  wrote:
"Thanks for another great NL, Lilli. Your presentation is always so clear and concise.  "
Thank you both for your kind and encouraging feedback! |
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Short Stories: February 22, 2023 Issue [#11819]
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