Hooks are the driving force behind a reader either canceling all their plans so they can read the entire book or setting it down and not picking it up again. Without an interesting hook, your story could be sunk before it starts. 

First off, let’s define what a hook is.

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 So in essence, your hook should give a promise of what your story is about. And it should do it in a way that creates curiosity. If a reader remains curious, the likelihood of them finishing the book and enjoying it is much greater.

A reader should encounter your hook within the first paragraph, and ideally within the first sentence.

Think about it. How many times have you picked up a book, read through the first page, then set it back on the shelf thinking “That’s not for me” ? Seriously, That first page and especially the first paragraph are vital to encourage readers to continue reading. If they aren’t curios about what happens next, your book is already done for.

So how do you create that curiosity?

In order to pique reader curiosity, your story hook needs to address one or more of the following items.

• Build urgency

• Prompt pressing questions

• Involve intriguing contexts

• Introduce striking voices

• Show a glimpse of a vivid world

• Imply past or future conflicts

• Build narrative tension

• Share relevant backstory

• Set the story’s tone

However, don’t get overwhelmed thinking your hook has to do all these things. Even if you do one of them very well, you will have hit your target. The purpose of a hook is essentially to get the reader asking questions—ones that you WILL answer throughout the novel.

If you don’t answer those questions, you will leave readers feeling put out, and they won’t be eager to pick up your book again.

So how do we create a good story hook?

The first thing to consider is who are the characters involved? Who will we first encounter in your novel and why are they important? The first person we meet should have a name. Even if they are a throw-away or side character, they need a name.

The second thing they need is a motive or a human want. Do they have a goal your reader can relate to? Clue us in on what it is from the get go.

The third thing to consider is what is our setting? For someone picking up your book for the first time, will they be able to know the genre from the first paragraph? Will they know if it is modern day or ancient Egypt? Will they know if this is a fantasy world or the one we live in now?

Once you can answer those questions, write a paragraph that encompasses all those thoughts. Then write it again through a new angle. Repeat this process one to two more times.

Then pick the one you like best and run it through these questions.

• Does it make the book feel urgent?

• Does it raise leading questions?

• Does it give us a glimpse at your character?

• Does it have enough setting to ground the reader in the world?

When you feel your hook is clear and engaging enough, run it by your friends or writer’s group. Get feedback on what is working and what’s not. Then refine it again.

It also helps to study hooks from bestselling novels. Pick out patterns or things that are replicated in each one and make a note. Next time you pick up a new book to read, study the first paragraph and see what draws you in or what doesn’t.

The more you read and study hooks, the better you will become at writing them.

Here are a few of my favorites.

The Clockwork Angel – Cassandra Clare

Tessa could not remember a time when she had not loved the clockwork angel.

The Mark of the Raven – Morgan L. Busse

Selene’s knees grew numb as they pressed into the stone floor. The incense filled her nostrils, the priest’s words her mind. She did not understand the old tongue, only a few words. For as long as she could remember, the morning of every new moon was spent in the sanctuary, and prayers were raised to the Dark Lady.

Reckless – Cornelia Funke

The mirror. Its glass was as dark as if the night had leaked into it and so wavy one could barely recognize one’s own reflection. Jacob touched the thorny rose stems winding across the silver frame, so real the blossoms seemed ready to wilt at any moment. In contrast to the rest of the room, the shelves like a shimmering eye, a glassy abyss that cast back a warped reflection of everything John Reckless had left behind: his desk, the antique pistols, his books—and his elder son.

Shadow and Bone – Leigh Bardugo

The servants called them malenchki, little ghosts, because they were the smallest and the youngest, and because they haunted the Duke’s house like giggling phantoms, darting in and out of rooms, hiding in cupoards to eavesdrop, sneaking into the kitchen to steal the last of the summer peaches.

The Demon King – Cinda Williams Chima

Like anything forbidden, wizards fascinated Han, but this was one rule he’d never had a chance to break.

Inkheart – Cornelia Funke

The rain cast a kind of pallor on the darkness, and the stranger was little more than a shadow. Only his face gleamed white as he looked up at Meggie. His hair clung to his wet forehead. The rain was falling on him, but he ignored it. He stood there motionless, arms crossed over his chest as if that might at least warm him a little. And he kept on staring at the house.

Six of Crows – Leigh Bardugo

Joost had two problems: the moon and his mustache.

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I hope this post helped you find a better way to craft your story hook and best of luck on your writing journey my friend.

Comment below with your favorite story hooks or ones you would like me to critique.