Young Writers Society

Reviewing during NaRevWriMo got me thinking about the way people start their stories. We’re told to use an exciting opening to “hook” readers. It seems like this should be straightforward and simple, but that’s not always the case.

What are some of your favorite openings in literature? What is it about these hooks that get you interested? How about your least favorite openings? Why do these openings fail to hook you?

I found this site that gives you some examples of hooks in classic literatures: 20 great opening lines to inspire the start of your story.

It can help you with trying to figure out your own hook. Also I think- from reading books- is that good hook grabs the reader with a phrase or something. And from that, I don't think there is such a thing called a bad hook.

Well, what I mean by "bad hooks" is stuff like...gimmicky hooks, mostly. Like when an author starts a book with an exciting prologue but then the first chapter is horrible and boring because really the prologue is just there because the first chapter isn't strong enough. Or when it starts with an exciting action scene that later turns out to be a dream or seems to have nothing to do with what happens next... Stuff like that is what I'd consider a "bad hook."

Oh..

To me a bad hook would be like giving a point that makes the reader think is going to be the main point of the novel when in actuality isn't.. If that makes sense. A good hook should grab the reader, not make them fall asleep while reading the first sentence.

Absolutely! That's another reason the dream thing tends to be bad, because a lot of the time the reader thinks that's the main point, but then when the character wakes up and starts going about their daily life, we find out that wasn't the main point after all. Ditto with the action that ends up not tying into the story at all. It's not enough to just be exciting; it has to be exciting and set the tone of the story.

For me, I cannot write a good hook for anything- that is why I use the site I provided and try to think of one. Or maybe use my claw and dig a hook from the corners of my brain.

It can be so tricky! But it's always a good idea to read widely, so you can see what sorts of things other authors do and figure out what you think works and what doesn't.

Plus, when you post things around YWS, you can always ask people to pay extra attention to your hook, let you know if it's working or not, maybe give you ideas for other possible hooks.

Gah, the dream thing. *shudders*

The greatest hooks usually ignite a lot of questions, I've found; bad hooks are stale and cliche. But there are also try-hard hooks, or hooks that focus too much on trying to lure the reader into their story--hooks written deliberately vague so the writer'll spend the next few paragraphs elaborating and effectively trap the reader. "Bonnie was now seriously regretting that she'd left her spear on the kitchen table," for instance.

It might just be a personal opinion, but I love it when the opening sentence leads directly into the story. It's a lot more straightforward and establishes trust between the writer and reader.

@GoldFlame

I feel the same way with the whole cliche and stale hooks- it doesn't seem to move the point across for the reader and it is threw away like last month's pizza.

I read lots of YA (especially contemporary and romance). I love books that start with lots of voice and get me right inside the MC's head and personality. I love when I get a sense of "normal" and then am immediately thrown into the exciting stuff - like If I Stay by Gayle Forman, there's a nice normal breakfast with the family and I get to know mom, dad, brother, and MC a little. Then they go for a drive and bam car accident! I know the characters a little but then something actually happens.

Things that don't work for me - starting with a ton of description (I'm bored), introducing a million characters without developing them (I'm confused), immediately (like sentence one) jumping into the action without any context (I feel disconnected from the plot), nothing important happening in the first chapter (I'm bored).

Edit: I agree with @GoldFlame. The opening should give me a reason to read on. I shouldn't be confused, but I should have this need to read on to see what happens next. There should be some mystery. (I see this all the time on here - writers give away too much in the opening). And that's much easier said than done! It's hard to know sometimes what to give in the opening and what to make your readers wait for so they're engaged but not confused. Trail and error

For me a bad hook would be starting with the conflict then and there since you have no idea what or how it is started.

@GoldFlame I agree with you on the openings that are purposefully vague, but I think it depends on the scenario. Because I can like it if it's vague in that the author's not outright explaining everything because the character whose viewpoint we're in already knows the details. Like I was reading something by someone on the site--later it turned out it wasn't actually the beginning, but I thought it was really good, and I suggested they make it their opening--but then I've seen other openings where they're just kind of vague on purpose to make things "mysterious" but instead it's just frustrating. Plus really obvious.

Or, yeah, dropping you in the middle of an action scene with no background is annoying for multiple reasons. The main one for me is the fact that I don't know or care about the characters yet, but you're trying to hook me by putting these unknown people in a dangerous situation that I also don't know about, and it just irritates me.

@Carlito I also love it when an author starts with a character! Especially if it's a humorous description, like the description of the Dursleys at the beginning of the first Harry Potter book. Or I really like the description of Scarlett O'Hara at the beginning of [i]Gone with the Wind,{/i] where she's not beautiful but men don't realize it because she knows exactly how to influence them with her dimples and swishing her skirts and her facial expression etc etc. So the disparity between what the men see and what's actually going on in her head is entertaining.

I like description if it's description of something unusual, but it gets boring if it's like the opening of a fantasy novel and it's just a standard description of the sun rising over the rolling hills, etc, etc... I like characterization in normal circumstances, though, as long as it's not some sickeningly sweet or cutesy situation. Then I just kind of throw up in my mouth a little.