Finding the Right Bait

Quick, what is the word before the phrase line and sinker?

The word is hook, an important word used both in the world of fishing and in writing. And with both, the hook has to work fast. If you are fishing and it does not work, you lose the fish. If it does not work and you’re an author, you lose a reader.

A hook is what brings readers into the story from the beginning. How many of us have stood in a bookstore and read the opening paragraph of a book? If it doesn’t catch your interest, most of us put it down, right? This is especially true if it’s a new-to-you author. As authors want to continue to bring in new readership, every book has to open with something to catch that reader’s interest in those first few lines, so that they will step up to the register and buy the book. The same can be said with e-books. If that excerpt does not strike a chord, the reader clicks away.

So what makes a good hook? Like with fishing, it’s the lure and the bait that’s put out in the pond.

Back-stories do not make a good worm. The past is the past, the here and now is where is the action is. To set up the character(s)’s entire life story is not required in the beginning pages. We do not want to know their mother’s brother was killed in the war, and that is why they don’t trust anyone. Show the mistrust in action without supplying the explanation. Then, the reader might be intrigued enough to read on to find out why.

Which brings us to the point that hooks should make the reader wonder the five W’s, the Why? What? Who? Where? When? It should begin to answer those questions, snagging the reader’s interest, but not overwhelming them with information.

Types of hooks can include action, dialogue, mood/setting, and character. The types can be combined and intermixed.

An action hook can include a bit of danger, either starting off or implied to come. My own novel, “Blood Lines: Blood Kiss” starts off, “From underneath the corner of the stairs inside the dance club, he watched. His eyes sought out the warmth of the bodies. The bared flesh enticed him, tempted him. Lovers groped each other in a secluded corner. He watched their hands touching, mouths tasting, tongues dueling. Saw their muscles coil in desire as they pleasured each other. The ache intensified inside his chest as he watched, unable to turn away until they moved on.” It hints at the peril to come for my main characters.

A dialogue hook starts off with catchy dialogue. One good way is to start off with an insightful comment in the middle of a conversation. This is because it prods the reader to finish reading the conversation and to wonder what came before it. From “The Biggest Kahuna” by Ciar Cullen, “I look like a ho.” Nikkie pulled up the thin strip of colorful fabric that barely covered her breasts, but it slid back down.”The dialogue shows what Nikki thinks, but not why or why she is dressed that way, and it is an interesting statement to open up a book with.

A mood/setting hook involves the reader into the setting or mood of the book so intrinsically, they want to read on. It should match with the rest of the book. Do not start out somber and then move into light hearted comedy. From Raine Weaver’s “Incubus,” “It was the kiss of the night wind through the open window that first attracted her. The mild breeze bore the scent of spring lilacs through the harsh metal screen, along with the smell of rich, damp earth burgeoning with the promise of new life.” The rich language sets up a mood and the essence of spring, of life, for a setting.

A character hook involves either introducing some quirk of character or giving us some shocking information about a character. From Shara Lanel’s “Enlightened Love,” “Kerry Reynolds drifted down the marbled hall, barely glancing at the mirror cloaked in shadows. She knew what she would see there—the gray half-moons under her eyes, sunken pale cheeks, and flaxen hair hanging limp about her shoulders. A draft blew against her bare shins, below the hem of her virginal white nightgown. She shivered and clutched the mug of tea tighter to her chest. She heard voices. A woman’s laughter. My God, he’s brought someone home with him.” In this scene, a very troubled woman wearing a virginal nightgown with paranoid thoughts starts off the story, which begs the questions of “why” and “what’s going on?”

The key to a good hook is to motivate the reader to read further into the story.

The best ones seem to start the character(s) off at the precipice of change. There is something in their world that is about to undergo a metamorphosis. A new person shows up and nothing’s the same. Maybe a character is executing a decision they made, which will have profound impact on the rest of their life. An example of both of those, is the opening to “The Lady’s Tutor” by Robin Schone. “Ramiel would not be blackmailed by any woman—no matter how great was her need for sexual gratification”. The woman, Elizabeth, comes unexpectedly into Ramiel’s life after a decision she’s made. It’s a great beginning, making the reader want to find out how these two disparate people will come out of the situation. Each of the examples above in the types of hooks poises the character at the point of change.

So pick your bait, make it tempting, put out those hooks and reel in the readers.

Blood Lines: Blood Kiss used with permission, http://www.mechelearmstrong.com
Incubus used with permission, Raine Weaver http://www.raineweaver.com
The Biggest Kahuna used with permission, Ciar Cullen http://www.ciarcullen.com
Enlightened Love used with permission Shara Lanel http://www.sharalanel.com
The Lady’s Tutor used with permission, Robin Schone http://www.robinschone.com

Mechele Armstrong writes sensual romances with bite. http://www.mechelearmstrong.com Living in Virginia, she writes while dealing with two girls, a three legged pooch, her husband, and a lot of naked Barbies. She also co-writes as Melany Logen, where the future’s never been so sexy. http://www.melanylogen.com