What they do is tug at you. Pull you in a particular direction. Compel you to follow.

True for fishhooks and fish as well as for story hooks and readers.

Hooks are attention-getters that cause the hooked one to turn from what he was doing and follow where the one controlling the hook wants him to go.

If the hook is well made and hits the target just right, that target won’t be getting free. No, that target will be following the line to wherever it leads. And the other objects and activities that had the target’s attention won’t have it any longer. Something more compelling will have taken over.

What do you use for a hook and as a lure to capture your reader’s attention? Do you give the reader enough to snare him, or is your hook attractive for only a moment, too weak to grab the reader, too mild to pull him away from other interests?

Do you give him a hook strong enough to pull him into your story? Maybe he only watches as the lure passes by, not intrigued enough to follow.

Is your hook alluring? Does it have what it takes to capture readers? Is your hook designed to catch the readers you want?

Not every lure will capture every fish. Who do you want to appeal to and what have you done to draw attention to your story?

Appeal
What does appeal mean in terms of your books and your genre? What do the readers who’ve picked up your book expect to find between the covers?

A murder mystery should open with a murder. 

Suspense, thrillers and horror should set the reader on edge, get his emotions churning. These books, even from the start, should make the reader uneasy or fearful or expectant.

Romance should introduce hero and/or heroine in an appealing or amusing or lustful way.

Literary novels should introduce an intriguing character, someone readers will be eager to know.

Contrast
Consider writing an opening different from every story you’ve read or heard about. Let your story openings stand in contrast to others. Take a risk—be different.

Compare
Consider using the framework from a story you love. Don’t copy all the opening elements, but analyze something that appeals to you, twist it, and make it work for your story opening. What works for others can work for you.

Engage the reader
Purposely engage readers from the first words, first image, first emotion, first bit of dialogue. You want the reader to bite? Give him something tasty to nibble on.

Story openings, our hook and bait, should not only look good, they should taste good too.

Compete
Write with the knowledge that your book competes with other entertainments in the reader’s life, with the reader’s life itself. This means you make the opening interesting. Evocative. Maybe humorous.

How about hot?

Shocking?

What about quirky or sad? Flashy or tragic or compelling?

Different. Make it different.

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No Hook

We’ve all opened a book to find an opening that doesn’t grab us. Why? What’s wrong? Have we chosen a book that doesn’t meet our mood at that moment?

Possibly. Our emotions and the events of our lives can get in the way of our reading enjoyment. But when a reader fails to connect with a story, the fault doesn’t always lie with the reader.

Sometimes the book has failed. The writer has failed. 

A story without an opening hook will not catch reader interest the way a story with a stronger opening will. Story openings without barbs have little power to keep readers interested.

So, what doesn’t work? What kinds of openings fail to hook readers?

A woman lying in bed—daydreaming about her lack of a love life—stretching, yawning, getting comfy, yawning again. She’s pulling the reader into . . . yawn . . . slumber.

Be honest—did you yawn at least once while reading those words? Reading about yawning makes people yawn. It will make your readers yawn.

Not what you want for your novel’s opening, because you can’t hook a reader with a yawn.

Scenes of characters going to sleep don’t make good hooks, not for story beginnings and not for chapter endings. You want to keep the reader engaged and eager to read more, not remind them it’s time for a nap.

Other openings or elements of openings that fail to hook readers? There are plenty.

Mismatched tone. Do you open with humor in a book about death? Is the opening too heavy for your lighthearted hero? Check your tone. A reader can turn away if your tone doesn’t match the promise of the genre or the story’s description.

Poor grammar. Bad grammar also turns away readers. How can you hook readers when they don’t understand what’s happening? Grammar mistakes somewhere deep within an otherwise well-written book are forgiven. Such mistakes at the story’s opening don’t get the same leeway. Make sure your grammar is clean.

Annoyingly repetitive rhythm. Readers will elude your hook if the rhythm of your sentences is unvaried.

The boys stared at the old house with awe. It had sat there abandoned for years. Not one of them wanted to go in.

Learn to combine sentences for variety and try both very long and very short sentences. Vary the number of syllables in sentences; vary sounds and inflections too. Accent words in the middle of some sentences and at the ends of others. Try words with different letter combinations and sounds.

Repetitive sentence construction.
In a way similar to repetitive rhythm, sentence construction that’s unvaried also can repel rather than hook readers.

Hoping to win for the first time, Annie faced down her boss. Dreaming of victory, she leaned across his desk. She felt both fear and exhilaration when his eyes widened. Moving in for the kill, she smiled; defeating her old nemesis would be marvelous.

Confusion
Characters can be confused—the reader shouldn’t be. That is, the reader might not know how to account for everything that’s happening, but he should have a fairly clear picture of what’s happening in the story opening. How can you hook a reader who keeps rereading paragraphs because he has no idea what he’s reading?

Repugnant character. You may have trouble hooking readers if your story opens with a character who’s too repulsive too soon. On the other hand, such a character just might appeal. Know your audience.

Saccharine character. You might have a weak hook if you introduce a too-nice character too soon. Same holds true for a character without problems. Readers want to read about characters dealing with conflicts, not about the perfect people.

Polly’s day had been perfection. The boys had done their homework without fighting, the cable guy arrived exactly when he said he would, and her neighbor returned not only the two cups of sugar she’d borrowed, but she gave Polly a five-pound bag.

Polly had no doubt that the rest of the day [and the week and her life and forever . . .] would be just as uneventful.

Character out of time. A sure way to fail to hook readers is by giving a character from another era the sensibilities and thoughts of a twenty-first century man or woman.

Can you write characters any way you want to? Within reason, yes. But the smart writer will remember that a medieval European peasant would not have the same thoughts of national pride that a British officer of 1802 would have. A woman who was a child in 1905 will not have the same understanding of the world as a woman born in 2005.

Character interests are different. Outlooks are different. Our modern sensibilities as members of our world will not necessarily hold true for another era, country, or social class.

When you introduce characters in your opening, make sure they fit your story time and place.

Too many plots. The introduction of a dozen major plot threads in the first three pages of your novel is not a surefire way to hook readers. In fact, you’re more likely to lose them. Too many options means there’s no single plot thread that can capture the reader’s attention.

Keep plot threads manageable in your opening. Focus the reader’s attention.

Too many characters. Introducing too many characters in a novel’s opening is another way to keep readers from following the bait and hook you’ve prepared for them. How can readers know who’s important? How can readers keep up, especially if you name characters and/or give them physical descriptions and titles?

Readers are meeting your characters for the first time when your story unfolds; everyone’s a stranger. Help readers by keeping the numbers down at the start.

Failure to ID lead characters. Readers may resist your lure if you fail to identify the protagonist, the antagonist, the hero or heroine, or other essential characters in the opening pages.

No, you don’t have to tell them everything or introduce everyone. But tell them something. Give readers someone to latch on to. Encourage them to get involved in the story by giving them a character to become involved with.

Lack of action/event. A story opening in which nothing happens has no hook.

Novels are stories of events happening to characters. Something’s got to occur in your opening; otherwise, you’re writing something other than a novel.

Must there be an explosion on page one? Of course not. But something does have to happen in chapter one. And preferably before the point where the reader regrets picking up the book.

Remember that story is primarily about characters and events. An opening without them isn’t much of an opening. And such an opening may discourage even your fans.

Give readers something they can latch on to. Give them a story opening with a hook.

Write alluring openings.

Too much dialogue. An overabundance of dialogue is a turn-off. But how much is too much?

If your novel opens with dialogue and your characters don’t pause to take a breath or to interact with the setting, if you haven’t given a description of that setting because the characters are too busy talking, you’ve got too much dialogue.

For the opening.

Characters can talk and talk—of course they can—but they should also react to what other characters are saying. Remember to give readers visuals of what characters are doing.

I have no wish to tell you what you can try as a writer. If you want to open with only dialogue for three pages, try it. See what it does for your story. Yet, remember your readers. If they’re bored with talk unrelieved by action or exposition, you can’t blame them for not being attracted by your style. You have to please them; they don’t have to like your work.

Imagine yourself in a restaurant and the couple seated in the booth behind you is having a fascinating discussion about their latest murder. You hear the sound of their voices, the inflections, as well as the sounds of the restaurant. You smell the aromas from the kitchen, feel the bustle of the waiters as they pass by, taste the too salty chicken on your plate. You even feel the emphasis when the couple pause between revelations.

If you faced them, you’d get even more information—their looks, facial expressions, posture, gestures. You’d know if they were leaning toward one another. You’d even know if they gave thought to others in the restaurant.

But if you couldn’t see the couple, didn’t know where they were, couldn’t hear their voices as they spoke, you wouldn’t know if they were serious or joking. You wouldn’t have any context for their discussion. If the words of the dialogue were projected on a white wall in your den, with no explanation, you’d not have the same reaction to those words, no matter how compelling they were in themselves.

Dialogue without other information is insufficient for conveying the multiple elements necessary for good stories and good hooks.

Not enough dialogue. Don’t forget to include in your story opening a character who either speaks or thinks so readers get a sense of who he is or what he wants.

People relate to other people, and readers relate to characters that they can know.

An opening without dialogue might be utterly marvelous. But insight into a character’s thoughts would assure the reader that the world he’s entering is peopled with beings similar to himself, beings who reason within themselves and communicate with others.

How long can you go in a story’s opening before the reader needs to hear thoughts or dialogue? A lot farther than you can go with straight dialogue.

One way to decrease the need for dialogue early in a story? Show a character’s thoughts or emotions through action—an arsonist grinning as his tiny flame grows into a conflagration or a woman smiling through her tears as she runs fingers over her husband’s headstone and reads the humorous description there. Dialogue can be withheld without boring or confusing the reader if character is revealed another way.

Note, however, that the visual of dense paragraphs of narrative without breaks for dialogue can turn off readers. Readers need white space on their pages, and dialogue gives that to them.

Too much description or setting. Overwhelming the reader with too much description before introducing a character or story event can underwhelm rather than hook.

How important is the setting? Is it the most important element of your plot? Does it set the mood? Is it almost a character in itself?

If so, feel free to open with setting and emphasize it. Just keep in mind that readers will be looking for characters and events. How long do you want to keep them from what they want?

If setting is not key to your story, why give it place of honor in your story’s opening? Use setting. But put it in its proper place.

And if you open with weather, be sure there’s a reason for doing so. If the night is dark and stormy and you’ve shared that with readers, make use of the dark and the storm. Make sure weather elements add to the scene and aren’t simply fillers.

Must characters wear raincoats and umbrellas? Maybe hats that hide their faces? Do slick roads lead to accidents? Do thunderstorms frighten the protagonist’s children? Does unrelenting rain after a drought cause flooding?

But if the weather isn’t critical, why highlight it at the beginning of your story? How many readers will you entice with weather words?

It is okay to use weather in your story’s opening if it’s not simply a placeholder for the true story opening. That is, don’t use weather only because you haven’t thought of a stronger opening. Be deliberate about your opening scene—the words, the events, the characters involved, the tone you set.

Bait your hook in an appealing way.

______________________________________

Keep in mind the purpose of the hook—to ensnare the reader, to pull him away from outside influences and toward your story events and characters.

Make the hook appealing. Attract. Cajole. Entice.

Remember that you can’t force the hook into the reader; he’s got to come to the hook. Attract his attention and then beguile him. Make your hook tempting enough to draw him, first to your story and then into it to be pulled along by the power of your characters and their challenges.

Use the right bait.

Lure the reader.

And keep the tension just tight enough that the reader not only can’t struggle free, but won’t want that freedom.

***

That’s true for our stories as well.

Sort of.

It’s true that a reader may decide to pick up our books because of the cover or because of a recommendation, and the way they feel about the book at that time is the first impression. But it’s the words that will keep the reader involved with our stories.

Readers often check out first lines, first pages, even first chapters before they decide to buy a book. So that first line, first page, and first chapter need to accomplish a whole lot in a very little amount of time.

Yet, readers delving into our stories get more than one chance to meet the story, to form attachments and a liking for our book. They may get an overall impression from a quick read of the first pages, but their impressions won’t stop there. And neither will the introductions.

What firsts—what impressions and introductions—can a reader find in story?

If a writer paid attention to these other firsts, what could he or she do with them to keep the reader interested, to create and then maintain that good first impression?

How many chances does the writer have to make good, to reach the reader, to gain the reader’s positive feelings toward the story?

What should writers concern themselves with—what do they need to be aware of—in terms of first impressions and introductions?

_______________________

The reader may first see the front cover, read the back cover blurb, form an opinion about the title. But these elements of a book are often beyond the writer’s control.

What firsts can the writer control? What items can she perfect so that readers form positive and strong impressions of the story?

Any anticipated element presented well can draw the reader to the writer’s corner. Any anticipated element presented poorly can give the reader a bad taste about the story and/or the author.

Writers, then, need to make sure that they anticipate the elements their readers will anticipate and write to satisfy those anticipations.

Readers are drawn to enticing openings—make your opening enticing.

Readers look forward to the introduction of the protagonist—introduce him or her in a memorable way.

Wherever reader anticipation is likely to be high, at each introduction, be sure to give the reader something memorable.

Actions fitting the character.

A word or words that define the character’s motivation.

An arresting meet between hero and heroine.

For each introduction in your story, write something the reader will welcome and remember, something that fits the story, something fitting to an introduction.

Just what am I talking about? How can there be more than one first impression? What introductions are there other than the reader’s first exposure to the story?

Well . . .

There are the basics. Consider the first

• word
• sentence
• paragraph
• page
• scene
• chapter

Make sure you pay attention to these moments in your story. Work them until the impression they leave with the reader is sure to be positive. Memorable. Apt. Strong.

The reader is always evaluating. When he meets one of these elements in your story, give him a reason to find it entertaining and a good fit.

Leave him with a good impression. Use these story firsts to snare the reader and keep him involved in the fiction.

_______________________

Beyond these basics, there are other points in a story where the writer can solicit a good impression, where readers are introduced to something new.

Each of these places gives the writer even more opportunity for creating strong ties between story and reader. When readers anticipate these elements, they’re signalling what’s important, what the writer should key in on.

These other elements include—

Introduction of the protagonist
How is he introduced? In what setting? With what action or dialogue? How does the writer describe him? What does the protagonist care about at the moment the reader first sees him?

Introduction of your lead character is one of the highlights of your story. Make it memorable. Make each word count. Paint the picture of your lead that you want the reader to carry with him into your story.

Remember that what he says, does, and thinks at his introduction will stay with the reader quite a while. Give him the words, actions, and thoughts that say exactly what you want to say about him at this introduction.

Introduction of the antagonist
Introduction of the antagonist is just as important and for the same reasons as the intro of the protagonist.

Who is this character? What first impression do you want readers to have of him or her?

Whatever introduction, whatever presentation you give of the antagonist is the one that readers will use to evaluate him, to measure him against the protagonist. Be aware of every word you use in your staging of him. The elements you choose are the only guides the reader has to form opinions. What you omit will remain unknown.

Introduction of setting
Be aware of the effects of setting. What does a particular location, era, social milieu, time of day, or weather condition do to the tone of a story? What emotions can it raise in a reader? What expectations are raised by choice of setting, especially the first setting?

Write setting with keen awareness of where it can take the reader. Know what impression your setting is creating in your reader.

Time the appearance of setting—of any of these elements—to best fit the story and give the reader the impression you intend for him to have.

Play with the timing of elements—switch the order of their introductions to see if moving them makes for stronger and more engaging story.

Introduction of tone
Use words, from the very first one, to create the tone you want the scene or story to have. Is the story light and loose, humorous, dark, elegant, wise-cracking, serious, or highbrow? Whatever tone you’re going for, choose the words to match. And get it right from the start.

The tone you establish at the opening is the one readers will expect to find throughout the story. Make it one that fits and make sure it’s the one you want.

Introduction of goal and motivation
The goals and motivations of both antagonist and protagonist drive the story. Make sure they’re sufficient to do that driving, strong enough to compel the actions of each character, and of interest to the reader.

A lame motivation won’t propel the story far and a weak goal will have the reader yawning. Make the introduction of both noteworthy and logical.

_______________________

How about considering some other story firsts that aren’t necessarily introductions for the reader?

First meet between protagonist and antagonist
Have you thought about this one? What happens the first time these two characters meet? Is there instant antagonism? False friendship? Fireworks?

Give thought to this first meet. It can send your story off into new directions or solidify elements you’ve already introduced. It’s definitely a key moment in your story.

Keep in mind, however, that the first meet might be no meet at all. In some stories, the protagonist and antagonist don’t meet in person or don’t meet until the climactic moment.

In what other ways could they be introduced?

One sure method is through the reports of other characters. The protagonist’s reaction to the deeds of his nemesis should be clear and strong. The antagonist, upon discovering he’s been thwarted by the protagonist, should have a marked reaction, one the reader can see and feel.

First meet of romance hero and heroine
If you write romance, this should be something you give great thought to. How do they meet, your hero and heroine? Where? Under what circumstances? What character traits do they reveal to each other at that first meet? What do they reveal to the reader? How does their first meet steer the story?

Is the meet funny, sweet, embarrassing, accidental? Make a deliberate choice and use it to propel your story.

First hook
Typically the first hook is in the story opening; it’s what you use to pull readers into the story.

You have to decide what that hook will be. Whether it’s done with action or emotion or through dialogue.

Most writers know they need to do something to draw the reader in, but they often only consider one or two options. Take some time and play with your first hook—see how many different ways you can open your story and find the one that best fits not only the characters, but the tone and impact you want for the story opening. Use the first hook to make an irresistible first impression.

First description
Where does it go, that first description? Before any action or the introduction of characters? Or do you dribble it into the opening scene slowly? Maybe you don’t even mention description right off, content to let action and dialogue open the story.

Yet at some time you’ll be writing description of place and character. Choose the timing of that first description wisely. Choose the words of that description wisely.

What do you want to accomplish with your description? How does it fit with the other elements? How can you combine description with something else so a single element does twice the work?

First dialogue
The first spoken words are key to story. What is said? Who speaks those first words and how? What impression do those words create? Where is the story steered by those first words?

The first words may not be spoken by either protagonist or antagonist. So, when these two do speak for the first time, what is revealed then? What do they set into motion by their first words? What tone is established, what emotion sought?

What is changed by first dialogue? What is unleashed?

First action
Writers should deliberately craft the first action to accomplish specific goals. What is set into motion? Who is affected? Who is the character behind the action and who else is involved?

What would happen if a different character had the first action moment? How would the story be changed?

What intensity should the writer go for? Should action come before description? Before dialogue?

If neither protagonist nor antagonist is involved with the first action, what do their first actions entail? How are both of their first actions introduced?

First challenge and/or first setback for protagonist (the antagonist should have a first setback as well)
What challenge do you drop your lead character into? How do you write his first setback? What is the result of that setback? How is the story changed?

A novel follows your protagonist through increasingly difficult situations, situations in which he meets a few successes but even more defeats. The first defeat may not outline all that will follow, but it should hint at the kind of problems the protagonist will deal with. Be sure to consider the setup to, the action of, and the consequences of that first setback. That moment, when the lead is first faced with something he can’t conquer, will reveal a lot about him and the story.

Make it memorable. Make it work for the story.

First victory of the antagonist
The antagonist may be defeated at story’s end (or he may not be). But he’s going to enjoy victories over the protagonist before that point. If he doesn’t, he’s not a worthy adversary for your lead character.

How does that first victory play out? Is the antagonist jubilant? Does he crow, making the protagonist even madder? Does he plan even more mayhem for your lead?

How does the protagonist react in terms of actions, thoughts, and dialogue?

Make sure that the antagonist’s first victory is a worthy one. If it’s not time for the protagonist to get too mad, don’t go overboard with the strength or importance of his loss. If you do want to make a statement with this first victory of the antagonist, go all out. Just be sure you have room to escalate later.

Remember that the first setback for the protagonist and the first victory for the antagonist are not the same. That is, they can be flip sides of the same coin—if they arise from the same event. But they create different results. One buoys a character, one discourages a character. Once can cause a character to relax his guard, the other could spur a character to new strengths.

First kiss
The first kiss is significant in a romance and could be important in other genres. Don’t allow your characters to fall into that first kiss; be deliberate in your choice of location and intensity. Consider other options for place and time of that kiss. Consider humor in lieu of passion.

Don’t forget buildup and anticipation. Readers are looking for that kiss—make sure it satisfies them and sends your characters into a new direction.

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I’m certain there are other firsts we could look at, other introductions that create a strong impact on the reader and in turn direct our stories. Don’t let this list limit those other possibilities. Instead, examine all the moments in your novel where you can make an impression on the reader, where what you write will influence the reader until you write something else to change that first impression.

Make the most of story firsts and use them to steer the story.

*******

First impressions are potent and enduring; be aware of their power.

Create deliberate first impressions and other firsts and put them to work in your fiction.

Write memorable firsts.

***

Have you made your invitation inviting? That is, is it tempting or attractive or irresistible? Once a reader has glanced at your opening, will he or she find the story impossible to put down?

That’s one aim of your story opening, to issue a hard-to-resist invitation to your fictional world. You don’t want to create barriers for readers. Instead, you want to make the entry into your story one of ease and inevitability. You want to make the story attractive and compelling.

Books compete with movies and other books and games and the Internet and families and lovers—why wouldn’t you give your opening the strongest chance to snare a reader’s attention?

What can be found in a compelling opening?

Murder

Betrayal

Conflict

Jealousy

Death

Guilt

The unexpected

Confusion

A new world

Fear

Surprise

Upheaval

The unusual

What isn’t compelling?

Routine

Bliss

Pointless talk

Back story

Cliched characters

Consider your first scene and first words your invitation to readers. You want them to stay a while? Give them a reason to enter your world and tease them with reasons to stay. Entice. Attract. Stir emotions. Stir their imaginations. Stir up curiosity.

Give them a reason to begin your story.

Give them a reason to turn pages.

Give them a reason to race to the end.

Invite readers into your story.

*******

Looking for specifics on how to start stories or introduce story elements? Try How to Hook Your Readers and First Impressions and Introductions.

Writers likewise need attention-attracting elements to steer the focus of their readers to the story in their hands (and keep it there).

Books compete with TV, computers, movies, hand-held devices and who-knows-what-else for attention. If your book’s opening doesn’t capture the reader, doesn’t draw her into your tale, you’re going to lose her. (Cover art and cover blurbs also need to do their part, but those items we’ll leave for another discussion.)

So, how do you entice your reader to stay with your book?

You hook her, engage her with an incident from the life of your lead character.

No, you don’t need to shoot someone or blow up a building and have your lead save someone from burning to death (even though those scenes work for action movies), but you do need to make the reader pay attention.

Consider events from your own life. When you get home at night, do you tell your spouse about the ordinary moments from your day or do you share those stand-out moments? I’m guessing it’s the departure from the normal that you share. You may even embellish the events or the emotions to make those moments more involving for your spouse.

That’s the same kind of incident you want to start with to open your novel.

Only, you don’t want to report the incident later in the day. You want to drop your reader into the action while it’s happening so she gets a real-time experience. Let her feel the emotions. Get her interested, as if she were the character going through the incident.

Not so much a gimmick, then, but a proven technique to plop the reader into the action.

This is the time for showing, not telling. This is the time for action or emotion or dialogue to move front and center and for description and exposition and back story to move out of the frame.

Open with dialogue—an exchange that sets up the events to follow or dumps us straight into a character’s motivation.

Open with action. A character on the phone, a character in a bed (alone) and thinking on her life, a character driving alone at night (and thinking on her life), a character wandering the woods (alone and thinking on her life), is not the most exciting starting place for a story.

Open with an incident that displays character motivation, even if the incident itself is not the focal point of the story.

Can a story successfully open with description or a character’s thoughts? Of course. Anything can work for a competent writer. But remember your competition—why handicap your story from the start? Give your reader something interesting and engaging. Three pages of description on the flora and fauna of upstate New York is not likely to hold the interest of mystery fans. Give them a mystery to solve. Give them something unusual. Give them something they won’t find in their own world.

Or, take something they would find in their everyday world and twist it, shocking them with the unexpected.

Hook your readers. Compel them into your story. Make them want to start the first chapter. And keep drawing them deeper with each word, each paragraph, each scene.

Give them characters they can identify with (or hate). Engage their emotions.  Give them an imaginary world they can play in, where they can become a character who saves the world or loses a marriage or outwits the police, the bad guys, and a despised older brother.

Create an irresistible opening scene, one the reader can’t escape from. Make it alluring. Compelling. Intriguing.

Fun.

Present your fictional world from the first words, immersing the reader from the start. Don’t tell the reader what’s behind the door; open the door and draw him inside.

Make him want to enter. This is fiction—use what you know about human behavior and motivation to intrigue your reader. Entice and entertain, the same way you do with your spouse when you’re talking about your day. Get a gimmick (that’s not technically a gimmick) and put it to work. Write something that will grab the eyes, mind, and imagination of your readers.

Make it appealing.

Hook your readers.