You don’t know when it happens.
“Oh, how could I not?” you ask, smirking.
Because it dodges your gatekeeping mind.
Latching onto your imagination, pulling you deeper into the river of words, the churning grey rapids, and all that frothy seething emotion.
Until you’re caught — drawn in completely.
Your sense of self lost.
As you become another, walking in their shoes, squinting at their sun, shouldering their burdens. Knowing the story behind every scar marking their bent and broken backs.
You pull back.
That flashing judgmental alarm clock says it’s 2 AM.
You need to stop.
But you can’t.
You’re hooked.
Hooked?
Narrative hooks are tools used in stories to grab readers’ attention and draw them into the story by engaging their curiosity with questions or statements and pulling them deeper, deeper into your story.
There are many options to try: a question, a surprising statement, a powerful image, or a even a line of dialogue.
But ultimately, narrative hooks pique curiosity to the level of compulsion. Your readers become compelled to reader the next line.
And then next.
However, unlike clickbait, in fiction we deliver on those hooks.
Famous Examples In Classic Fiction
“It was a bright cold day in April, and the clocks were striking thirteen.”
— George Orwell, 1984
An observant reader’s mind might say immediately, “Why thirteen? That’s not normal.” And hooked, they read on to find out why this world is different, and it feels so cold and bleak.
“All children, except one, grow up.”
— J.M. Barrie, Peter Pan
Why doesn’t he grow up? What’s so special about this one? Let’s turn the page and see. Peter Pan’s opening creates a sense of wonder, hints at something magical, and off we go on an adventure completely hooked.
What About Genre Fiction?
In a mystery, you could set the scene of a crime or hint at hidden truth:
“The first time I saw him was on Gantry Pier, and he was very drunk.”
— Raymond Chandler, The Big Sleep.
In romance, the hook could hint at an social tension and conflict:
“It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife.” — Jane Austen, Pride and Prejudice.
In sci fi, maybe a powerful description that paints a unique, vibrant world:
“The sky above the port was the color of television, tuned to a dead channel.”
— William Gibson, Neuromancer.
Why it works
An opening hook works by creating a sense of intrigue or curiosity in the reader’s mind.
It can be something that is unexpected or something that is relatable.
It creates a question that readers want to know the answer to or makes a statement that readers want to know more about.
The first line must lead to the second, and to the end of the paragraph, then chapter, and hopefully it’s 2 AM before they know any better.
Let’s see how to do it.
9 Ways To Write Good Hooks
Great story hooks do at least one of the following:
1. Add urgency
Describe an action with a time limit, high stakes or a situation needing urgent investigation. Place the needs of your characters as the highest priority at the start of your story.
“They murdered him on a summer’s evening.”
— Agatha Christie, And Then There Were None
2. Pose questions
A good opening presents questions that the reader is eager to have answered, such as ‘who’, ‘what’, ‘why’, ‘where’, and ‘when’.
“When he woke in the woods in the dark and the cold of the night he’d reach out to touch the child sleeping beside him.”
— Cormac McCarthy’s The Road
3. Share intriguing context
Tell us something about your world. Share the conflicts, relationships, or facts. Readers love texture. Like a wartime city about to be evacuated or a wholly different social setting.
Jane Austen’s quote screams period piece AND a certain mercenary angle.
4. Let someone enthralling speak
A richly developed character whose essence comes through their voice, their words, diction, and particular turns of phrase to build a powerful connection that a reader cannot ignore.
A compelling narrator makes you ask, who is this? How can I know them? Again, Jane’s opening line makes you want to know who’s speaking.
5. Hint at an extraordinary world
Many novels begin with setting-based hooks. Show readers what makes this place special. What detail represents your story’s time, place, or era?
Especially important for speculative fiction, like in Neuromancer above.
“Oh, this feels different.”
6. Sprinkle in spice
Conflict is the spice of a good book. And a good hook tickles our nose and our connoisseur’s palette with just the right balance. Or imbalance.
Change drives stories. Conflict transforms.
7. Build tension
Start with narrative tension. Try high-stakes events (e.g. a tightrope between skyscrapers) or an immediate struggle or obstacle or
a situation with two possible outcomes.
Will they, won’t they?
8. Reveal backstory
Relevant backstory provides context, history, and narrative purpose to the current situation. Everything that happened before doesn’t need to be there.
Only that which led A to B. How Harry met Sally.
9. Set tone
They let you know right there on the very first line, what you’re in for.
A Few Key Don’ts
Don’t info dump
Just enough exposition for readers to ask questions.
Don’t cut crucial info for cheap surprises
Rather add facts that lead to questions. E.g. There’s a body on the floor. Why is there a … ?
Don’t wax lyrical on backstory
Too much backstory can be overwhelming for readers and end up hiding the major conflict or plot. Yawn. Start in the action.
Don’t use clichés
Overused phrases are boring. E.g. It was a dark and story night.
Yech. Skip ’em. Craft something new.
The Gist
Using an opening hook is a powerful technique for capturing a reader’s attention and drawing them into your story.
By starting with a question, a surprising statement, a powerful image, or a line of dialogue, you can create a sense of intrigue or curiosity in the reader’s mind.
To create an effective opening hook, think about what you want your reader to feel or think and use a sentence or phrase that will grab their attention.
And then follow it up with something good.
February’s Mini-Course
Each week, I’ll share a guide on a specific type of hook and invite you to practice by sharing a piece of microfiction.
But this month, we’re limiting your stories to 300 words. Maximum.
Because these stories focus on the opening line, spend more time there.
Also, some of our recent submissions have been flabby word-wasting pieces. We could all do with a little exercise in lean writing.
I won’t ask you to do something I won’t do myself, so I’ll commit to four pieces, all capped at 300 words. Exactly.
That’s a hook and a twist all in one theme.
January Round Up
Last month our theme was From Zero to Hero, which asked our writers to structure their stories using Chris Vogler’s version of the Hero’s Journey.
Our top stories this month
In no particular order.
I Called My Nemesis and Her Husband Answered Her Phone by K. Joseph
Another World by Camilla Seth (part 2 also did great!)
Congrats guys! Keep up the great work. 👏
Disclosure: I used ChatGPT, Perplexity.ai, Quillbot, Merlin and Lex to speed up up writing this piece. The concept, consolidation, flow, stupid human errors and endearing personality are my own.
I use AI to do more with less time. These mini-courses wouldn’t be possible without “their” help. You can use AI to help you write fiction for us, just tell a better story in the end. Lazy writing is unwelcome now, as in the past.