Six Ways to Hook Your Reader

“Why do you add extra stress to your life knowing you’ve got so much to do?”

“Because if I don’t commit myself to doing this at least once a month, then I will let life take over and what I love to do will fall by the wayside and fade away.” I began to feel the pressure of not being prepared for this event and I started calculating how much time I could actually go without sleep before I lapsed myself into a coma.

He nodded his head in either disbelief or sheer disappointment, since I knew that scheduling something like this at my home while we’re in the middle of moving was somewhat ludicrous.

As I write this with blood-shot eyes and bags under my eyes, throwing an ever constant glance at the time, knowing that I am only two-and-a-half hours away from my guests arriving, I can feel the palpitations of my heart racing. The mental image of them seeing the mounds of clean laundry that I haven’t folded and put away as they lay scattered all over my living room couches, not to mention the overflowing kitchen sink of last nights dirty dishes, sends me into a state of panic, and I begin to ask myself if I am indeed crazy for piling up just another thing I have to do. I look behind me and I can hear the gentle, soft caress of my plush, guest bed calling my name. “Jackie, slip into my white cotton sheets, and bask and roll in the pleasure of peaceful slumber,” it says.

“Should I cancel? Call in sick, perhaps?”

“Of course, not, people are counting on you, you idiot!”

If you’re still reading this, then I’ve done my job at hooking the audience. Opening with dialogue engages a reader and invites him into the middle of things with your story, wanting to know more. That is just one of the six ways you can engage an audience and hook them into your world of stories, which is extremely important if you want to keep a reader interested. I did this when drafting the first chapter to my next novel, Soul Tracker and the feedback from my focus group has been quite positive.

To help prepare for this month’s writing workshop with my group, I researched the Writer’s Digest archives and found James Scott Bell’s, The Big Grab article which was loaded with plenty of useful techniques to engage an audience. Below is an adaptation from the original article:

The Big Grab by James Scott Bell

INTRIGUE – Start with something intriguing that immediately rouses your interest and leaves you wanting to learn more. According to Bell, “studying the types of hooks that prolific (and bestselling) authors have used is a great way to learn how to craft your own beginnings.” He gives some examples of Dean Koontz's opening hooks:

Tuesday was a fine California day, full of sunshine and promise, until Harry Lyon had to shoot someone at lunch. (Dragon Tears)

Penny Dawson woke and heard something moving furtively in the dark bedroom. (Darkfall)

Katharine Sellers was sure that, at any moment, the car would begin to slide along the smooth, icy pavement and she would lose control of it. (Dance With the Devil, written as Deanna Dwyer)A couple of elements make these openings successful. First, they give us a character—by name. This creates the illusion of reality from the get-go. Some writers begin with a pronoun: She heard something moving in her bedroom. But with Koontz's approach, a name gives an extra measure of verisimilitude and makes the willing suspension of disbelief that much easier.

Second, something is happening or is about to happen to the named character. And not just anything—something intriguing.

Note, however, that the intrigue doesn't have to be typical of commercial, plot-driven fiction. It works just as well in a literary novel, such as Blue Shoe by Anne Lamott:

The world outside the window was in flames. The leaves on the pistachio trees shone fire-red and orange. Mattie studied the early morning light. She was lying on the side of the bed where her husband should have been sleeping.



In this example, Lamott starts with description. But she gets a character into the mix by the third sentence. And then she drops in a line indicating something amiss—her husband isn't where he should be. We have a feeling of unease. Mattie is in the midst of a troubling situation and is going to have to do something about it.

MYSTERY - Another opening method is to drop a hint of mystery into the proceedings. My novel Breach of Promise begins like this:

We were halfway through Twister, and Helen Hunt was about to run down another relentless force of nature, when I turned to Paula and said, "Please don't do it." Now the reader wants to find out what the narrator doesn't want Paula to do. Several paragraphs follow before the answer is revealed.

ACTION

James M. Cain's The Postman Always Rings Twice begins:

They threw me off the hay truck about noon.

We are, as they say, in medias res—the middle of things. One technique to get you there: After your first draft, make Chapter 2 your first chapter. Almost always, things move faster.

Another form of immediate action is starting with dialogue. If there's an element of conflict in there, so much the better. I chose this for my opening in Final Witness:

"How old are you?"

"Twenty-four."

"Going into your third year?"

"Yes."

"Second in your class?"

"Temporarily."

"Isn't it true you have a motive to lie?"

"Excuse me?" Rachel Ybarra felt her face start to burn. That question had come from nowhere, like a slap. She sat up a little straighter in the chair.

This cross-examination style plunges us into instant conflict between two characters.

RAW EMOTION – begin with a universal set of emotions that everyone can relate to

The Quiet Game by Greg Iles begins with a father holding his 4-year-old daughter as they wait in a line at Disney World:

Annie jerks taut in my arms and points into the crowd.

"Daddy! I saw Mama! Hurry!"

I do not look. I don't ask where. I don't because Annie's mother died seven months ago. I stand motionless in the line, looking just like everyone else except for the hot tears that have begun to sting my eyes.

We're immediately bonded to the lead through his deep feeling of a universal emotion.

LOOK-BACK HOOK- These hooks suggest there's a not-to-be-missed story about to unfold.

Still another way to capture attention from the start is with the look-back hook. Here's how Stephen King does it:

The terror, which would not end for another 28 years—if it ever did end—began, so far as I can tell, with a boat made from a sheet of newspaper floating down a gutter swollen with rain. (IT)

The two things Sarah remembered about that night later were his run of luck at the Wheel of Fortune and the mask. But as time passed, years of it, it was the mask she thought about—when she could bring herself to think about that horrible night at all. (The Dead Zone)

ATTITUDE

When using first-person narration, especially in literary fiction, you can capture attention through voice and attitude. J.D. Salinger accomplishes this in his classic, The Catcher in the Rye:

If you really want to hear about it, the first thing you'll probably want to know is where I was born, and what my lousy childhood was like, and how my parents were occupied and all before they had me, and all that David Copperfield kind of crap, but I don't feel like going into it, if you want to know the truth.

Grab your readers by judicious use of the above methods. You still have a long way to go to keep them reading, but you'll have a good lead out of the gate.



*Writer’s Digest, The Big Grab, by James Scott Bell, Feb 11, 2008

Get the Year Started With Some Pre-Writing Techniques!

Every piece I write starts with an idea. Sometimes people ask me, "Where do you get your ideas from?" I have to admit that writing a novel from beginning to end is one of the toughest things for me, but I always start with prewriting strategies. A word will pop into my head from something I've read on an article or something I watch on TV, or something I heard from a song. From that word, I'll do what you call stream of consciousness writing. That's when you don’t worry about grammar, punctuation, or spelling and you simply just write whatever pops into your head out of that one word. Eventually, an idea will conceptualize, and I'll turn it into a starting sentence. Before I know it, I'm off to writing a plot.


This brainstorming process is part of the prewriting stage of writing. We don't have to be perfect. We don't even have to come up with an outline, yet. Simply sit down and just do it! This year I challenge you to turn your ideas into stories and write. Set an attainable goal along with easy to accomplish steps that will take you there. The process isn't easy; other things will get in the way, but challenge yourself to put pen on paper, even if it's 15 minutes a day. I personally have set a challenge to complete the novel I started 3-4 yrs. ago by March 30th. I intend to take the manuscript with me, and pitch it to an agent at an upcoming writing conference in May. Sometimes I get stuck, and I have to step away from my laptop, pull out a sheet of paper, and I go through a self-questioning interview process. I talk to myself in writing, ask and answer myself questions such as: What are you trying to accomplish with your character(s)? What problem will your main characters have to face? How do you plan to get them there? What solution is there to the problem? Bang! I've got a plot, and I can get back to work.

If you find yourself stuck for things to write about, try the following exercise. This is something I'll be using at a writer's workshop tomorrow. From the following words below, select one, and write at least five details that come to mind about the word you selected. For example, here are the words:

FACE OF AN ANGEL
YOU'RE BEAUTIFUL
DREAMS
DEFEATED
CONTROL
STRONG
SUFFOCATED

My example: FACE OF AN ANGEL--->looks can be deceiving, Taylor Swift, what I fell for, sweet-talking person, what you see is not always what you get

Select one of the details to create a starter sentence and write a paragraph from it. Sometimes you can combine details like my example:

Looks can be deceiving. Sometimes what you see isn't always what you get. For Maria Longoria, she would soon find out that the man that walked in to her life, with the face of an angel, would unleash a terrible whirlwind of catastrophe in her life.

Bada-bing! I have an idea that can turn into something.

Here are more lead sentences to get you started:

I believed in...

Who will...

If only...

I didn't know...

The day you...

Hope that helps you get started on the right track this year. Please feel free to leave a comment or follow me on my blog to receive more updates. If you are interested in reading short snippets of my upcoming book, you can also find me on Facebook's JAX FAN PAGE. All my love and blessings for a prosperous year of writing!

A Good Place to Get Your Work Published

Dear Writers and Potential Writers seeking to get your work published:

I just wanted to drop in and do some shameless self-promotion by writing a little about Spotlight on Recovery, a magazine that gives "voice to the therapeutic community." If you enjoy reading and writing self-help material, this is a great resource you can query to get published. I recently had an article published titled, "Facing Fear Head-On: Self Defense Empowers Women to Go from Victim to Survivors."

For first-time writers wanting to get their foot through the publishing door, and get paid for it, this is a great place to start. Familiarize yourself with the content by ordering the November issue on "Overcoming Your Fears." I believe the magazine is $2.95. The Editor is Robin Graham. She's very professional and will respond to your queries in less than two weeks. As with many media venues, it did take awhile to see it in print, but nonetheless, here it is. She posts her call for entries on her home page at:  http://spotlightonrecovery.com/default.aspx



Click on the picture
to view excerpts and table of contents




Here's a snippet from my article:

One woman broke down and froze right next to me. I held back tears as counselors gathered round and asked, "Were you raped?" She could only nod. I had to think of a happy place, focus on my group and keep going. Another woman came to our group from a counselor who coached her and said, "We're going to do this again, and this time you're gonna fight. You can DO this!" I could only watch as her lips quivered and her closed eyelids twitched, awaiting my husband's chokehold from a standing position. I saw that woman open her eyes and unleash a firestorm on him as she kicked, kneed and battled her way out...

You may contact her through email or snail mail at:

R.Graham Publishing Company

9602 Glenwood Road # 140

Brooklyn, NY 11236

347-831-9373

rgraham_100@msn.com 

NaNoWrimo: Get the Juices Flowing and Vanquish Your Procrastination Demon!

After going on three years of attempting to finish my second novel, I have decided to take the bold step of signing up for NaNoWrimo. What is NaNoWrimo? As the website's "about us" tab describes:

"It is a seat-of-your-pants approach to novel writing. Participants begin writing November 1. The goal is to write a 175-page (50,000-word) novel by midnight, November 30. Valuing enthusiasm and perseverance over painstaking craft, NaNoWriMo is a novel-writing program for everyone who has thought fleetingly about writing a novel but has been scared away by the time and effort involved. The ONLY thing that matters in NaNoWriMo is output. It's all about quantity, not quality. The kamikaze approach forces you to lower your expectations, take risks, and write on the fly."

I've had friends encourage me to join in the previous three years, but the thought of writing 50,000 words in a month seemed like a daunting task, and still does, since I couldn't get myself on a consistent momentum to come up with ideas for my prequel. Then I remembered that I was overlooking a very important step to the writing process, which is fundamental to getting any writing done. It's something I taught when I was a language arts teacher many moons ago.

All writing must begin by generating a set of ideas or details. They don't have to be coherent, perectly spelled, or grammatically correct. The key is to jot down whatever comes to mind in order to get those brain juices flowing. That is what prewriting and drafting is all about. Sometimes, I get so caught up waiting to come up with  that magical sentence; I want that muse to inspire me, or I get bogged down with writing everything just right, that I paralyze myself from moving forward.

So, perhaps this is going to get my brain in gear and push me to finish that novel I started three years ago. No more excuses! Time to write and worry about editing and proofing later! If you've been procrastinating for that very same reason, join the club, look me up and let's encourage each other. I'll see you at the finish line.

Recap of last month's Writing Retreat and Critique

I just wanted to share a recap of a recent writing workshop I held at Barnes & Noble last weekend for those who were not able to join us. I conduct these workshops once a month, on a Saturday, to help aspiring writers get published. If you were not able to join us, here's what you missed.


WRITING PROMPTS: Here are 4 of the 8 writing prompts I assigned taken from the http://www.writersdigest.com/ :

You often hear people say, "You'll never understand another person until you've walked a day in his or her shoes." Choose a fictional character and walk a day in his or her shoes. Now write about it.

You've left town—ditching your old, miserable life—hoping to start a new life for yourself. You've given yourself a new name, fake background and style. Write about your first encounter in your new town.

The love of your life is getting married to someone else. In a last-ditch attempt to win the love of your life back, you bust into the wedding and profess your love mid-ceremony. Start your story with the line, "Don't say yes!”

You are given the opportunity to talk to one dead person and tell him one thing that you didn't get to before he passed away. Who would you pick and what would you tell him or her.

MINI LESSON:
Went over the 8 Basic Writing Blunders a writer makes when writing a novel or story. You can read them all here on this link: www.writersdigest.com/article/Beyond_Basic_Blunders

HOMEWORK: I assigned the writers an assignment to bring to the next workshop. Review the 8 Basic Writing Blunders. Sift through your stories and find a paragraph where you committed a similar mistake. Rewrite one of the paragraphs into a newer version. Bring it to the next session. You will read the old paragraph and read the new one to the group to see how you improved it.

You can find me on facebook under (JAX Fan Page) for announcements to upcoming events and happenenings. I'm also on Myspace or Twitter (writingjax). I encourage you to enter my writing contests found on my Heart of the Jaguar webpage and put your creative juices to work. Have a fabulous week!

An Exchange Between Two Authors

I recently met an interesting author on an Amazon discussion board who devotes herself to empowering women with her weekly podcast shows. Her book intrigued me and I found that we had quite a bit in common. Read our conversation exchange below:


Me: Hi Kathleen, I've read your synopsis to your book, Escaping The Glass Cage: A Story of Survival & Empowerment from Domestic Violence, and I was intrigued by the title. I write along similar themes, but through a fictional context. The title of my book is Heart of the Jaguar, and at first glance, one wouldn't know it is a book that creates awareness about domestic abuse. So, why did you choose Escaping the Glass Cage as a title?

Kathleen: It came to me while I lived in a shelter for battered women. I saw myself living in a glass cage for years, I could see outside, but didn't know how to get out until I learned to break through my own limiting beliefs. It wasn't till I became strong within myself that I could begin a new life. I knew then I would write my story, but didn't know when. Last summer I was ready. While recovering from knee surgery, I used the time off from work to re-write my book as I wanted it to come from a place of healing, not pain and anger. And as they say, the rest is history. Why did you pick a fictitious setting to explain abuse?

Me: The answer is two-fold: My initial intent when I wrote the book was to deal with a deep depression I went through after 911 hit. I didn't know why I was going through it, but I suppose my mindset was that here the world could end, and I never fully realized my true purpose in life by following my real passion. I had no legacy to leave behind and my life had been simply meaningless. So I dove into writing, laying out a plot and incorporating experiences from my childhood and those of women I knew who had gone through similar abusive situations. I was slowly developing a novel that I originally began to use as a way to cope with what I was feeling. By the time I was done, I realized that I had written a novel that created awareness regarding domestic abuse. In it, I expose the way a community, the media and even religion can have a profound effect with the way women are treated.

I don't know if I'm ready to reveal to the world the full realities of what I experienced, growing up as a child who saw her mother get beaten and then being raised in an environment of physchological torment and intimidation after they divorced. I'm still in the process of healing, trusting and mending my relationship with my father who has made some changes in his life as well. So I suppose that's the second reason. I guess I feel safer helping others by concealing myself and what I experienced in a fictional setting.

You are very brave to write about your experience-- what made you decide to take that bold step and get out? For my mother, unfortunately, she went from one abusive relationship after another until finally ending her third marriage about two years ago and deciding never to marry again. And finally what is the most important thing you think people can get out of reading your book?

Kathleen: I agree on how domestic violence knows no race, religion, creed or sex. It covers all boundaries and that is why I view it as a human problem, a global problem, and we ALL have a voice to help heal the wounds. A guest who was on my radio show recently said something so profound, that Homeland Security begins at home. We cannot have peace in our world if we do not have peace in our homes.

When I began to write my story, I also faced the option of going with a fictional story. But something within my soul told me to stay with what I know, what I felt and experienced. I feel it is because there are so many out there who have or are experiencing the same. I truly believe we each have a voice and if my story can be the voice of another, then I have done my job of helping them empower their lives. My book is small, something a woman in crisis can read without being overwhelmed with information. I share techniques, tools, books, audios and ideas that I used to help empower my life. I am also currently working on setting up my coaching program to work with women who are learning to live again after abuse, to help them heal from the trauma.

Even though you created a fictional story around your experiences, how has it helped you with your healing process and also, how has it helped others who have read your work?

Me: The book helped me with my healing when I created the character, Nina, a 17 yr-old survivalist as a way to channel things I wish I could've said, done or accomplished when I was her age. She refuses to call herself a victim by any means. She is resourceful and self-reliant. She hasn't spoken to her mother in six months (a battered wife in denial) after an incident that occured during a confrontation with one of her step-father's drunken binges. Out of the blue, she gets a cryptic call from her who leaves a message to come back home because something terrible has happened to two of her cousins. Accompanied by her two best friends, Marge and Anthony, she heads home in hope's of trying to bridge the broken relationship gap between her and her mother. I lived vicariously through Nina, wishing I could've done the same. I could closely relate to Nina and her relationship with her mother-- the feelings she felt when she wished she could shake her out of her denial and make her understand that no one had a right to beat or mistreat her-- that she needed to understand who she was as a person instead of looking to another man for salvation. Parts of it are autobiographical.

How do I feel it helps them? I wanted to relate the message to women that they have the choice to take a stand and say no more, and that freedom from oppression is often within the grasp of their own choices. I wanted to encourage them to take control of their life, step outside their comfort zone and learn how to survive on their own two feet. There's a little warrior in all of them, but it's hidden underneath all that fear. If they learn to face it and overcome it, that warrior woman comes out and there's no telling what they can accomplish.

That was a profound statement, that peace starts at home. Unfortunately, there are far too many spousal abusers who thrive on instilling fear, and I've made it my mission to also teach women how to defend themselves. Some may disagree and say that teaching violence does not stop violence. I differ by saying that I don't want to teach violence, but rather teach them how to stop it, so they don't end up six feet under ground.

I admire your courage and am going to read your book.Thanks for participating in this discussion as it was a first for me as well and was glad to have also found a friend I could relate to. Where can people buy your novel or contact you?

Kathleen: Thank you so much! My book is available through Amazon.com as well as direct from my publisher. All the links can be found at my website www.kathleenmschmidt.com. People can reach me through my website as well, just click on the "Contact" link. I wanted to add a huge THANK YOU for your work and sharing your story of empowerment.

So You Think You Can Host a Writing Contest?

The writing contest I was hosting came and went without a bleep on the successful online marketing radar. When I concocted the idea to hold a contest, I envisioned a plethora of entries flocking to my site all for a chance to win a whopping $50 just for posting a new title to my next novel. What could be simpler than this, I thought to myself? Afterall, there is no entry fee-- and you know how we, writers, all hate to pay an entry fee just to have someone read our work and turn it down-- and with this economy that bites, anyone could really use a little pocket change. Well, turns out that while the idea may have been brilliant, the task assigned to the entry participants was not.

What I hadn't taken into account was the time it would take for someone to read through my first seven chapters to come up with a possible title to my next novel. I should've used my husband as a litmus test, before I set this up when he came up and told me, "What were you thinking? Who's gonna take the time to read through seven chapters for $50? I started reading it and gave up after the third!" OUCH...

After licking my tiny deflated ego, I realized he was right. People are so busily caught up with the daily grind of life that taking the time to read through seven chapters may be last on their priority list. By the way, to see the winners who braved through my arduous task go to: http://heartofthejaguar.com/My_FAN_Page.php.

So, if you are a writer or author who is thinking of doing this type of online promotion, consider making the task easy to accomplish. You'll get higher returns in the long run. I do have to admit, however, that I did have lots of interest and the amount of people travelling to my site tripled, so perhaps I may have done something right that may have some trickling effects in the long run, but who knows. I will keep you posted if that's the case. If you have been successful with such online promotions, feel free to exchange your ideas. I'd love to hear from you, and don't hesitate to do some shameless promotion yourself in the comments. I welcome it!

Love and blessings,
JAX, Author of Heart of the Jaguar