Grab Your Readers' Attention: Hook Them From the First Line

I've written (what I feel is) a great story, but honestly the story starts with a bit of a slow burn, and I've been told that I should come up with a better "hook" to grab the reader from the first line

How do I write a hook that catches the reader's attention from the first line?  These are 7 Ways to Write a Great Hook:

1. ACTION - jump right into the middle with urgency, tension, thrills, high stakes
2. STATEMENT - make a bold statement, then back it up
   
3. PERSONALITY - lead with the "voice" of a strong character 
   
4. EMOTION - draw the reader into powerful emotions 
5. CURIOSITY - raise a question in the readers' mind 
6. TITLE - use your story title as a hook 
7. SETTING - set the mood

Before we delve into the 7 Ways to Write a Great Hook, first: what is a hook, and why is it important?  

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What is a Hook and Why is it Important?

The hook in a story hook is that all-important first line that leads the reader on to the next line and the next line, then the next paragraph, turning pages all the way to the end of the story. It all starts with that first line, the hook.

The hook is a promise to the reader. It promises intrigue, entertainment, and answers to questions. It's an attention grabber, capturing the reader's interest, creating curiosity, an enticement to keep reading. It's a 'trailer' for the rest of the movie.

Why is the hook important? Readers have a lot of choices. If a story is slow in the uptake, you run the risk that the reader is going to put it aside and pick another story.

If you are writing a longer piece (a novella, a novel), think about each scene, and each chapter in the same way. What's the hook you lead with at the beginning of every chapter? Ideally, you should bait that hook at the end of the prior chapter.

7 Ways to Write a Great Hook

We're going to use the acronym mnemonic "ASPECTS" which stands for Action, Statement, Personality, Emotion, Curiosity, Title, and Setting.

ACTION

This is a hook that puts the reader right into the middle of things with urgency, tension, and the ticking clock. Someone is running into an obstacle. There's an uncertain outcome. There's danger. There are thrills and chills and high stakes and the reader immediately cares about the characters. There's conflict, there's pace. All that by throwing us right into the action:

I’m pretty much fucked. That’s my considered opinion. Fucked. Six days into what should be one of the greatest two months of my life, and it’s turned into a nightmare. I don’t even know who’ll read this. I guess someone will find it eventually. Maybe a hundred years from now. For the record…I didn’t die on Sol 6. Certainly the rest of the crew thought I did, and I can’t blame them. Maybe there’ll be a day of national mourning for me, and my Wikipedia page will say, “Mark Watney is the only human being to have died on Mars.”

- Andy Weir, the first paragraph of "The Martian"

If you've written a story that has a slower burn, consider playing with chronology. Take an action set piece from later in the story (even from the end of the story,) and either lift it whole up to the front, or select a compelling part of that action, and create a framing device. Then the story continues with something like "Three hours earlier..."

But now that you've done that, think about whether you really need that original slow-burn lead-in to that action, or should you actually start your story right there. Kurt Vonnegut recommended that we should start our story as close to the end as possible. So, do you really need everything else that you've written up to that point of action? Can whatever felt so important to the story be woven in later, or is it even needed? Can you start with action and dialogue like this:

"Stay down. Face on the floor, hands on the back of your head. You're doing good. Be smart, and nobody dies today."

- The first line from my Flash Fiction story "Getaway"

STATEMENT

Either the narrator or character states something thought-provoking:

Happy families are all alike; each unhappy family is unhappy in its own way.

- Leo Tolstoy, the first line of "Anna Karenina"

PERSONALITY

Make the reader feel they want to spend some more time with the lead character. Let their personality come across in narrative or dialogue. Think of J.D. Salinger's "Catcher in the Rye." The narrator, Holden Caulfield, has such a strong personality right from the first sentence:

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.

- J.D. Salinger, the first line of "Catcher in the Rye"

EMOTION

Evoke emotion in the very first line. This one can be tricky because the reader doesn't yet have a reason to feel anything about any of the characters, but think about it as teasing an emotion, creating curiosity in the reader to find out more:

"It was a pleasure to burn."

- Ray Bradbury, the first line of "Fahrenheit 451"

Someone is feeling pleasure burning. What are they burning? Why do they feel pleasure doing it? You have to read on to find out.

124 was spiteful. Full of Baby's venom.

- Toni Morrison, the first line of "Beloved"

Who is "124"? Why is 124 spiteful? You feel the spite, the Baby's venom, right from the opening, and you're compelled to read on to find out more.

CURIOSITY

Raise one or more questions in the reader's mind. What is going on? Who is this? Where are we? When are we? For some of these you may want to immediately answer the questions (who, where, when, for example), but it's OK to leave it open ended for a while to hook the readers.

It was a bright cold day in April, and the clocks were striking thirteen.

- George Orwell, the first line of "1984"

Let the story open with a strange, unusual, compelling situation. Give a character a tough choice to make right in the first line, creating curiosity in the reader -- how will they deal with this? Put some mystery and suspense into the first line — even if it's not in the Mystery/Suspense genre. Consider withholding some information from the reader, then either include a reveal right in the first line, or in the next line or next paragraph.  

It doesn't have to be as unusual and strange as "the clocks were striking thirteen." It's enough to raise a question in the reader's mind, so they will want to read on.

The traveling salesman was alone in the train compartment, still shaken from what he had seen. Why had she done it?

- The first line from my Flash Fiction story "What Could Be Worse?"

The reader will want to know "Why had she done it?" even when they don't yet know who "she" is (or for that matter who the "traveling salesman" is). It's enough that there is an "open loop" to stir curiosity. 

TITLE

The title of your story can be a hook, Even better if the title either naturally flows into the story, or is in contrast to the first line, so that there is a discord that the reader needs to stick around to see resolved.

You are about to begin reading Italo Calvino's new novel, If on a winter's night a traveler. Relax. Concentrate. Dispel every other thought. Let the world around you fade. Best to close the door; the TV is always on in the next room. Tell the others right away, "No, I don't want to watch TV!" Raise your voice — they won't hear you otherwise — "I'm reading! I don't want to be disturbed!" Maybe they haven't heard you, with all that racket; speak louder, yell: "I'm beginning to read Italo Calvino's new novel!" Or if you prefer, don't say anything; just hope they'll leave you alone.

- Italo Calvino, the first paragraph of "If on a Winter's Night a Traveler"

In this great example, Italo Calvino weaves in the title of his novel (and even name-checks himself) in the first line. The title of the novel is itself an "open loop" since it's an unfinished sentence: "If on a Winter's Night a Traveler." The reader thinks 'IF on a winter's night, a traveler...', what do you mean 'IF', what happens to the traveler on the winter's night in the rest of that unfinished sentence?"

SETTING

I don't mean that you're writing a flat description of the setting. That's not a hook.

Instead think of the mood you want to get across — something ominous or funny or absurd in the setting itself. Is there something interesting about the context, world-building, unusual facts that can be used as a hook?

Whatever it is, it should be a teaser, a taste, not a long drawn out description.

What to Avoid

So, that's what makes a great hook. Here's the flip-side, what to avoid:  

• Long descriptions and expositions - This is a rookie mistake where you just feel like you have to have a a long description with nothing going on. Instead just jump right into it with a compelling statement, action, or dialogue. Once the hook is set, you can add the descriptions and expositions (sparingly).
   
• Backstory - An extensive backstory is almost never a good hook. All that "stuff" you feel your reader has to know about your character can be saved for later. 
  
  
• Secondary or extraneous detail - Cut to the bone. You can weave in all the extraneous detail later. Hook the reader first.
  
  
• Passive voice - Make it active. Write "The dog found his master", not "The master was found by his dog." Why is this important? We want the reader to get pulled into the action, and the best way to do that is to let the reader identify with an active character. In "The dog found his master" example, the reader can identify with the dog actively seeking and finding his master. You want to know more about that dog and the search, and then (because you now care about the dog's search), you want to know about "the master."

Resources

The best way to learn how to write hooks ... is to actually write your own hooks. (A lot of them!)

The next best way ... is to read examples of great hooks, so that you learn by osmosis, picking up the clues, and seeing what resonates as you read these opening lines.

Check out these links:

• 100 Best First Lines From Novels
  
  
• 18 of the best first lines in fiction
  
  
• 150 of the most compelling opening lines in literature
  
  
• 83 Opening Lines Of Famous Books That Will Make You Want To Read Them Now

RELATED ARTICLES

Hey, you've come up with a great hook, but you haven't actually finished your story. Here are some articles that will be helpful: 

• Write Fiction Faster! — How to Speed Up Your Story Writing 
  
  
• Need a Great Idea for Your Next Story? Try the Story IDEA Formula
  
  
• From Idea to Story: 3 Methods to Develop Your Story Idea 
  
  
• How to Write Characters Who Stick in the Reader's Mind 
  
  
• What Makes a Good Story? — Great Scenes! Here's How to Write Them
  
  
• Make Your Story Sing — Write Great Dialogue!
  
  
• Flash Fiction: How To Use It To Supercharge Your Writing 
  
  
• Blast Through Writer's Block: How to Get Unstuck 

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Do you want to write fiction faster, while practicing your craft and your writing process to consistently get better? Check out this link to the "Write Fiction Faster ... and better" guide and workbook, which comes with a companion course with 23 bite-sized video lessons and 4 worksheets.