Hooking The Reader - Writers Forum

S1E9A8N5 · 07-11-2006, 10:30 AM

I'm having trouble coming up with something to start my story. I want it to be something that will make the reader think and to want to continue reading. I remember reading somewhere about "Starting as close to the conclusion as possible". Do you know what that means when they say that? Are there any general ideas on how to hook the reader? I have a lot of information in my story but I wouldn't know how or what to throw at the reader first. I probably have to think about it more.

Sean

Straylight · 07-11-2006, 11:18 AM

In general you want to start when something interesting is happening. Sounds easy/obvious, but it's really very counterintuitive when you have a strong emotional attachment to your story.

As a writer (I encounter this problem a lot myself) it's very tempting to want to evoke the world and characters you have in your head before anything actually 'happens' in your story. You have such a love or hate for your characters, places and whatnot that you want to make them live for the reader before he gets into the action.

Wrongthought.

You have to have confidence in the elements of your story. Don't explain anything, in the beginning, just have something start happening. Nevermind that the reader might not understand all the subtleties of it, nevermind that you have a bunch of cool exposition in your head that makes the opening scene 'better'. You have to have complete belief in your story, and tell it boldly and immediately.

This is doubly hard when writing speculative fiction. The people who accomplish it (Gaiman, Mieville and Zelanzy all come to mind), IMHO, cross all niche genre barriers and achieve something amazing.

Oddly enough, the less you explain about your story, the more real it will feel to the reader.

~SL

Avarice · 07-11-2006, 12:52 PM

you dont have to start with a fire fight or a death or something, if you have alot of dialogue in your book start with a good ol' rant or something.

Fantasy of You · 07-11-2006, 01:16 PM

Starting close to the conclusion is a relatively new thing. It used to be the norm to start with a long introduction about how life WAS before things happen.

If you don't want to start close to the trigger that sets of events, you can still start with a hook, which generally comes in the form of a conflict or dilema.

I think an example of this would be Wilbur Smith's Monsoon (my fav, author

). The main plot does not begin until the 100th page, but the reader is entertained throughout the 100 pages by smaller conflicts. But then in another of his books, Triumph of the Sun, the story begins long into a siege of a city.

Hope I made sense.

imrhati · 07-11-2006, 01:22 PM

sometimes oipening with a fight scene is okay iof done right. Someone told me once, "Fight now, explain later." Usually i start a little bit before the beginning of the plot. Like the prologue is the MC in normal life, it reveals his moral plots a bit. Then in the end of the prologue or the beginning of part 1 i reveal the main plot (although i usually leave a bit of mystery surrounding what is actually happening).

Fantasy of You · 07-11-2006, 03:49 PM

I hate prologues, as do most reading and it is often skipped. A fight at the beginning of a book that is not following a book where the character has been introduced and developed often fails in its aim, as the reader has noone to support or identify with.. They just don't care who dies and who gets the gal.

Mike C · 07-11-2006, 06:08 PM

Go to your bookshelf. Take out your dozen favorite books and read the first 2 or three chapters. What works? What makes you want to read more?

S1E9A8N5 · 07-11-2006, 06:08 PM

Thanks for the advice guys.

Sean

mammamaia · 07-11-2006, 07:29 PM

mike's is the best advice of all and pretty much what i would have said, if he hadn't said it first...

Krim · 07-11-2006, 09:21 PM

I agree with Mike, as I usually do when I see him post. But perhaps that favorite book should be near the genre of your choice and somewhat recent --- using the same techniques as, say, Mervyn Peake adhere to a prior generation and may nowadays be boring.

As for the prologue thing, Fantasy of You, I start off with a nifty little unorthodox 'Chapter Zero' instead of a prologue. Is it crazy enough to work? No clue. It tends to be longer than a prologue and fleshes out entire opening scene a bit more, but of course I only employ it when it would be beneficial to the other-all writing --- i.e. I'm introducing a few characters and interactions and other things that foreshadow the rest of the story, and can't manage to get it into the usual length of a brief prologue even though I use it as a teaser to draw the reader in.

S1E9A8N5 · 07-12-2006, 01:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Krim

As for the prologue thing, Fantasy of You, I start off with a nifty little unorthodox 'Chapter Zero' instead of a prologue. Is it crazy enough to work? No clue. It tends to be longer than a prologue and fleshes out entire opening scene a bit more, but of course I only employ it when it would be beneficial to the other-all writing --- i.e. I'm introducing a few characters and interactions and other things that foreshadow the rest of the story, and can't manage to get it into the usual length of a brief prologue even though I use it as a teaser to draw the reader in.

Chapter Zero huh. That sounds like a good idea.

Sean

Fantasy of You · 07-12-2006, 01:46 PM

I have seen chapter zeros in books, and i tend to believe they are prologues in disguise. I read them with more interest than prologues though- just incase lol.

SilkFX · 07-12-2006, 03:59 PM

Co-signing Mike (again).

Ever pick up a copy of Poets and Writers magazine? They have a section called Page One. There's other stuff besides fiction listed but it's a good example of the kind of opening lines that get people hooked. Hang on, let me get a copy:

"My mother is sick at home, and I am downtown, full of beer, kissing a long-haired man in the pizza place next door to Ruby's Room." -- A Girl Becomes A Comma Like That, Lisa Glatt
(this is a really good example of a novel starting right in the middle of the action -- boom! instant image)

"My grandmother gave birth often, which I suppose increased her odds for tragedy." -- Within Arm's Reach, Ann Napolitano
(others might not be moved by this line, but I read this and go, "Holy sh**!")

I just pulled a copy of Story magazine (no longer being published but I have kept almost every issue published during its last run) and opened to a random story:

"When my son Lee lost another job, he came home again." -- "From Where We've Fallen," Hester Kaplan
(instant conflict: parent with a son who's struggling; again, not everyone might warm to this, but I read this and go, oh sh**...what now? it's the "what now? what's next?" reaction that makes the opening line successful)

S1E9A8N5 · 07-12-2006, 05:04 PM

Thanks for the examples. The first one sticks out for me. The other two are okay. lol.

Sean

aliceedelweiss · 07-12-2006, 05:32 PM

I tend to start with dialoge. No Idea if it catchs the reader, but I guess it does because they get in the conversation. It's also a lot easier (for me anyway) instead of starting with a scene or a description or an event.

I think way they say start as close to the conclusion, they mean, don't start at a time where something is happening that we don't need to know. it also kind of follows the rule "If we don't need to know, don't tell us"

Alice