What Hooks a Reader on a Story? By Connie Vines

Topic: What glues you to a story start to finish? What hooks do you use to capture your readers?

Engage the reader  

Purposely engage readers from the first words, first image, first emotion, and first bit of dialogue.
How to hook my readers?

Workshops, how-to-books, and instructors will say it’s the first two paragraphs, the first one hundred words, the blurb, the cover. . .etc. that will hook your readers.

As a rule, I agree these statements are true.

The key statement is “as a rule”.

I write what I like to read.  I like a strong opening hook, witty dialogue, or a detailed description of a setting, all have their place and all appeal to me.  If I have had a stressful day, I may prefer a book with more narrative.  A humdrum day, a fast-paced book with a strong action hook is perfect.  I assume my readers preferences are the same.

The story dictates the hook and the tone of my story.  Always.

Remember that story is primarily about characters and events. An opening without them isn’t much of an opening

When I select print books, I look at the cover, read the blurb, and scan the first three pages.  Ebooks, offer the additional benefit of reviews (though I am careful not to find spoilers) and speedy download. As a writer, I am very aware that I’m not the only entertainment venue.  I compete with movies, television, and in the case of my Teen/Tween and YA novels—video games,

I strive to forge an emotional connection between my readers and my characters.  I hope that my readers will remember my characters and think of them as friends. Friends that make an afternoon enjoyable, an evening filled with adventure, hope, love, or good old-fashioned or just plain sassy fun!

Looking for a hook?

Here are a few of mine:

• Charlene hadn’t told Rachel that she’d fixed her up with a cowboy, much less Lynx Maddox, the “Wild Cat” of the rodeo circuit.  Rachel signed. She should have known.  After all, Charlene only dated men who wore boots and Stetson.  “Lynx” Rodeo Romance, Book 1.  BWL release.

• Audralynn Maddox heard her own soft cry, but the pain exploding inside her head made everything else surreal, distanced somehow by the realization that some had made a mistake. A terrible mistake.  “Brede” Rodeo Romance, Book 2. BWL release.

• “You and Elvis have done a great job on this house,” Meredith said as her older sister led the way downstairs toward the kitchen here the tour began. “Sorry I couldn’t get over, until now, but I’ve been sort of. . .well, busy.” Slipping her Juicy Couture tortoise-shell framed sunglasses into a bright pink case, Meredith crammed them into her black Coach handbag. She hoped her sister didn’t ask her to define busy. Becoming a zombie, and dealing with the entire raised from the dead issue over the past six months, was not a topic easily plunked into casual conversation.  “
Here Today, Zombie Tomorrow” BWL release.

Your first chapter, your opening scene, your very first words are an invitation to readers.
I ask myself, “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 a 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.

I hope that I am successful.

Happy Reading,

Connie

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Remembering the Challenger shuttle disaster - Vijaya Schartz

The Challenger shuttle disaster 30 years ago is one of those moments carved into my memory. I will always remember it, like people remember where they were when Kennedy was shot, or when the towers fell. I had a teacher friend who had applied for that coveted seat on the space shuttle. I was so glad he didn't get picked.

I'm old enough to remember  January 28, 1086. It was an age of innocence, when we believed space exploration had been conquered, and we would soon venture into space, build bases on other planets and soon reach the stars. Then it happened, the tragedy that broke the space program. Challenger exploded 73 seconds after lift-off.

The event was transmitted live on TV and the tragedy occurred as the world watched. At the time, it was a rare event, and children in their classrooms watched it happen with their teachers.

The explosion killed the entire crew, including a civilian, a beloved female teacher. Heroes, all of them.

 

Left to right are Teacher-in-Space payload specialist Sharon Christa McAuliffe; payload specialist Gregory Jarvis; and astronauts Judith A. Resnik, mission specialist; Francis R. (Dick) Scobee, mission commander; Ronald E. McNair, mission specialist; Mike J. Smith, pilot; and Ellison S. Onizuka, mission specialist.
Image credit: NASA

The exact timing of the death of the crew is unknown; several crew members are known to have survived the initial breakup of the spacecraft. The shuttle had no escape system, and the impact of the crew compartment with the ocean surface was too violent to be survivable.

At 5 pm President Regan addressed the nation live and ended his speech with: The crew of the space shuttle Challenger honored us by the manner in which they lived their lives. We will never forget them, nor the last time we saw them, this morning, as they prepared for their journey and waved goodbye and "slipped the surly bonds of earth" to "touch the face of God."

  
In my novels, of course, I can control what happens, and I don't kill my heroes. One of the NASA space shuttles is featured in my series ANCIENT ENEMY, available everywhere in all eBook formats.

Vijaya Schartz
Blasters, Swords, Romance with a Kick
http://www.vijayaschartz.com
Amazon - Barnes & Noble - All Romance eBooks - Smashwords - iBooks - Kobo

A Scorpio, that’s me-Tricia McGill

Buy When Fate Decides here.

I never thought too much about my star sign and its significance until later in life. It is very strange that out of a family of ten children only two of us were Scorpios and as far back as I can recall I was told how like my sister Joan I looked, and I was born on the 9th November and she on the 14th. We certainly bore similar characteristics in that she was ambitious and liked to get her own way. My husband always joked that the females in our family were all bossy and liked to get in the last word. She was very good at her chosen profession and I like to think that I was in mine. I certainly can’t abide being a failure at anything, although have to cede that I am no good at sports. The only sporting activity I did relatively well in was horse-riding.

These quotes are taken from my on-line Scorpio profile:

“It is true, Scorpio's can be argumentative and pack a powerful sting, but that's simply because they see all opposition as a healthy challenge.”

So, you see, it’s true what my husband always told me, I loved getting in the last word with any argument he set before me. We argued most days during our very long time together.

“They prefer their own company over those of others, and are quite okay with solitude.” 

Ah, so that explains why I became a writer, because I love spending days alone with my computer and just my dogs for company. And I do recall as a child that I spent a lot of time playing alone with my dolls and enjoying it. I still talk to myself, although nowadays I pretend I am talking to my dogs. I had imaginary friends and fairies to keep me company.

I also like studying my life path, and I found out my birth tree is a Walnut Tree—the tree of Passion. Here's another quote:

“Unrelenting, strange and full of contrasts, often egoistic, aggressive, noble, broad horizon, unexpected reactions, spontaneous, unlimited ambition, no flexibility, difficult and uncommon partner, not always liked but often admired, ingenious strategist, very jealous and passionate, no compromises.”

Yes, that’s me. See, again no flexibility, but I like the part about ‘ingenious strategist’

But this started out as me telling you something about myself. I’m a bit of an open book really. I was born in North London, last in a family of ten. My parents were honest battlers, both strong, well-loved gentle folk. I only have a handful of memories of my father as in those days (we are going back a long way) the men worked 6 days a week. The holidays were few and far between, with no such thing as medical benefits. I can’t recall him having a day off work during my childhood. He passed away when I was just 12, which was a tragedy for our mother, as after years of surviving two world wars and the depression, times were only then becoming easier.

I left school at 15 years old and can only guess it was so that I could bring in some money to help with the household costs. It certainly wasn’t because I longed to get out of school as I loved it, especially the art class, and geography (loved drawing the maps) and English class as I loved to write what we called compositions and are now called essays, or short stories. There was no mention of going on to college as that was not even considered by working class folk, unless you were fortunate enough to earn a scholarship.

I can’t boast that I tried many jobs and earned many skills, as after only a year working in the school laboratory as an assistant, and trying an office job in a laundry for a few months, I went to work for my sister who was now in charge of the workroom in a clothing manufacturing company (that’s the fellow Scorpio mentioned above).

After working my way through the jobs in the cutting room I graduated to pattern cutting and that is where I stayed for the next 20 or so years. I did have my own designing and dressmaking business for a few years when first coming to Australia, but soon found it was more profitable for me to work regular hours for regular wages than to work up to 10/12 hours a day for myself, sometimes 7 days a week. It was a learning curve and fun while it lasted, but proved to me that I was not a clever business woman, albeit a hardworking one.

Through all these years I was an avid reader but it was only when I retired early due to spinal problems that I set about writing full time. I have to thank my husband for that as he encouraged me in all ways.

The writing journey has been an eventful and fulfilling one. It has also introduced me to many friends and fellow writers, most of whom I have never met face to face and never will meet, as the likelihood of me travelling to the USA or Canada where my fantastic publisher Books We Love is situated is a pipe dream. I am not a good traveler and have only been back to England once in almost 50 years of living in Australia. I couldn’t take sitting up there for all those hours in a flying tin can more than once. I have flown since, but only within Australia. And why is it that every time I decide to use the toilet the plane hits turbulence and leaves me fearing the small cubicle where I am sitting will fall off.

I’ve always written what I love to write and never followed trends of any sort. Perhaps that was a mistake, but I still have faithful readers who have been with me from those early days and hopefully garnered a few new ones along the way.

Details of all my books can be found on my web page:

HERE

Or visit my author page on Books We Love:

For links to buy any of my books