The Hook

The Hook -- or how to get your readers fired from their jobs and/or cause them insomnia". I found that a lot of definitions of the "narrative hook" are really poorly explained not giving those seeking illucidation a firm grasp on what it means. My simple definition is: Anything that will get your readers to ask themselves a question about the story that they are interested enough to read on in order to answer. But hooks don't just come on the first page. You sprinkle them throughout your work in order to keep your readers asking new questions. Similarly, by putting forth many statements that will require answers -- because nothing will turn a reader off like leaving their questions unanswered -- whenever the author runs into trouble ("where do I go from here") s/he can always fall back on the unanswered questions, pick one, and answer it -- which pushes the story along. Keeping the hooks coming at regular (or irregular) intervals also creates what is known as "a page-turner", which is why I encourage "end-of-chapter-hooks".

I will be analyzing the first 500 words of my novel, "Courtesan", with respect to hooks. If you wish to prepare for that in advance or to follow along as I analyze it, you can read the first couple of pages at either smashwords.com (read sample) or at Amazon (using the "Look Inside" feature). The book is also available for free at smashwords.com (until Nov. 10th) using the coupon code KE53C.