People always leave.

Yes, they leave right after reading a few sentences in your opening paragraph. That is, if they don’t find anything worthwhile.

This is a fast-paced world; if you don’t have them by the first line of your book or article, it’s over. You could have the best ideas in the world but it would be useless. Readers do not have time to read every article or book every written; they can only read so much. Unless you’re an established author with a serious fan base, you have to take every opportunity you have to convey your message and attract new readers through the first few sentences of your paragraph.

Known as the “hook”, the first passage of your writing should practically jump at the reader, grab him by the shoulders and shake him violently. You want something that pops out; something that’ll pique the reader’s interest and make him read the entire thing to the end.

You know Charles Dickens’ immortal lines: “it was the best of times, it was the worst of times”. Now what in hell could that mean? Now Dickens’ has hooked you and is reeling you in. You’re interested in what he has to say, simply because his opening line is an enigma. For some reason, the opening lines compels you to continue reading. You want to find out what it all means, and the only way to do so is to read.

A good hook should make a reader go “oooh”; there’s a certain quality in your opening passage that grabs his attention and engages him. You want something that makes people think your article or novel is worth their precious time. Everything is decided in that crucial little paragraph.

Now how do you do that? Here are a few tips for writing a good hook:

1. Don’t be tacky. Yes, hooks must be able to grab people’s attention in the shortest time available, but that doesn’t mean you have to go for the gory shock attack. You want people to think. They have to find your opening line compelling, intriguing and interesting. If you rely too much on tacky shockers, it might just back fire. Readers don’t necessarily want to read sensationalized novels (or even tabloid-ish articles), so you’ll probably turn them off if you go for a hook that’s the literary equivalent of a Scream movie.

2. Set the tone. Give readers a good feel of what’s about to come. Your hook serves as the gateway to your imagination, so readers will start to see the world from your perspective. The first paragraph should give them a good idea of what’s about to happen, or a least a brief taste of it. If you’re writing a horror novel, take Stephen King’s Autopsy Room 4 (from Everything’s Eventual) as a great example: “It’s so dark that for a while — just how long I don’t know — I think I’m still unconscious. Then, slowly, it comes to me that unconscious people don’t have a sensation of movement through the dark, accompanied by a faint, rhythmic sound that can only be a squeaky wheel.” Now the reader feels dread rising, not knowing what exactly is happening to the protagonist. King’s got them hooked.

3. Start with the climax. You want tension in this first passage; show the protagonist in an interesting, life-changing light. Immediately, you want the readers to see your protagonist in a cataclysmic event that would alter his very existence. There must be action and intensity right from the first page. It doesn’t have to play out completely at once, you just want to give your reader a brief taste of what’s about to happen. The key here is to make them care about your character immediately; create that connection that will make them want to follow your character’s story.

4. Don’t be misleading. Yes, it’s supposed to capture your reader, but no, you still shouldn’t resort to gimmickry. Don’t give people a hook that has absolutely little to do with what your writing actually is about.

5. Be witty. As you can see in this article, I opened with a line from Peyton Sawyer, the character from the television show One Tree Hill. Assuming that the reader is a fan of the show, that’s already one level of relatability. For non-viewers, however, it still serves as a great hook. After all, why would a site on writing begin a post with such an emo line? You have no choice but to read the next paragraph because you want to know what it’s all about. In writing your hook, you can use quotations or reference pop culture. A humorous touch wouldn’t hurt either.

A good hook gets people to sit up and pay attention. Unfortunately, you do have to remember that it’s not just about getting them to add your writing to their “To Read” list. Once you’ve got them interested, make sure your content’s actually worth their while. Otherwise, no matter how interesting your hook is, they’ll still leave.

XOXO,