20 May 2011

Hooking a reader.


Hooking a reader.

In the beginning god gave us light!! LOL I’ve always wanted to start a paragraph off with that. Which brings me to the point of this article. I’m always hearing how editors tell authors they must ‘hook’ a reader. It brings to mind the fishing rod scenario. But if you think about it, how many times do we sit down to watch a film only to be bored to death within the first few minutes? In this age where competition is rife, grabbing a reader’s attention is like holding onto a slippery fish. Fast, fierce and riveting should be the things aimed for with a hook. A new angle, twist of writing style sets you apart from the rest.

I remember reading a book, Night Visions, by Ariana Dupre and was completely thrown that her witch character, was a man. A rather, hunky one to boot. What a twist, when all the foreshadowing made me feel like she was the usual ‘hag witch’. Be honest now. How many books have you picked up then cast aside because they just don’t do it for you? I’ve had two this month. The greatest gift a reader can give an author is the words, ‘I could not put the book down’. I had that with my latest book Abigail Cottage. The reader said, she literally stayed after work to read it! The one thing that struck me was the fact she said, even when she put the book down, she was still thinking bout the story and characters. That really gave me a sense of ‘job’ well done!

I believe that an author really needs to sit down and think who their first readers will be. Over worked editors and Agents! They look for a ‘hook’ straight away. Almost like a person dying of thirst in the desert would search for water. A crashing noise, explosion, head chopping off (if you write horror lol) is a first sentence hook. It compels a reader to read on and see what’s happened. Joking aside, it is so important and each page should end with a page turner. You need your reader to want to turn that page. So remember, even one word can hook. Don’t be afraid to cast out your rods with hooks made of steel.


Buy Abigail Cottage in e-book and print HERE

Publisher. www.hedge-witcherybooks.com

My links: www.margaretwest.net
http://magsx.blogspot.com/
http://margaret-paranormalromanceauthor.blogspot.com/

5 comments:

Nightly Cafe said...

Excellent topic Margaret! I have to agree with everything you said. I hate when there's no action or "Hook" from the get go. I just had that happen to me recently. This is what people want now-a-days - ACTION PACKED or SEX PACKED. I always love reading your work as you have a wonderful writing style and always draw the reader in.

Thanks for sharing,
BK

Margaret West said...

Thanks BK. I always try to :-)

Skyla Wilde said...

You know what mags, I follow you around like a stalker on these blogs lol and even though I'm just a reader it facinates me how hard it is to write a book. I think every author should pat themselves on the back.

Peggy said...

Abigail cottage had so many hooks I was tangled in the fishing line lol

Sherry Gloag said...

Another great Article, Margaret, I've heard it said 'the first page sells the book, the last chapter sells the next one'.