Are you interested in writing a fiction book which grabs the interest of the reader? So, there are certain tips which can help you write an interesting book which will hook its readers.
Have you ever observed your favorite book and the structure that it follows to keep you engaged? I can say that my favorite book has such a storyline which instills its claws from the beginning of the story. You must also be experiencing such a feeling because maybe the first line of the dialogues used in the story would have grabbed your interest or maybe some heart throbbing action would have gained your interest to continue reading or it may be a moral dilemma.
Whatever the feeling it was which seized your interest from the beginning of the story is considered a hook and this is the only factor which grabs the attention of the reader. Hooks are crucial for any type of book, be it non-fictional, fictional or other types of writing such as advertising or poetry. So, here are some tips which can help you write such a book which will grab the attention of the readers.
Tips to Hook a Reader
There are several different techniques which can be adopted to create hooks in your piece of writing work. However, some of the most effective tips will be discussed in the preceding discussion. Different types of work need different techniques to create a good hook.
In the first place, you need to think about the book which grabbed your interest and made you want to read to the end of the book. It may be some mystery or a character or the unique setting. Once you find the answer to it, you should start creating hooks by considering that thing.
1. Surprise in the beginning of the story
By surprising or exciting the reader in the beginning of the story can make your reader fall for the story till the end. Their excitement and surprise will make them delve in the storyline. All you can do to make your reader surprised is to make the character discussed in the beginning of the story surprised. Surprising observation, throwing unusual questions or character confession can help you write the beginning of the story which can surprise the readers. So, think of an attention grabbing and surprising first line of your story to hook up your reader to your story.
2. Action in the Beginning
Mostly, the writers use the action scene to grab the attention of the reader as the reader becomes interested in knowing what is going to happen later in the story. There can be any type of action scene which can be included in the beginning of the story. So, you need to think of an action scene which leaves your readers in a tense situation and in this way, you can seize their interest and they will continue reading afterwards.
You can create your own action centered start of the story to create a hook and it can be less violent or more brutal according to your storyline. You can portray that the leading character of the story is trying to escape away from something or someone to create a tense and strange feeling for the readers. You may also integrate non-linear structure of story or flashback to create the reader’s hook or you can devise any other extraordinary action scene to grab the reader’s attention.
3. Create Emotional Connection
If your story is not of the genre of action or thrill, then you can hook your readers by using emotional scenes. Emotional response of the characters will connect the readers due to the sympathy with the character. And, such emotional connection will assist in grabbing the interest of the readers throughout the story because they will be willing to discover what will happen to the character at the end of the story. Using sympathized dialogues and portraying emotional feelings in the story can make the reader emotional which grabs the attention of the reader to know what is going to happen with the leading character. The emotions of fear, surprise, sympathy, embarrassment, excitement or anticipation can connect the reader with the leading characters of the story which results in the increment in their interest towards the story.
4. Introduce Sudden Life Changing Moment
At the beginning of the story, if you want to grab the attention of the reader, you can also portray an incident which suddenly changes the life of the leading character. This sudden life changing moment makes the story about the character interesting and such an incident provokes the reader and gains the interest. Once, the reader finds the life changing incident interesting then the reader has no other choice except continue reading till the end of the story.
5. Intrigue about the Character
Readers can be intrigued easily through embracing secrets, scandals or lies about the character. Or if you are writing fiction, then it can be some special or unique trait about your character which can also intrigue the reader. Such an introduction about the character can help gain the interest of the reader. Use of capital letters for the sentence which makes the character unique can also grab the attention of the readers.
6. Introduce Confusion
If you embrace your story with confusion, then the questions in the mind of the reader will keep the reader hooked to the story. In the opening of the story, if you introduce a confusing moment of the character, then the reader will be having many questions which will lead to reading the story till the end.
7. Engage with Strong Voice
Use of strong voice can grab the attention of the reader because voice is considered to be the combination of syntax, tone, vocabulary and point of view involved while writing. Being a beginner in writing, you can use this tactic of using a stronger voice more effectively to hook your readers. If the strong voice is involved in the beginning of the story then you can easily create an effective and intriguing hook to your reader.
8. Use Worrying and Mysterious Feeling of Character
Introducing something worrisome and mysterious can also hook your reader if you introduce it in the beginning of the story. The reader will be curious to know what happened to that character afterwards and what did the character respond towards the mysterious incident. Giving small hints or information related to the character can lure the reader’s interest in the story.
9. Do not go in Details
To keep the reader engaged in the story, it is suggested that do not describe ordinary actions too much in detail like eating breakfast, getting dressed up or going for work, except such instances incorporate something intriguing or surprising about the character. Describe these moments but do not describe them in detail otherwise it can unhook the reader from the story.
10. Hold on to the Attention of Reader
Once, you succeed in grabbing the attention of the reader, then hold on to it. Do not give all the answers of the story at once because it will leave no reason for the reader to continue reading. And, do not leave all the questions unanswered too because it can frustrate the reader. Answering the questions of the story is the technique to hold on the attention of the reader once you grab it. So, maintain this balance to keep the readers hooked up to the story.