Crafting Hook Lines that Draw Readers in

By Janice Hardy, @Janie_Hardy

There's more than one way to hook a reader. Which is fortunate since we want to hook them on every page.

I've been writing most of my life, and I can still remember when I learned certain aspects of writing. Some lessons just stick with you, and what a "hook line" was is one of those lessons.

Around twelve years ago, I was at the Surrey International Writers' Conference (SiWC) and my "Blue Pencil Café" appointment--which is where an author or editor reads and critiques the first two pages of your manuscript. It was an enlightening experience.

I was meeting with author Carol Berg (a delightful woman), and as she read my pages, she put check marks on quite a few lines and said:

HER: You have some great hook lines here.
ME: Thanks! (Made mental note to look up what a “hook line” was)

Back then I didn't know what she was talking about, but she explained what she liked about those lines, so it became obvious what she meant. I was instinctively doing something right.

Continue ReadingWritten by Janice Hardy. Fiction-University.com