What's Your Hook?

All right. You're ready to start writing your story. Where do you start? That's a really good question. Some of the best stories start with a hook--something to get you interested right from the start. Sometimes it's a great first line, like

"Where's Papa going with that axe?" said Fern to her mother as they were setting the table for breakfast.

That's the first line of Charlotte's Web. That's a great first line! Who is Fern, and where is her father going with that axe--and what's he going to do with it? It turns out he's going out to kill a pig--and Fern is going to stop him. That gets the whole story going right away!

To take a very different example, consider the beginning of Raiders of the Lost Ark. Here we've got Indiana Jones heading into the jungles of South America, looking for an artifact. He cleverly makes his way past lots of deadly traps, finds what he's looking for--and then has it taken away from him! None of this has much to do with the rest of the story, where he goes looking for the lost Ark, except that it shows us who this guy is and what he's all about.

But better than all that, it's exciting! We're immediately drawn into the action. It tells us we're watching a movie that will have high adventure in exotic places. That's the hook. When Indy licks his lips and wiggles his fingers over that statue up there, nervous but excited to swipe it, we're sitting on the edge of our seats with him.

Think about where your story needs to begin, then think about making that beginning as exciting as possible. That will hook your reader. And once you've hooked your reader, they'll be with you for the rest of the story!