Writing Active Hooks Book 2:: Evocative Description, Character, Dialogue, Foreshadowing and Where to Use Hooks

143 Pages·2015·0.58 MB·English

by  Mary Buckham

Content copyright © 2015 by Mary Arsenault Buckham All rights reserved.

First Edition

No part of this book may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means,
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information storage and retrieval system without permission in writing from the
publisher.

Published by
Cantwell Publishing LLC
2675 Wilson Street
Port Townsend, WA 98368
USA

ISBN: 978-1-939210-25-8

Cover design by
THE KILLION GROUP, INC.
www.thekilliongroupinc.com
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Writing any book does not happen in a vacuum, especially a how-to craft book.
I’d like to thank the hundreds and hundreds of writing students who helped
define the assignments and the need to explore how to better use Hooks in our
novels. I’d also like to thank my early readers, all writers who gave invaluable
feedback on the format and content of this book: Dorothy Callahan, Laurie G.
Adams and Tiger Wiseman. Any of your great advice I did not take was my fault
alone. Another huge round of thanks to my Street Team members, who also act
as early beta readers. A huge shout out of debt to Liette, Elizabeth, Nancy,
Donna-Dee, Heather, Debra, Lynn, Alyssa, Kimberly, Virginia, Sherry, Judythe,
Cari, Heidi, Marcella, Mark, Sandra, Judith, Misty, Diane, Lisa and Jan. It truly
takes a village to read and reread a manuscript—I appreciate you all more than
you know. Thanks also to Matt, Donnamaie, Barbara Rae, Jeanne, Robin and
Dawn B., who also were kind enough to look at early versions of this book. A
huge hug to my husband, Jim, who not only makes all things possible in my
world, but barely cringes when I tell him he’s an amazing hooker!

Last, but not least, a huge thank you to my readers. To those writers who are
always working to hone their craft to make their current manuscript, and the one
after that, better and better. Without you, I’d have no craft to teach.

Thank you!
Table of Contents

HOOKS INTRODUCTION

SECTION 1: HOOKS

Hook 1* UNIQUE CHARACTER HOOK

Hook 2* EVOCATIVE HOOK

Hook 3* FORESHADOWING WITH OR WITHOUT WARNING HOOK

Hook 4* SURPRISING OR SHOCKING DIALOGUE HOOK

SECTION 2: HOOK PLACEMENT

Part 1* OPENING PARAGRAPH AND PAGE

Part 2* PROLOGUES

Part 3* OPENING A CHAPTER

Part 4* ENDING A CHAPTER

Part 5* OPENING AND ENDING SCENES

Part 6* END OF BOOK

Part 7* MOST COMMON QUESTIONS ABOUT HOOKS

Bibliography
HOOKS
INTRODUCTION
If you’ve read the first book in this series—WRITING ACTIVE HOOKS:
Book 1—thank you! For those of you who have, and haven’t, I’ll clarify the
differences between that book and this one.
In the first book, I examined the five most common hooks writers can use—
Action/Danger, Overpowering Emotion, Surprising Situation, Totally
Unexpected and Question(s) Raised hooks—and gave some information on
where using those hooks can really pay off for the writer in terms of pacing and
guiding a reader deeper into your novel.
In this book, we’ll touch upon those five initial hooks and expand on
additional hooks only lightly touched upon—the Unique Character hook, the
Evocative hook, the Foreshadowing with or without Warning hook and the
Surprising or Shocking Dialogue hook. We’ll also go into more depth about
hook placement throughout your novel and why specific placement matters.
Some of the information may overlap, in large part because it’s important to
repeat salient points. Most of the information will be new, as we'll be discussing
four specific types of hooks and how and why they work. So let’s get started.
Hooks are a tool to engage readers, and to keep them engaged, as they read
deeper into your story. They are used to raise questions for—and elicit responses
from—a reader to compel them to read a little further.
It’s that simple. And that hard.
Let’s be clear about this last point. In any book there are always story hooks
—the premise, or implied promise—depending on your specific story and the
readers’ expectations. If you are writing a mystery, romance, sci-fi, thriller, or
any genre/commercial fiction type of book, your implied promise is to find
justice, discover love, save a species or planet, or stop a threat. Yes, there are
nuances to these promises, but the reader picks up these novels knowing that by
the end of the story, certain expectations will be met. The killer is found and
justice balanced. The hero and heroine (or hero/hero; heroine/heroine; etc.,) will
find love or the strong possibility of love. A planet, people, remaining hope of a
species, etc., will survive an external threat, or that the race to stop something
bad from happening will resolve squarely in the fact that the good—or mostly
good—guys will overcome the threat.
If you are writing literary fiction, there still remains a story premise. The
reader will finish the novel with a change in their understanding of what the
human condition means and how we function. There are no clear happy-ever-
after endings; in fact, it’s often just the opposite. The promise to the reader in a
literary novel is that they will be compelled to rethink their assumptions and
expand their understanding of whatever issue is the glue that holds the story
together: survivor’s guilt, abandonment, betrayal, abuse, or whatever other issue
is being explored.

NOTE: Writers can write anywhere along the continuum between strong literary
and strong commercial fiction or they can lean toward one end of the continuum
or the other.

The following definition might help:

Commercial fiction derives from myths and fairy tales, and is often called
“genre fiction”. It is based on the readers’ belief that if they try hard
enough they can achieve something and make a change in their world for
the better. Romances, mysteries, suspense, thrillers, science fiction (often
called “sci-fi”), fantasy, etc., are commercial fiction genres.
. . . Literary Fiction is based on the readers’ belief system that they cannot
change their world, but they can understand it better. The plot structure of
literary fiction does not move toward a specific goal but involves peeling
away the emotions and dark secrets of the human condition in an attempt
to better understand. The protagonist in literary fiction need not grow or
change over the course of the story.
—Mary Buckham and Dianna Love—Break Into Fiction®

If you don’t know what it is you are writing—and many writers don’t until
they’ve been writing for a while—go to a brick-and-mortar store and walk down
the aisles. Look at the selections and consider where your novel might fit best. If
it doesn’t fit under one of the Section headings—Mysteries, Romance, Sci-
Fi/Fantasy, Westerns, etc.,—you have a 50/50 chance of writing more literary
than commercial fiction. Keep in mind that this is an approximation, as some
modern commercial fiction doesn’t fit cleanly into those categories, such as
paranormal, urban fantasy, speculative fiction, which may be shelved under
romance, mysteries, sci-fi or in general fiction.
Look in the general fiction or fiction area and see what blurbs and story
descriptions resonate with your story. If at the end of the story the protagonist
grows or changes, you’ll most likely be writing commercial fiction.
Unfortunately, there are exceptions to every assumption. Since this is not a
book about understanding commercial versus literary fiction and the nuances in
between, I won’t go into more detail. What’s important to note is that hooks are
applicable no matter what you write. It’s also important to know what you are
writing and what types of hooks are used most often for YOUR type of novel.
The placement of the hooks I’ll be discussing will be the same regardless of
your story. The number and type of hooks used will vary depending on the type
of story you are crafting and, when applicable, I’ll explain those differences.
That’s an important distinction to make, and I’ll guide you into discovering
how to know what hooks you might want to use and how many, depending on
the genre of novel you’re writing.
First, we have to understand in greater depth what a hook does for the reader.
Hooks, or more specifically, the questions raised by hooks, help guide your
reader deeper and deeper into your book like a map. The hooks are the road
signs that intentionally entice and direct them to turn the page and keep reading.
Yes, it’s that straightforward. By strategically using hooks you are giving your
readers strong incentives to read just a little more.
The intention of the first line of your book is to get the second line read. The
intention of the second line is to compel the reader to read until the end of the
first paragraph and so on. Good hooks pull the reader, step by step, into and
through your story.
You know a strong sentence or paragraph has hooked you if you continue to
turn the page when you had intended to stop. This is why hooks are used in key
locations—to encourage the reader to turn that page. Understanding how to do
that with the four hooks detailed in this book, as well as their placement, will
help you reach that goal.

NOTE: The strongest hooks raise questions or reactions in a reader.

A reaction, whether overt or reluctant, is subconsciously elicited, which
makes the reader want to discover more. We’re not talking about a question or
questions raised that will take the reader all the way to the end of the book to
discover the answers, though some hooks may have elements of that included.
For the most part, it’s smaller increments of curiosity we, as writers, raise with
our word choices and strategic use of hooks. We’re seeking the kinds of
responses that pay off for both reader and author.
We’ll spend a fair amount of time examining four specific types of hooks in
one of the most important places to position your hooks—your opening
sentence. Why? Usually if readers don’t get past that line, they won’t read the
first paragraph or the first page. If they don’t get to the bottom of the page and
turn it, they usually won’t buy or read your book. Unless they have another
compelling reason to do so—the book club is reading it, it’s required for a class
assignment, everybody and their second cousin is talking about this book so they
have to find out why.
Those are exceptions, and they’ll always occur. What we want to focus on
more importantly is why these four hooks work and where they work the
hardest.

NOTE: Be aware that not all hooks will resonate as strongly, and in the same
way, with every reader.

Hooks, by their very nature, are subjective, which means what catches your
attention strongly may not work for another reader. That’s okay, because as we
examine these four hooks, one by one, and why a particular hook works, we’ll
also look at how to combine each specific hook with other hooks.
In the key places to use hooks, including that opening sentence and
paragraph, we rarely trust ourselves with one hook only. Why? The subjective
issue—if one hook doesn’t resonate as strongly with a reader—which is what an
editor or agent is—then an additional hook makes sure that your reader is
engaged and remains engaged.

NOTE: Keep in mind: some hooks work better in some types of stories, whereas
other hooks will not work as well, so study the type of story or stories you want
to write in order to learn which hooks are most common and which hooks are
rare.

One other issue to consider as we dig further into hooks is to be aware of your
intention and what your readers expect, given the types of books they are reading
and you are writing. Using too many hooks in an opening for a story that’s not
meant to be fast-paced, or conversely, too few hooks in a story that’s meant to
jump you into the events at a breakneck speed, will put you, the author, in
conflict with a reader’s expectations.
A cozy mystery, a literary novel, or women’s fiction for example, are not
paced at the speed of a thriller or romantic suspense or action-adventure novel,
so keep your hooks appropriate to what you’re writing.

NOTE: As you apply hooks be conscious of what you are writing, based on your
readers’ expectations.

Be prepared to experience a certain degree of awkwardness when you first
start playing with hooks. That’s natural and to be expected. When any instructor
stops your process temporarily to adjust your mechanics, there can be a period of
resistance, whether you are learning to write, swing a club or drive a motorcycle.
You might need to slow down in your writing or revising to pay attention so that
you are writing with intention. Initially, that may feel labor intensive and
unnatural, but eventually, your writing process becomes easier and your writing
improves.
The oral telling of a story is one thing; writing a story so readers experience
what the writer intends them to experience is based on the craft of writing. There
are no formulas in crafting a great story—no one way to use a hook—no hard
and fast rules. Hooks are tools added to your craft toolbox, and what makes a
professional writer is the understanding of how and when to use a specific tool in
a fresh way and with intention. Focusing on hooks forces you, as the writer, to
write with intention.
Don’t worry if you don’t include hooks in your first (or rough) draft. That’s
what the revision process is all about—looking for opportunities to strengthen
your writing. Use hooks whenever the opportunity presents itself, and you’ll go a
long way toward accomplishing your goal of creating stronger stories.
SECTION 1: HOOKS
HOOK 1: UNIQUE CHARACTER HOOK
All writers believe, and should believe, that their protagonist characters are
unique. After all, we spend a lot of time and attention understanding our
characters inside and out, what makes them tick, what their fears are, their back
story (what has happened to them before the current story begins), their familial
relationships, their jobs, likes and dislikes, and the list goes on.
In using the Unique Character hook, what is meant is that your POV (point of
view) character, or the character being introduced (even if they are not the
protagonist) must be someone the average reader would not know or meet in
their typical day, or expect to see in that particular place or situation.
Well-known types of characters might be cops, mothers, lawyers, someone
you might personally not cross paths with daily, but have met or know enough
about to not be surprised with seeing them in a story.
Thus a waitress in the character role of a waitress is not a Unique Character,
but a waitress appearing in a beauty pageant could be unique. A mother is not
unique (don't tell my mom—she'd kill me), but a mother who's undergoing a sex
change operation is unique. A law enforcement officer is not unique, especially
in many types of mysteries, suspense and thriller stories, but they are a hint more
unique in a children’s, young adult, or women’s fiction novel, depending on how
they are used and introduced. Using a law enforcement officer as the love
interest or former spouse in a romance novel makes them less unique because
this type of character is often seen.
Keep this is mind as you analyze whether you have a Unique Character hook
(the protagonist or a secondary character) and how and when you want to
introduce that unique character to the reader.
If you, as the author, know that within several pages or chapters of your story
your reader will discover that the person you portrayed in the opening sentence
is a very different or unique person, then that’s not a Unique Character opening
line hook. It might be a Unique Character hook depending on how you introduce
a character deeper into the story, at one of the key hook locations—opening or
an end of scene or chapter in particular. But it’s not a Unique Character hook if
the introduction of that character is buried in the middle of a scene or chapter.