Have you ever read a book you couldn’t put down? “Something like: Tom clung to the edge of the cliff. His knuckles were turning white. Below him was a thousand foot drop.” AHHH! Does he fall? It makes you want to know.
The most interesting novels use hooks, not only at the end of chapters, but to begin their stories. Beginnings that intrigue me are those that start with something out of the ordinary, something unexpected. This should cause the reader to question what the character did and what will happen next. For example: “Laura always wanted to be like other people. When she sat alone in a coffee shop, she studied them to see how they spoke, their facial expressions and their body language. She wanted to have friends, go to parties and fit in. She wanted to be empathetic and affable. So why, on her living room rug, was there a dead body only inches from her feet?
This makes me wonder a lot about Laura. Was she responsible for the death? Is she a psychopath? Or is she innocent? Perhaps someone else killed the victim. This would be a book I couldn’t put down.
In a romance, I want the hero or heroine to begin in danger, or at least an impossible dilemma. Here are two examples I offer from personal experience. My novel, FRAGILE DREAMS begins: “Nate’s left side ignited in an explosion of white hot pain. He felt his legs go out from beneath him as he sank to the ground, stunned. For a moment, he could not grasp that he gunshot he’d heard had produced his agony. He could not understand the violence that had suddenly shattered his peaceful afternoon.”
From my novel, ARTFUL DECEPTION: “Lady Katherine held her slender shoulders rigid. Her feet pressed into the floor of the coach as though she could stop it by the sheer effort of her will. She would stop it if she could and escape into the forest that lined the road.”
Another example of an interesting novel…
The classic novel, TWENTY THOUSAND LEAGUES UNDER THE SEA, by Jules Verne hooks readers in the first paragraph.
“CHAPTER I
A SHIFTING REEF
The year 1866 was signalized by a remarkable incident, a mysterious and puzzling phenomenon, which doubtless no one has yet forgotten. Not to mention rumors which agitated the maritime population and excited the public mind, even in the interior of continents, seafaring men were particularly excited. Merchants, common sailors, captains of vessels, skippers, both of Europe and America, naval officers of all countries, and the Governments of several States on the two continents, were deeply interested in the matter.”
I’m interested in discovering this puzzling phenomenon as soon as I read about it. I’m hooked (pardon the pun) and I want to know what is going on in the depth of the sea that has everyone so excited. Since this novel is still being read today, I’m not alone in my curiosity.
I hope these are examples of interesting novels that hook us in the beginning and make us want to read on. We have passed the eloquent writing of Dickens when the public would accept long passages of narration and description. We expect a beginning that delves quickly into misfortune, danger or excitement. For a writer, this is not always easy to accomplish, but worth the effort when it works.
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