How To Be A Good Hooker

Are you good at seducing? Can you entice? Can you captivate an audience? Can you leave someone wanting more? Well I'm here to tell you that you need to be a good hooker....writer-style. (*wink*)

Becoming a good hooker might be a bit of a challenge, but with a little know-how, you will be well on your way to some good hooking. Who know's? Maybe you can even make some money with your new expertise! Hooking an agent, and then a publisher, can become profitable.

There are three areas where a writer needs to be a good hooker. Each one is important, and each one requires a special skill. Well, not really, but every writer should consider each aspect with a keen eye and a determination to hook like a pro.

The Title  Now, once you are published, this may be out of your control, but when you are shopping your book around, you need a great title - one that will grab the attention of potential agents and editors. Check out these titles:

A Passion Most Pure by Julie Lessman
The Husband Tree by Mary Connealy
Pride & Prejudice by Jane Austen
Left Behind by Jerry Jenkins/Tim LaHaye

All of these are short, succinct, and tell a story in themselves. Look at A Passion Most Pure. When you think of passion, you don't normally think of purity, do you? But this book is about love's passion...in a pure way. The Husband Tree is about a woman who has buried three husbands under a big tree on her property. Fascinating, isn't it? Makes you wonder about the woman...what happened to her husbands? How does it affect her? It hooks, doesn't it?

Make your title have something to do with your story. Make it short, using words that pack a punch. If you are stumped, try using song lyrics. What about these songs? Could they make a great title for a book? Unforgettable by Nat King Cole. The Girl Next Door by Frank Sinatra. Good Luck Charm by Elvis Presley. They all spark some sort of story in your head, don't they?

The First Line  Admit it. You've gone into a bookstore, were grabbed by a great title, opened the book up, read the first line or two,and then put the book back on the shelf. First lines matter. They really, really matter. This is your opportunity to hook the reader and make them want to keep reading down the page. Check out these first lines...

"Belle Tanner pitched dirt right on Anthony's handsome, worthless face." The Husband Tree by Mary Connealy
"He stood hard and unyielding, one arm stretched across the entry as if to block Kayla's approach." Winter's End by Ruth Logan Herne
"It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife." Pride & Prejudice by Jane Austen
"All children, except one, grow up." Peter Pan by J.M. Barrie

I love the first line of The Husband Tree. It hooked me right away, and made me wonder about this woman  burying a man, who we find out is her husband. Doesn't it make you want to keep reading? How about the line from Winter's End? Nothing like an alpha hero to get me interested!

Make a statement with that first line. Bring in conflict right away. Make the reader wonder. Make them question. Capture their attention, then reel them in, using a vivid, active scene to hook them good!

Chapter's Ending Sentence  So you have hooked your reader with a great title and a great opening line. Most people will read through a chapter, but what will make them read another? And another? You have give the reader a reason to start that next chapter. You must hook them at the end of each and every chapter. Check out these ending sentences...

He leaned down to kiss her.
"Not so fast."
The voice, accompanied by the crack of a jacked shotgun jerked Wade's head around.
The Husband Tree by Mary Connealy

Aww, how sad. A kiss interrupted. Any lover of romance hates to have a kiss interrupted, but it is a great way to hook the reader. The reader knows good and well that the hero and heroine are going to kiss at some point, and they will want to read all about it.

He was a dreamer. He wanted the impossible from her. Dawn would come for him, too, and he would awaken.
Angel didn't want to be anywhere around when he did.
Redeeming Love, by Francine Rivers

Uh oh, sounds like someone is about to run away, and the reader will keep reading to see if they do. They will need to find out if they ever come back. Keep the reader wondering what is going to happen next.

He'd already seen wariness in Mary Grave's flashing green eyes. He suspected she could make trouble for him. How much trouble remained to be seen.
Courting the Doctor's Daughter by Janet Dean

Looks like someone either has a hidden agenda or has a plan for good that will find some obstacles. Every reader wants to see someone overcome. Throw obstacles in the way and see how they grow in character and leap over the hurdles put in their way.

The guards moved toward the king, but he drew his sword and backed them away. Then he stepped up and stood atop the ridge of stone teeth and, with sword in hand, jumped into the blackness of the pit.
The Devil's Mouth, by Thomas Williams

Looming adventure and danger are great ways to hook your reader. There's nothing like jumping into a dark pit with sword in hard to create creepy scenes in the reader's head. Suspense is a great hooking tool.

Oh, I know this is going to come back to bite me. I just know it.
A Girl's Best Friend, by Kristin Billerbeck

And the reader knows it too! And the reader will keep reading to see what kinds of things come back to bite this heroine and make life difficult. You feel the inner struggle and you want to urge the heroine to either be smart and don't do it, or gear herself up for what's to come. What will the character do? It's the "not knowing" that will keep the reader reading.

So there you have it. Three ways to help your skills in hooking. Do some research and crack open some books, taking note of opening lines and ending sentences. Do they hook you? Could you do better?

What are some of your opening lines? Or how about sharing some great hooking sentences? Or better yet, who are your favorite "hookers"? (One of my favorites, if you can't tell, is Mary Connealy. She is a master!)

Happy Hooking!

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Picture courtesy of http://www.great-lakes.org/reviews/review-09-12-05.html