Hook Readers On Page One

Hear more resources for you. When reading your stories I always write in the critiques that you need to hook the reader on the first page. Following is a video tutorial from literary agent Jessica Regel explaining the importance of hooking the reader on the first page and how to do it.

 

Hook, Line, and Sinker:
How to Determine Your Book's Hook and Craft

an Attention-Grabbing First Page  

SUE JOHNSON eMedia ProductionCoordinator Writer's Digest Tutorials

The opening of your novel sets the stage for everything you want to accomplish. Your first sentence has to grab the reader and not let go. From your "hook", the one-sentence logline you use to describe your book, to the first page of your novel, it's critical to capture the reader's attention immediately-whether that reader is an agent, editor, or consumer. Not only do you want to quickly pull readers in with your story idea, you also need to establish your narrative voice as compelling, believable, talented, and authoritative.

In this tutorial, instructor and literary agent Jessica Regel shows you how to catch your reader's attention with your hook and first page. Using real life examples from her own client list, Jessica examines the hooks and first pages from published books to show you the dos and don'ts of opening your book and the common mistakes that drive agents crazy and stop them from reading the rest of your work.

During this 80-minute video tutorial, you'll learn:

• How to write an attention grabbing one-line hook
• When it's appropriate to compare your book to another book
• Why it's important to hook the reader from the first page
• Why a prologue may do you more harm than good
• Common mistakes of first sentences and first pages
• Overused beginnings and clichés that can drag down a work
• The benefits and pitfalls of starting with action

Preview: Hook, Line, and Sinker: How to Determine Your Book's Hook and Craft an Attention-Grabbing First Page >    

Hello readers,

Are any of you going to be in LA, California this summer. If so I recommend attending the Writers Digest Conference this August. Read the following info:

Experience a 360-degree view of your novel—with the guidance of some of today's most accomplished writers.

Whether working on your novel is part of your daily practice, or maybe still just a daydream, the Writer's Digest Novel Writing Conference has a lot to offer you—particularly if you're in search of both practical advice and creative inspiration to fuel your writing ambitions. Join Writer's Digest August 15 - 17 in Los Angeles and  get a holistic overview of both the art and business of being a novelist. When you look at the Conference's education sessions, you'll notice a familiar order to the program: It's structured exactly like the process of writing a novel. You'll start by generating your ideas, outlining and refining your plot and crafting fully-realized characters. Once you've progressed  through these steps, you'll work on your query letters and practice  your pitch to perfection. Your mentors on this journey will include not only Phil Sexton, Writer's Digest magazine's Publisher, but also six New York Times and USA Today bestselling authors, including Hugh Howey, Larry Brooks and David Morrell, plus publishing industry experts and literary agents. This step-by-step process packs so much of what any aspiring novelist needs to know into a single extended weekend.  Summer will be here and gone in the blink of an eye. Why not carve out this one weekend for yourself, spent among your  writing peers and immersed in what you love? Your novel deserves it.