Help! how to hook readers?

[Brooke]

i know that the opening scene of a novel should always be the hook-- a couple sentences that grabs at your reader's interest and doesn't let go. to ensure that the raft doesn't sink before it even gets off the shore, a writer has to keep it afloat with a story that gets interesting right away, and a scenario that will interest the reader.
but my book seems to start out a little bit blandly-- the story itself isn't boring at all, but the setting is just a regular high school, no magic or aliens or anything. how do i present a setting that's considered to be pretty ordinary in an unordinary way??

 

[Jake E]

I think, instead of trying to make the high school exciting, you should make your MC's thoughts exciting. While they're staring out the window, or stirring the congealed "pudding" in the lunch room, they could be thinking about the plot, lol

 

[Hannah F]

A regular high school setting is fine, but what makes this day/this time/this character start your story? That's what will hook your reader.

 

[RK Wallis]

Finding that hook can take years of rewrites (as you saw in my thread), so don't worry if it takes some trial and error to find it. It's completely normal. I find posting that first paragraph for reader reactions helps me hone what sparks a reader's interest.

Often, I have to have finished the entire book before it's even worth considering the first paragraph. I like to look at my denouement, see what has changed and write the opposite. So what changes in your story? What is your character's journey? What genre are you writing? Think about the tone you want to set.

 

[James Charles]

i know that the opening scene of a novel should always be the hook-- a couple sentences that grabs at your reader's interest and doesn't let go. to ensure that the raft doesn't sink before it even gets off the shore, a writer has to keep it afloat with a story that gets interesting right away, and a scenario that will interest the reader.
but my book seems to start out a little bit blandly-- the story itself isn't boring at all, but the setting is just a regular high school, no magic or aliens or anything. how do i present a setting that's considered to be pretty ordinary in an unordinary way??

And it depends as to what your story is about, but I find the best way is to start with an inciting incident. Put it up in the Huddle for the best critique one can get.

 

[Peyton Stafford]

Aside from generalizations, I would love to see this story. High school is anything but boring. I lived through it... Take a deep breath. Share if you dare. (Is that ever high school?) Big hug!

 

[CageSage]

The hook depends on the genre and the intended reader. For a high school story, what would be the most important issue? Hint at that in the opening, especially the first couple of paras.
Example (with no idea of the story):

The same room, the same people, but everything felt different. The light made everything look different. The computers hummed with annoyance, and the doors rattled a warning. I had to get out of here, had to find some space away from the weight of everyone's expectations.

Of course, this isn't the voice of a high school student ... but does it create that invisible question that will lead to the story question that will be answered by the end of the story?

 

[Hannah F]

A high school set fantasy that I recommend (that doesn't begin with magic, but the magic will come) is All Our Hidden Gifts by Caroline O'Donohue. The narrating protagonist is so relatable that she is the hook. The reader (or at least I) root for her straightaway.

 

[GinaC]

Is this a YA story? I haven’t read many but the few I have all start with action.

 

[LJ Beck]

I find it can be a bit of a hunt around for an opening line/paragraph that will give that right feeling. It's almost like distancing a little from the intimacy of the story to wind up for that punch. It doesn't even really need to flow into what's next. It's a little bit of a one-off, with it's own purpose. It can be omniscient or extremely personal. Full of meaning or meaningless. It just has to be interesting, fit the tone of the story, and cause some kind of intrigue. Go wild. Have fun. See what comes out. Maybe thoughts (This year would be different), smells (I gagged from the stink of hot gym shoes), a weird sight (As I stared out the window at the football field, a bird crashed into the glass, making me jump and knocking itself unconscious) or anything that might foreshadow the kind of story the reader is in for.

 

[David McGuire]

i know that the opening scene of a novel should always be the hook-- a couple sentences that grabs at your reader's interest and doesn't let go. to ensure that the raft doesn't sink before it even gets off the shore, a writer has to keep it afloat with a story that gets interesting right away, and a scenario that will interest the reader.
but my book seems to start out a little bit blandly-- the story itself isn't boring at all, but the setting is just a regular high school, no magic or aliens or anything. how do i present a setting that's considered to be pretty ordinary in an unordinary way??

I think as other have said... start with an exciting thing happening *at* the high school. Build some stakes for the character and show us, rather than telling us, what the problem in the nevironment is. You can zoom out and show us the rest of the school environment later.

My favourite illustration of this is Star Wars. If you haven't watched it for a while, you might think the story would start with Luke on Tatooine, moping around the moisture farm when he wants to go to Toshe Station to hang out with his friends. But it doesn't. It starts with Vader capturing Princess Leia. In the process, it starts with action AND shows you the stakes AND builds the world by showing you the battle between the Empire and the Rebellion. Only when the droids have escaped (and been captured by Jawas) do you see the desert planet, and Luke arguing with Uncle Owen.

And like @Peyton Stafford said: you don't need to add anything to a high school environment to make it interesting. It's already a jungle, full of conflicting herds, predators and prey, and everyone facing a large or small drama every day. There's nothing remotely ordinary about school.

 

[David McGuire]

(TL;DR... use action to build the world. At least at the start.)

 

[Robinne Weiss]

Are you finished with the first draft yet? If not, don't worry about the beginning. I write my way into a story, then once the whole thing is done, I consider where the best place for the reader to start the story is. Then I either cut a chapter or scene (or two or three of them) or I add chapters or scenes to make sure my reader's first few pages both capture the reader's attention and also provide a promise of what's to come. It doesn't always have to be action at the beginning. As a reader, I'm sucked in by identifying with a character--so think about who your audience is and how you can show your main character in such a way that your readers immediately connect with them on an emotional level.

 

[Eva Ulian]

Post your first page in the writers' group to see if there's a hook in the first or second paragraph. However, like everyone says, the hook is seldom the setting but the character's dilemma.

 

[Jake E]

Are you finished with the first draft yet? If not, don't worry about the beginning. I write my way into a story, then once the whole thing is done, I consider where the best place for the reader to start the story is. Then I either cut a chapter or scene (or two or three of them) or I add chapters or scenes to make sure my reader's first few pages both capture the reader's attention and also provide a promise of what's to come. It doesn't always have to be action at the beginning. As a reader, I'm sucked in by identifying with a character--so think about who your audience is and how you can show your main character in such a way that your readers immediately connect with them on an emotional level.

I do this too.
I write total nonsense just to get words on the page.
Once the work is finished, I go back to the start and redo it, so that it is
A) coherent.
B) able to hook a reader.
C) a mirror of the ending and shows the change in the character.

 

[Pamela Jo]

This. Pete says one thing leads to another just as there needs another boost. I see this.