Hooks, Lines & Sinkers

Hands up if the title to this article made you think that you'd strayed into a fishing feature?

Perhaps you didn't quite go that far, but hopefully you were puzzled or curious enough to wonder what on earth those three angling associated words have to do with writing. The answer of course is nothing at all if you are thinking of metal barbs, yards of tangled nylon and blobs of lead weights.

Think, however, of the good opening lines used to begin most successful short stories, novels and articles then the "hook" in our title takes on a whole new range of meanings and equates very well with the world of creative writing.

What most beginners fail to understand when they first begin writing, and this applies as much to articles as it does to short stories and novels, is that when they submit their work to an editor, competition judge or publisher there is only a brief moment to impress which is why a lot of attention needs to be paid to that first opening sentence.

Hooking your reader with a good beginning isn't a guarantee to success, but it will serve to focus attention and make the judge, publisher or editor take more notice of the rest of the article, story etc. If nothing else, it presses an subconscious alert button in the reader's mind that marks up the writer as a professional who knows his or her craft.

This in turn builds expectation and again focuses attention. As long as the rest of the piece lives up to its early promise, you can be sure that your effort will at the very least receive close inspection and hopefully much more!

So, just how do you come up with a good hook? It would be nice if I could say that there was some magic formula available but unfortunately I haven't found it even if it does exist! Still there are several things that you can do to get things moving.

First of all don't sit staring at your screen trying to think of a good opening line when you have a mind boiling with ideas struggling to spread themselves over the page! All this will do is make you tense up with frustration and dam your creativity.

Instead, start hitting the keys and slap those ideas across the screen! Once you have the basic outline down then you can start the editing process, including the opening sentence. If at this stage you are still stuck, try leaving the work for a few days, there's a good chance you'll come up with something when you're mind is focused on something else and the first flush of enthusiasm has cleared from your brain.

Analogy, such as I've used to the fishing world, often provides a good hook. In the case of this article I used it in the title but hooks are used just as often or more so in the opening sentence. My actual opening "hook" made use of a question, which again is a very good way to start, as questions by their very nature demand a response from the reader, even if it is only to read to the end of the sentence!

I took this a step further by demanding physical action, "hands up", which of course is a ridiculous thing to expect a reader to do when there is no way of knowing whether they have complied or not! It is this stupidity that hopefully grabs attention and carries on from where the title left off. PR writers are well aware of this process and often mis-spell words to create a similar effect .

Quotations and deliberate mis-quotations also make good hooks either from songs, proverbs or other literary works, but also try putting together unusual combinations of words.

For instance, you wouldn't think that brussel sprouts could possibly have any effect on good or evil and I'm sure they haven't! One of my son's however has different ideas and his annual grumble during our recent Christmas meal gave me a marvellous opening line, or hook, for what will be a festive article taking a close look at this, in my opinion, much maligned vegetable!

What was it? Oh yes, when faced with a heap of those shiny green gems he muttered murderously, "If it wasn't for brussel sprouts there'd be no evil in the world ..." now is that a hook or what?

Which brings me on to another point. Hooks, I've found seem to have a power in their own right and often serve as a catalyst to the story or article itself which is why you should be on the alert for when they occur.

The brussel sprout incident is a prime example. Writing in any shape or form was the furthest thing from my mind, but the startled looks and laughter from the rest of the family were enough to confirm what I'd immediately thought, here was a hook begging for exploitation and with a enough power of its own to begin generating several lines of thought.

Being aware of hooks and the power they have on the reader is something every writer has to get to grips with if they want to achieve success so it is a good idea to train yourself to both generate hooks and be on the alert for them by listening to what other people say.

Having a small notebook handy makes a lot of sense, but reading what other people have done before you will also pay dividends. Try this quiz of opening lines to famous novels. It's not easy, but don't worry about your score, the real benefit of the quiz is seeing what worked for the author.

Kick-Starting Body Copy

Several correspondents to our newsletter, AdBriefing, say that they are... Read More

How To Become Qualified As A Proofreader

The field of proofreading is not as easy to get... Read More

Can Honest Copywriting Succeed?

I confess--I'm a marketing heretic! I've built my career on... Read More

Web Writing - Dont Lose Your Visitors Attention!

Did you know that your writing can have a huge... Read More

Discover Your Creativity

You have a choice. Do you want to be constructive... Read More

Deciding What Voice to Use in Copy

You have to choose a character or an angle that... Read More

Killer Business Headline Templates - So How Do You Write Killer Headlines in Minutes? You Cheat!

According to Branding and Advertising legend, David Ogilvy: 5 times... Read More

Why Your Advertising Copy is not the Most Important Part of Your Ad

If you own a shop in the middle of the... Read More

Dont Be Satisfied With Your First Draft

Sometimes it's a struggle to figure out what's the best... Read More

How To Take Your Freelance Writing Chances

Your initial freelance writing assignments are the best way to... Read More

11 Ways to Get an Editors Attention

I worked as a business magazine editor for about 20... Read More

How To Find Editing Services Online

Quality is what you need. What you don't have is... Read More

Writing Suitable Copy for the Press

Summer is finally here and school is out, but learning... Read More

How To Ethically Use A Swipe File For Your Ad Copy

Did you ever wish you could afford to hire one... Read More

Can Anyone Succeed as a Freelance Copywriter?

This is a question that can be answered in a... Read More

Its Time To Start That Swipe File

Just as great fiction is an art, so is great... Read More

Copyright, Copyrighting, and Online Copyright Abuse - Save Yourself the Headache by Reading This!

Lets start with copyright infringement.It is easily explained as copying... Read More

Increase Freelance Sales With an Online Resume!

Freelancing is a competitive business, especially in today's fast-paced, e-focused... Read More

Fill Your Readers with Confidence

Site visitors generally stay with you for as long as... Read More

Professional Copywriting Services - How to Provide Your Own

Just because you're running a small business doesn't mean you... Read More

Headlines That Pull, Persuade and Propel!

When writing direct response copy, there are a few things... Read More

The Secret to Web Copywriting Gurudom

Have you seen those copywriting gurus, working it on the... Read More

Revealed: The $12,500 Copywriting Formula

Have you heard of Brian Keith Voiles? Probably not, but... Read More

3 Tips For Writing Content That Will Make You Sales

Content is king. Without content your website is an empty... Read More

Writing For Sex Markets

Many professional freelancers will go their entire career without ever... Read More