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July 28th, 2009
Teen Author Challenge, Week 3 – Hooking your reader
Welcome to Week 3 of the Teen Author Challenge! With your fresh, wow-worthy story idea solidly in place, we’re going to talk about finding the key hooks in your story that you can build on. Exclusive TAC Quote of the Week
Teen Author Challenge, Week 3 When you’re pitching a new book–whether you’ve been published previously or this is your first time submitting–you need to be able to describe the most marketable elements of your story clearly and succinctly. One of the easiest ways to accomplish this is to make sure that your blurb (think back cover blurb on a book) highlights the key hooks in your story. What are hooks? Hooks are simply the easy-to-recognize, tried-and-true elements that make us care about the story. Here are a variety of examples to show you what I mean. – Good vs. evil The list goes on and on. Some hooks are character-based (e.g. accepting yourself), some are plot-based (e.g. the underdog coming out on top), and some are world-based (e.g. your unique paranormal mythos). The key is that they’re all instantly recognizable and make people immediately grasp why they should care about your story. For instance, I’m a big fan of romance, so that’s a hook I’m actively looking for in blurbs. I also love any story where the underdog comes out on top and stories about people getting a second chance at life. Those hooks resonate with me as a reader. If you can weave those elements into your blurb, I’m going to be much more inclined to read the book. And just in case you’re wondering, you don’t have to use a particular hook term in your blurb. Describing the situation in a way where I can clearly see that the hero or heroine is the underdog is going to hook me without you having to say “And hey, look over here! This character? This guy is the underdog!” Agents and editors have a knack for quickly identifying the hooks in a potential acquisition. In fact, my own editor (the fabulous Elizabeth Law who will be featured here tomorrow!) and I had a chat recently about a new book I’d just pitched. I gave her the basic blurb and she responded by saying “I like the X and Y hooks there” and then went on to discuss some of the finer points of the story as I’d described it. Hooks are kind of like a shorthand between you and your agent/editor and, ultimately, your reader. It shows that you understand what makes a story compelling and can articulate that in a few simple words. Let’s take a popular book and see what kinds of hooks we can find. The Princess Diaries by Meg Cabot was one of the books that inspired me to write empowering YA, so I’m going to use that as an example. Just off the top of my head, I can come up with three major hooks: – Glamour and glitz (the royal world of Genovia) Let’s try another one. Here are a few key hooks from Alyson Noel‘s Evermore: – Paranormal mythos (Ever’s psychic abilities) Are there more hooks in these stories than the ones I’ve noted here? Absolutely. If you dig deep enough you can sometimes uncover half a dozen or more hooks all deftly woven into the fabric of the stories you love most. But often, there are a few key hooks that really stand out. Those are the meat and potatoes (or the black beans and rice for you vegetarians out there) of your story. Grab your Teen Author Challenge notebook and jot down all the hooks you have in your story. If you’re not sure if something qualifies as a hook, write it down anyway. There are no hard and fast rules about what constitutes a hook. And I promise, this isn’t a graded assignment.
Today we’re doing an extra special entry for the contest since we’re nearing month-end. Here’s how to get bonus entries for the TAC monthly contest: – Comment on today’s post (+1 entry) I’ll announce the first monthly winner on Monday. Go forth and be creative!
Entry Filed under: Paying It Forward,Teen Author Challenge |
Project FMGM proposalCOMPLETE! 
A 16 year old outsider gets tapped to join a secret society of good populars dedicated to defeating the mean girls of the world.
On shelves now! IndieBound   I’m the author of teen fiction that I wish was based on my real life. My debut novel    
 #1 – GOOD GRIEF by Lolly Winston #2 – THE HUNGER GAMES by Suzanne Collins #3 – CATCHING FIRE by Suzanne Collins #4 – THE NAUGHTY LIST by Suzanne Young #5 – THE MAGICIAN’S ELEPHANT by Kate DiCamillo #6 – WINGS by Aprilynne Pike #7 – EIGHTH GRADE SUPERZERO by Olugbemisola Rhuday-Perkovich #8 – THE MIRACULOUS JOURNEY OF EDWARD TULANE by Kate DiCamillo #9 – HOW TO TRAIN A DRAGON by Cressida Cowell #10 – THE SEASON by Sarah MacLean #11 – THE SEVEN RAYS by Jessica Bendinger #12 – WHISPER by Phoebe Kitanidis #13 – SHADOW HILLS by Anastasia Hopcus #14 – NIGHTSHADE by Andrea Cremer #15 – MOLLY MOON’S INCREDIBLE BOOK OF HYPNOTISM by Georgia Byng #16 – GRACELING by Kristin Cashore (This is a second reading which is super rare for me. One of my all-time faves!) #17 – FIRE by Kristin Cashore #18 – THE REPLACEMENT by Brenna Yovanoff #19 – HEIST SOCIETY by Ally Carter #20 – NEED by Carrie Jones #21 – BRIGHTLY WOVEN by Alexandra Bracken #22 – CAPTIVATE by Carrie Jones #23 – PROPHECY OF DAYS by Christy Raedeke #24 – THIS WORLD WE LIVE IN by Susan Beth Pfeffer #25 – THE LOST SYMBOL by Dan Brown #26 – PLAIN KATE by Erin Bow #27 – THE OVERTON WINDOW – by Glenn Beck #28 – THE THIEF by Megan Whalen Turner #29 – PARANORMALCY by Kiersten White #30 – THE DUFF by Kody Keplinger #31 – MOCKINGJAY by Suzanne Collins #32 – ONLY THE GOOD SPY YOUNG by Ally Carter #33 – THE LONELY HEARTS CLUB by Elizabeth Eulberg |
Great post, thanks Kay!
I enjoy the second chances hook, and this one wasn’t mentioned, but the “struggling to get along/dysfunctional family” hook as well.
As for my own works, I tend to have something paranormal as a hook, as well as coming-of-age type hook.
Great topic! Jennifer Lynn Barnes did a wonderful post on her blog a while ago about favorite and least favorite tropes, also known as hooks, in YA books (http://jenlyn-b.livejournal.com/181686.html). My favorites are:
- Day and night siblings
- Protagonist that always seems to find trouble
- Introvert protagonists
In my story I have:
- Romance
- Fish out of water
- Day and night siblings
- Paranormal powers
Great Post Kay~
I was scribbling down the hooks to a few of my book ideas and realized that mine are all mostly the same.
Paranormal, Romance, Some kind of war/adventure.
lol.
Love these posts. =)
I have absolutely no clue what my hooks in my story is… hmmm…
I always love TAC, even if I don’t actually write much. It’s still interesting to learn about.
Hooks I love to read about are romances, opposites attract, paranormal (although lately I’ve been getting a tad sick of all of them), accepting yourself, coming of age, the underdog, and a bunch of others. Some call out more to me, but I tend to fall for a lot of different hooks.
I really enjoy the paranormal mythos hooks. In my own stories, I have forbidden love. It intrigues me. These posts are really helpful.
My favorites to read are:
– Overcoming obstacles
– Romance
– Paranormal elements
– Fish out of water
– Underdog coming out on top
– Accepting yourself
I have a couple stories I’m working on(short/long, that kind of thing) but I write what I enjoy reading. So write now in one story I have:
– Overcoming obstacles
– Romance
– Paranormal elements
– Fish out of water
– Accepting yourself
- Day and night siblings
Thanks for all the great blogs!!!
Good luck to everyone…
Have a great week!!!
Cailtin
ok I have a typo in my last comment, write is supposed to be spelled right…. I don’t know what I was thinking.
Have a good week (again)
Caitlin
+1 My comment
+2 I love reading about:
-Second chances
– Overcoming obstacles
– Romance
-Underdog coming out on top
– Accepting yourself
-Glamour and Glitz
+4 My story is tending towards:
-Overcoming obstacles
-Accepting self
-Hitting rock bottom and coming out on top
-Journeys
Oh, another great post! I love TAC posts! I also want to ask you a little question: What is your opinion on working on two stories at one time? Because that’s what I doing and I’m not sure how it’s working.
I love stories with:
– Romance
– Paranormal elements
– Opposites attract
– Quest
– Mystery
– Hitting rock bottom and climbing your way back out
And one of my stories has:
– Good vs. evil
– Second chances
– Overcoming obstacles
– Romance
– Paranormal elements
– Quest
– Mystery
– Small town America
I didn’t even know about this, haha. So I’ll definitely be thinking about it.
Thanks again Kay!
Honestly? There’s no right or wrong. It all depends on the writer. Some people work best when they can bop back and forth between multiple projects because it helps their writing stay fresh on all of them. Other people like to focus on just one project at a time so they get deeper into the story with no distractions. It’s all about finding what works best for you!
As with the other weeks, I really enjoyed this. You thought of such a great paying it forward idea.
Hooks I Love:
*Romance
*Multi-cultural
*Happy endings
Hooks In My Story:
*Overcoming unexpected family emergencies
*Separation from family
*Surprises
*Sports
*Finding inner strength in order to go for dreams
*Travel
I forgot to mention, with my students this year I am going to have Author Tip Tuesday to share writing tips. I have started collecting advice from authors that they would give to my middle school writers, but I have also been keeping my eyes open for comments. Your TAC quotes seem like they will be perfect.
+1 Great post Kay!
+2 My favourite hooks are definitely forbidden romance, paranormal elements and just romance in general.
+4 In my story, the latter two are present as well as a bit of a mystery.
Great challenge for this week, need to actually look at something I’ve written to check about hooks, but I’d thought I’d mention hooks from my favorite book The Princess Bride (cause that type is the book I tend to read):
Adventure
Romance
Good vs. Evil (in my opinion)
Overcoming Obstacles
Great comments, you guys! I love all the hooks you’re finding in your own work and in the books you love.
Great post Kay!
My favorite type of hooks are:
-Second chances
-Paranormal elements
-Opposites attract
-Romance
-Good vs. Evil
As I was reading your list, I was like WOW, most of them are in my story I’m working on. Here’s my list:
– Good vs. evil
– Second chances
– Overcoming obstacles
– Romance
– Paranormal elements
– Accepting yourself
– Redemption
– Mystery
– Hitting rock bottom and climbing your way back out
I have to say, seeing a new Teen Author Challenge post up just makes my day! Like you, I LOVE romance (who doesn’t?) and I also enjoy mysteries, those from rock bottom to the tippy-top of the ladder novels, second chances, overcoming obstacles, and really any book where the main character realizes and changes her/his life for the better. I haven’t set my story idea in stone yet (shame on me), but I have this idea of twisting the way you traditionally tell a story, and I’m planning on having some romance in my book too.
Hi!
Some of my favorite hooks are:
Paranormal
Quest
Romance
Good vs. evil
In my story I have a few hooks:
Romance
Coming of age
Taking a Stand
Thanks!
Cari
neohippy10 at hotmail dot com