The first sentence. The first chapter.
These are hooks that must latch into your readers eyeballs and force them to keep reading. We know that.
But guess what? You have to keep sprinkling little barbs through your prose to keep those pages turning. There’s still the big question–Who did murder Mr. Body? Will the boy and girl get together?–but there has to be more than that.
Who had the revolver in the bottom of her handbag?
What did that mysterious letter say?
Why was Colonel Mustard in Miss Scarlet’s room at midnight?
(Yes, I like Clue. It’s the only game I always win! Mwahahaha!)
So have a great hook. But don’t forget all those little barbs too. ‘Cause if you do, your reader might forget to pick your book back up.
This is very true. I love ending with cliff hangers in each chapter so they want to read on. Hope school is going well.
Enjoyed the read, I too love a cliff hanger.
Have a good day.
Yvonne.
I always thought Colonel Mustard had something going with Mrs. White…
Ah yes, Professor Plum…he was a worrisome dude.
Very true! Not only do you need those hooks sprinkled all over, you sometimes need to remind your reader by repeating a few facts every so often, but not too much:)
So true, but why is it so hard to do without being obvious? Some authors just seem to be naturals at this. They keep me turning the page way past my bedtime. I wish I could write like that. 😛
It's true. I often don't bother picking a book back up if I've lost interest. I don't have time.
Also, we call it Cluedo down here!
So true. So true.
Very true! I'm a fan of the cliffhanger, but I know they sometimes frustrate people.
I'm a big fan of the barb! I always try to stick one in at the end of every chapter.
So very true. Can't have the first chapter be the best one in the book, they all have to have momentum.
Communism is merely a red herring.
It's true. After all the effort into those first 3 being perfect, I tend to get more relaxed (but I don't think I lose momentum). I like the whole page 99 test.