A Hooky Hook

The first line of any great story needs to dangle bait. Like throwing a fishing line in the water, you have something interesting dangling on the end to draw the fish in. It's no different with writing.

The same technique is used in television too. When I worked at the local ABC affiliate, we ran teasers for upcoming news. A teaser is exactly what you imagine. It's a snippet of news to pull the viewers in. Our aim was to "hook" viewers and pull them into the next broadcast.

Same thing with a story or book. Think about famous first lines. "Call me Ishmael". The famous opening sentence from the classic Moby Dick.

"It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife." Another famous opening from the book Pride and Prejudice.

Today lightning struck while I was in the shower. I had an idea for a hook, or opening line for a romance novel I wrote a few years back. I've been editing a fiction piece called Trust the Love for half my adult life. Not true. Actually probably for about three years. But it definitely feels like half my life.

All that to say I finally had my Voila! moment. I went in and wrote that line that set the first three paragraphs on fire. Finally! A foot forward. It reminded me that your first line can be the same as a thesis statement. It sets your story up to branch out from there. And if executed properly, it will serve as that hook that baits your reader and reels them in.