How to Provide Better Feedback

Opening Hook

With some very recent conversations, I've been looking at what makes a good hook in an opening chapter. The first thing that kept coming up was knowing your audience; a hook for a romance novel will be drastically different than a horror novel. So knowing what things draw people to that genre is the first step to recognize fitting hooks. 

If you're reviewing or providing feedback on a genre you are not familiar with, understand that there will be preferential differences. But just because you like action books, doesn't mean that the romance novel you're reviewing, has to fit your preference. The following are things that hook a reader and make them want to keep reading, and while a writer should aim to hit many of these points, there are few books that will ever contain all of them.

An immediate problem and/or long term problems: These help drive the desire to see how the problem is overcome. Immediate problems cause the reader to turn the page, long-term problems make them get to the end. Long-term problems usually require more information to become interesting and pull the reader along, so if it doesn't seem like there are any long-term problems in the first chapter, that is rarely an issue.

Questions that MUST be answered: The more questions the reader poses about the situation or world, the more they want to find those answers. On the flip-side though, you don't want to have too many questions where the reader is overloaded (just like why information-dumps are so frowned upon). 

The quetsions should be interesting as well. I would rather know why the main character hates all robots, than why a spaceship was built 50 years prior to the story opening...unless that reason is hinted at and pertains to the story now.

Identify with the main character: This is a key necessity for novels that are centered on drama, romance, comedy, etc. We've all read books that suck in almost every way, but what keeps us reading is a character that we either identified with, or enjoy aspects of that character so much that we can't help but want to find out what happens to them. 

The reverse is true too, the rest of the book may be great in every way, but the characters are so abhorrent that you don't want to hear another word from them. There can be characters that you love to hate, but those tend to be villains and not protagonists.

Interesting concepts, people, places, history, creatures: This is where fantasy, sci-fi, supernatural, and other similar genres shine; most of them focus on otherworldly places, magic, time travel, and a myriad of other topics. 

However, this can separate groups of readers, as some might find the idea of space-raptors really cool, and others find it idiotic. Many of these details should be slowly exposed over the length of the novel, while putting forward the best ones early on can help grab a few more people.

Uniqueness (have I already seen something similar): This is pretty straight forward, but sometimes gets put in the back of our minds for the opening chapter. More often than not, cliché characters, plot lines, and concepts sneak their way in unknowingly. 

How many romance/werewolf books have you seen on the front page of Wattpad? What about a fantasy/adventure novels where an unwilling hero saves the world with newly acquired power? Those may be cliché, but there's a reason why there are genres: we like things in groups so we can find what we like. However, what sets that novel apart and makes it unique from all of the others should be showcased as early as possible. 

~~Writers~~

When crafting a hook you should start with understanding your target audience, and know what they are looking for. Once you have your audience in mind, it's helpful to think about the "elevator pitch." What would you tell a publisher about your book if you happened to be in the same elevator, and you only have 30 seconds to pitch your story?

You want to that publisher what makes your story unique, what impression you want to leave the reader with after they finish your work, and if you could tell them one thing, what would it be. Once you have that you'll know better how to hook your audience in the first chapter.

My pitch for Dawn of Corruption would be along the lines of: A gritty fantasy in the vein of the Dark Knight series, where it is both emotionally and physically violent and draining. The cast of five characters are forced to deal with past they don't remember, while trying to survive cataclysmic events, and each other.

Getting that concept down is very high-level, but knowing what sets your story apart will help you craft the beginning and showcase those concepts.

As a final note, if what sets the book apart can't make it in the first chapter, it needs to be in the first 10 pages (literary agents usually request the first 10 pages if they become interested in your query letter), otherwise readers will be less likely to ever make it that far.