Lord knows we understand how vital a hook is in a query letter, and mainly, the hook is not for the consumer, but for the agent, editor, the publisher.
Technology is changing even this aspect of writing; the hook is now vital to not only those first few pages of a novel, but of short stories submitted to literary publications. With the increased amount of writers submitting (due again, to the convenience of a pc and online submissions) and the fact that short story cover letters do not require more than a sentence or so of story description, the hook is what’s going to get the whole story read. Oh yeah, I know; everybody claims they read the whole story. But let’s face it, an experienced editor or reader can tell by the first page if they feel it’s something they’ll want to publish, and since they don’t have to reply with any more than a yes, please or a no, thank you, they’re not going to–and shouldn’t–force themselves to read through to the end. So, until the second line–the one after the title that says "By" is a recognizable place to continue reading, the first paragraph, maybe even the opening line needs to be a hooker.
Something else new, in the blogging world: each posting needs a hook. Here it has to be either by the title, or by the first three lines max. With rss feeds, that’s often all that users read as we scan the list of all places to check. Only if the setting is on "full entry" will we read the whole thing there. But if there’s just a taste of the topic, and only if it peaks our interest (hooks us) we may visit the actual website or blog.
Why do you think I placed "The Hooker" in my post title?
The Lost Children: A Charity Anthology
Yes, everything needs a hook, but the hooks seem to be needed sooner and sooner. I blame TV, but also the Indiana Jones style of action film that gets the adrenaline going in the first seconds. I think, in fact, that our culture is adrenaline based these days, and we’re all adrenaline addicts. I read about 20 years ago that we make more critical decisions now (then) in one hour than people once made in a month—or was it a year?
In fact we’re so stressed it’s affecting our memories. One of my most stressful jobs ever was at a workplace that was so rank with stress that everyone who worked there suffered short term memory loss. We use to joke about it—but I almost cry thinking about it now, and especially thinking that my friends still work there.
So that’s what we’re up against as writers, just getting the attention, for a few minutes, of people who are that preoccupied with their lives. It’s not really their fault, and we answer to them.
It causes problems, though, and I blame this trend for those books I pick up nowadays that start out exciting and then fizzle out for ten chapters or so around the middle while the writer catches us up on important information that must come more slowly. (Or they don’t at all, and we spend the entire book confused.)
You’ve nailed it here, Barbara. It’s the new way of life that started decades ago and has been kicked up a notch continually since–especially in these days of computer communication.
It’s almost like you have to put the explosion in the first sentence, and then on the rewrite–if accepted, put it back where it belongs.