style - What constitutes a 'hook?'

I intuit that hooks are things that hook. (I'm quite astute in this way.) They can be good prose, relatable characters, rich settings.

Books must start with a 'hook.' This is a current truism. The hook is (often) seen as establishing the tone of the book, placing the reader into the setting, into the mindset of a main character. The (implying singular) hook should be the first page of the story, perhaps the first 300 words. Or the first sentence.

My cherished beta readers have indicated that they do not know what it is that my characters want, and it finally dawned on me that this is a stumbling block for them (and myself) - if they knew what my characters wanted, they would be more 'hooked' into the characters.

With this dawning realization I began to wonder, what other elements can be conceived of as a hook? Put otherwise, it had not occurred to me to see character desire, specifically, as a hook. It had not occurred to me to take a broad view of what a 'hook' could be. (It had not occurred to me to hook my readers in as many ways as possible! I saw the readers merely as people to be entertained - not quarry to be poached and reeled in, and now I see that they may ... wish to be reeled in and I'm happy to re-envision my efforts through the lenses of hooks!)

Through the valuable contributions of esteemed contributors on this site, I understand that style, setting, tension, story, and so on are important to writing in a compelling fashion. These can all be considered 'hooks' but are not typically seen or defined as such. I am hoping to gain insight into what does and does not constitute a hook, the more specific the better. I'm not looking to tread over old ground, although I expect that may be necessary. I'm curious as well, what does not constitute a hook. Perhaps there is a reason that setting is not? seen as a hook although it is seen as a necessary component of effective storytelling.

Answer

First, I would not say a hook has to be in the first 300 words (a normal published page is about 250 words). Anybody that picks up a book with the intent of reading it will give you more credit than *one page, you will get three or four: As long as the prose is going somewhere.

For me, that "going somewhere" has been literal, in my current novel I start with a character actually running somewhere relatively fast, in a hurry but the reader doesn't know why. She seems calm and collected, hyper aware of her surroundings, thinking about things to do and people she knows. But it is not an idle jog, she is intent on getting there on time. Then in some pages, when she arrives, I reveal the purpose of this hard run was to escape the scene of a major crime she had just committed. Which reveals character, she is a professional, she's fit, she's fast, the run reveals some setting, her musings reveal some relationships that matter later.

So this "intent on getting somewhere fast for an unknown reason" is a minor "hook", it does keep the reader reading for a few pages, but then it is over, it did it's job, so it isn't a major hook that lasts for chapter.

This is what constitutes a hook, IMO: a question the reader needs answered. Why is this girl running? Where does she have to get, and why does she have to be on time? There are other questions or clues. She stops and walks the tree line silently at a blind bend in the path, then seeing it clear resumes her pace in the worn middle.

The reason it is important that you do not need a major hook so fast is that you want to set up a major hook (big ass question) just like anything else. IMO, a major hook isn't great unless it has context. To get that context, you can use a series of these "minor hooks" before you spring a big hook (question) the reader will want answered, that will pull them through more than just a few pages.

Think of it as building a rope bridge across a chasm. first, tie a thread to a stone, and throw or catapult that stone over. Use the thread to pull a string over. Use the string to pull a rope over. Use that rope to pull ten ropes over. Minor hooks, middling hooks, big hooks.

While each hook is operating, you are exposing character and plot and setting up the next-sized hook.