writing an intriguing hook
What everyone says is so PAINFULLY true. Writing a one sentence summary for your book is way more difficult than the actual book writing. How do you even begin to capture the essence of something so near and dear to your heart in so few words?!
As with all things, the best place to start is just by starting. Writing one, then five, then twenty of these hooks for your book. Trying to imagine if that single sentence was enticing enough to intrigue readers. And, when you're spent on your book, try writing a hook for a book you loved. See what sticks out, if it would reel the reader in. Find what's important in a story you know and love.
Example: "On his twelfth birthday, Harry Potter -- a neglected orphan who lived in a cupboard under the stairs -- received a letter summoning him to Hogwarts, a school for wizards."
Same applies for movies and/or shows. Practice and practice some more. Then, get some feedback on what stands out to others. Narrow it down and re-work. Fun, right? I found the "When" formula to work best for me: When BLANK happens, Luna begins her INTRIGUING ADJECTIVE journey. Sure, it's formulaic, but sometimes formulas aren't so bad.
I also think it's super helpful to try to write a few similar ones, and then a few that are a little whackier. Maybe it works or maybe you just need to get it out of your system on your way to writing the most captivating, intriguing hook possible for your beloved book.
Here are four I came up with that I don't totally completely hate (just mostly) from my twenty attempts:
When Luna follows her yoga teacher into the foreboding Silvis -- clutching a letter dated sixteen years ago -- she at last learns her true identity and all the powers and responsibility she bears as a Protectress.
When Luna follows her yoga teacher into the foreboding Silvis -- clutching a mysterious letter -- she discovers the name she bears that explains everything she could never explain: Protectress.
It isn’t until Luna’s yoga teacher asks her to stay after class one evening and hands her a mysterious letter and cloak, that Luna discovers there’s been a purpose to her nightly wanderings in the Silvis all along.
Following an invitation to stay after her evening yoga class, Luna discovers her nightly wanderings in the Silvis have been training all along for her destined role as a Protectress.
If you have any tips, I'd love to hear them! Because you might be a magician, and Luna could desperately use some of that magic right now.
