In a post on DIY MFA, Disha Walia offers advice for writing a chapter opening hook for speculative fiction. “Entry hooks can be one of the hardest elements of a story to write, regardless of the genre,” she says. “But if you can nail them, not only can you grab your readers’ attention at the beginning of your story, but also reuse your newfound skills to repeat each time a new chapter starts.”
An entry hook is an opening line that grabs your reader’s attention and ignites their curiosity. Therefore, a good early exercise is asking yourself why your book is worth reading. Why should readers invest their time in your story? “If you nail your entry hook, you will keep your readers focused on and willing to immerse themselves into what you’re offering them,” Walia writes.
So, what works best for spec fic? Walia has four suggestions:
- In Media Res. An in media res opening drops your readers into the middle of the action without too much explanation. You set the scene, while omitting key information, which prompts your reader to ask questions. Walia advises against using an action sequence, because your readers haven’t yet begun to care for your characters. Instead, try depicting the emotional aftermath of a big event.
- Unique setting. “Though a setting itself might not be interesting enough for a reader to keep reading, these unique settings can amp up the intrigue game,” Walia says. “You don’t have to info dump your setting on the readers, just give enough details to draw your readers in.”
- Secret or question. “This is the kind of opening that leaves readers with more questions than answers,” Walia writes. “This type of entry hook immediately engages the reader because they ask the basic question: Why?”
- The Contradiction. “Anything that is contradictory is going to create so much intrigue your readers cannot put the book down,” Walia notes. “These can be contradictions in action, in emotions, in setting.”
