A writer might deliberately set the reader up to ask questions about the environment, or about a character. In The Book Thief by Markus Zusak, the narrator of the story doesn’t say who or what they are, but we can infer from what they do say that they are not human:Īnother way to hook the reader is to raise some unanswered questions, setting them a puzzle. Readers care about characters so a hook that introduces an interesting main character encourages us to read further as we try to find out more about the character, their world views and how they act in different situations. Straightaway the reader seems involved in the story – the narrative voice encourages the reader to put themselves into the situation.Ī strong character voice also appeals to readers. And you probably shouldn’t be in it for the money. You shouldn’t make it a habit to ask too many questions, for one thing. There’s a right way to do things and a wrong way, if you’re going to run a hotel in a smuggler’s town. Kate Milford’s Greenglass House begins like this: One way to hook the reader might be to establish an interesting narrative voice - perhaps one which addresses the reader directly to draw them in to the story.
