Pulling the Reader In

Character. Is there someone I want to get to know better? Am I intrigued by something they say or do? Do they seem to have an unusual response to something or an interesting perspective I've not thought about before? Are they going to be fun or sympathetic or in some way real to me?

That's why I've never liked James Bond (the films - I've never even bothered to try the books) - I just don't care what happens to him at all. Though if one of those women would like to give him a good slap and tell him to get over himself, I'd watch that!

Actually, I think I'm quite a sympathetic reader. I like to read and if I pick up a book, I'm prepared to invest in it. So it's more about not doing anything to put me off. Poor grammar, spelling, punctuation. Poor characterisation. Complete disregard for things like the natural laws of physics. Complex, hard to follow sentences that don't seem to mean anything. Don't make me work for the story - tell me!

I have to agree with girlyswot. It's the people in the story by far over anything else. But in addition to the characters being intriguing, or the conflict being interesting, the emotion has to ring true. I like drama, but not melodrama. On the other hand, if something warrants a fair amount of wailing and gnashing of teeth, then by all means give it to me - don't brush it under the rug. I find it so frustrating when a great personal/interpersonal conflict is set up and the payoff never comes.

(Of course, add a manly man with some scars into the mix, and it's a done deal. )

For me, "the hook" is very similar to baiting a trap, leading the prey in deeper and deeper into the trap and then SNAP--you got em. Below is the best order of events that will snag me.

#1 is the "craft" of how something is written. Not to say I'm a sucker for purple prose, but moreso for good and INTERESTING writing and turns of phrase. This works for the 1st couple of paragraphs then I need...

#2 something interesting. 'The something' does not need to be an epic-original-unique-bigger than life-"thing", just something that makes my brain say hmmm. Again, this will last me for about a couple of paragraphs and by then I need....

#3 Intrigue. Taking that something interesting then hinting or showing some sort of escalation to something else. Buys the writer a couple of more paragraphs until...

#4 Characterization. By now, I'm looking to anchor myself onto "something" for this journey and that something needs to be a 3-d character. Even though it is early, the reader needs to convey a character (whether MC, antagonist, fodder, etc) that has the appearance of being real. This will buy the writer a couple of more paragraphs until I need some...

#5 CONFLICT. By now I need to step into some conflict or the beginnings of conflict. It doesn't need to be the main conflict or plot point, but it needs to be something. This will take me out to about a page and if I make it this far the writer can seal the deal with me by providing me a...

#6 Promise of a good story. If by now the writer has written in a way that shows good writing, the promise of some serious conflict, beginnings of a plot, and a world with good worldbuilding I'm hooked in.

#000 BONUS. If the writer makes me laugh or presents an interesting philisophical "thing", that will INSTANTLY buy the writer 1-2 more pages of my attention.

#666 INSTANT REJECTION: Anytime I encounter something not realistic, amatuerish, or boring I hit the ejection button.

Well that is me.

Mel...

I'm a sucker for humour. Or for an ingeniously worded phrase. Reading a sentence that puts something in a way I never would have thought of.

One of the things that drew me into Harry Potter was that the first chapter read a lot like Douglas Adams and it was the bit about the scar on Dumbledore's knee that was a perfect map of the underground that got me.

For me - It's got to be quick. I don't want flowery B/S ruining pacey dialogue and action.

And let me use my imagination. I don't need to know the cyclic rate of fire for a weapon or how it works. I just need to know that the person on the end of it had what it takes to pull the trigger.

The first chapter (and all after) must have a beginning, middle and end.

And it must be M/T/S genre written in third person POV.

That's what I need.

JJ

I don't have a problem pulling a reader in with a good character and some great action. My problem is the time following the pull. It's the "Ok, I just wrote three really cool and action packed chapters... now what do I do?" issue. That is where I am at right now in my current WIP. Ugh!

Hmm, you are making me think. Ouch, that's painful.

To be honest, I don't think I ever considered the 'what' that hooks me when I pick up a book to read/buy.

I went through a phase once of reading romance novels and would read whatever by whomever as long as it was a bodice-ripper. But I usually skimmed over the naughty bits because I was more interested in the plot than the heaving bosoms. And they started getting a little boring because they all seemed the same (sincere apologies to all romance writers, this was way back in the late '70s, and I did read 100s of them before I got bored, seriously!!!) Before that it was Dad's old Westerns, never got bored with them, just did the girly romance thing when I got in HS.

SF/Fantasy (vampires/werewolves) doesn't interest me so I never pick one up, therefore I can't speak to that.

What I do love is a good suspense novel, courtroom drama, ghost story, and mystery, old (ala Agatha Cristie) or new (ala John Grisham). As to what the hook is, I am not even sure I know, even though I have been pondering it. For a new-to-me author I will pick up a book, if the back cover looks intriguing I'll check out the first few pages. If that holds my interest, well, the next thing I do is look to see what other books this person has written. This is where it gets weird. I will then pick up the first book by this person and buy that one. If I like it, I will read everything this person put out in order if possible, especially if it's a series or has common characters like those by Elizabeth George, Ann Perry, Richard North Patterson, Elizabeth Peters or Sue Grafton among many many others. I enjoy a book more when I am an 'insider', if you know what I mean.

I can't recall ever starting a book and putting it down because I found issues with it. I love to read, yet I am easily bored, so perhaps I've been lucky. I know there are folks who think the DaVinci Code has issues, but I really liked it, even though there were some over the top bits. Yet the main reason I liked it was because I've been to almost every place in the book, and when I read it I was there, so to speak, because I really had been there. Maybe that's why I didn't see any glaring 'literary' issues because I did enjoy it so much, not that I feel qualified to point them out anyway.

So having reached no profound conclusion, I guess I would have to borrow dgiharris' 'Promise of a good story' as what hooks me (in a genre I like, of course ).

This is unrelated, but there is one other weird thing I do with regard to reading, something I've done forever: A few chapters in, I often read the ending before I finish. I like to see how the author constructs the journey. Yes, I am one of those people who always wanted to be a writer since I picked up my first book but am just getting around to it finally, so perhaps that desire to write was always somewhere in the background simmering. Yet I don't think I ever consciously thought, hey, some day I want to write so I am going to analyze every book I read. (I did it with any book I read, romances included.) Maybe that subconscious 'research' will help me succeed some day!

It's all about characters for me. I've battled through some of the worst prose in the history of mankind for the sake of a beloved character. This usually happens in series, because if I'm connected to a character, that means the original prose that hooked me wasn't too bad.

I am all about character, as well. I love to open a book and feel like I've made a new friend by the end of the first chapter. I tend to be a pretty forgiving reader, and I'll hang on through chapter 2 or 3 of a character-driven novel if I have a hint that I'll eventually warm up to the MC. But if I get a quarter of the way through a book and am still not feeling a connection, I'll probably put the book down.

There are a few books I've read where I truly loathed the MC but went on reading. In those cases, though, I think I switched from reading as a reader to reading as a writer. I wanted, by the end, to be able to articulate to myself -- and to others, if they asked -- why I hated the MC so much, and what the writer had done, or not done, to make me feel that way.

What makes the difference between a book I like and a book I love (basically, a library rental or used paperback purchase vs. a new book purchase) is something interesting and slightly experimental happening with language, structure, or narration. I love finding common words or phrases used in surprising ways. I love narratives that jump around in time or are structured with some sort of framing device. I can certainly get on board with a novel that includes a great main character with plain language, but an extra oomph in the language department is what really pulls me in.

think this is worth bumping

I think what Rowling did in the present day for the young readers, folk like Leslie Charteris, Alistair MacLean and Ian Fleming did for readers some years ago.

Don't knock James Bond unless you've read - and didn't care for - the books.

I remember reading Dr No in the late 1950's, and I followed that with a whole string of books for years, including all the C S Forrester novels and Book Club monthly subscription reads too. Prior to landing on Dr No, I had not read much at all as a teenager.

And in most of these books, I think it was the situation that grabbed me every time. Plus the writing in the case of Forrester, too. Fair enough, as one reads one hopefully gets attached to the respective main characters but for me, initially, I think if I pick up the book first time, it's the unfolding situation the character is in that has to catch my attention and hold it.

In terms of a novel, a good summary will hook me into actually reading the book. If, by the 100th page (or thereabouts) I haven't made any kind of connection with the character or seen any significant conflict or action, I'll abandon it. I just read all of the parts posted of a serial (currently unfinished) and while the summary was good and the topic is interesting, all those 9 parts were purely character driven which the characters (sort of gods) pretty much discussing nothing but themselves and their perfections. It got boring. I couldn't relate to the MC, felt nothing for her and since there was no supporting conflict or action, I won't be going back to it.

A lot of times I get hooked in my a catch first few words but that doesn't necessarily mean it'll keep me reading. I think, in the end, I need a good mixture of character, action and conflict to keep me reading. I need to feel something, anything for the MC and I'd like to be propelled through the story. It being well-written is also always a plus. I'm probably going to get beaten for this but I just couldn't get through Catch -22. By roughly the 100th page I wanted to throw it out the window. It was so unbelievably redundant (which was the point of the book, of course) that I just couldn't connect with anything beyond that redundancy. I ended up Spark Noting the rest of it.

Story questions in the first sentence, leading me into the next sentence, through the paragraphs, questions, more questions, some answers, other questions, more answers--As long as you've got me asking and wanting answers, I'm interested and will keep reading. Stop asking questions I want answers to, or give me all the answers, and I stop reading. It's real simple.

Those questions can be surrounding characters, situation, world, relationship--whatever. Doesn't matter. Just make me interested in finding out the answers and I'm totally yours.

As a reader, I don't ask for much- just don't disappoint me!

Tell me a story. It doesn't even need to be fascinating 100% of the time... just don't dawdle in the boring bits, shoving details down my throat. Get through it. Please leave room for my imagination to contribute. I don't need to know what color the carpet is, or what every single character in a crowded room is doing every second.

I've tried to read a certain book a couple of times, and the second time I waded in (a few nights ago) I finally hit a point where I just couldn't go any further... the author felt the need to walk the reader through every step, as if she didn't trust us to come to given conclusions on our own. I'm looking at the particular paragraph that annoyed me so badly and it's all dialogue, with the MC telling us which child is on which arm of a secondary character, that they're soaking wet (well yes, they were out in the rain a few seconds ago, weren't they?) and that the one child is wearing a pair of her pants. She tells us where to find more sweats (folded in the second drawer of the dresser in her bedroom) and what kind of sweats they are (drawstring), and also where to find her daughter's clothes (her daughter's dresser). I mean, really?

I didn't actually put the book down... I think I actually threw it across the room. Nice satisfying thunk and flutter. We writers are temperamental, y'know. Thankfully it's not one I paid for. My mother gave it to me... and having tried to read it I no longer doubt why she "doesn't have time for books".

Bufty said:

I think what Rowling did in the present day for the young readers, folk like Leslie Charteris, Alistair MacLean and Ian Fleming did for readers some years ago.

Don't knock James Bond unless you've read - and didn't care for - the books.

I remember reading Dr No in the late 1950's, and I followed that with a whole string of books for years, including all the C S Forrester novels and Book Club monthly subscription reads too. Prior to landing on Dr No, I had not read much at all as a teenager.

And in most of these books, I think it was the situation that grabbed me every time. Plus the writing in the case of Forrester, too. Fair enough, as one reads one hopefully gets attached to the respective main characters but for me, initially, I think if I pick up the book first time, it's the unfolding situation the character is in that has to catch my attention and hold it.

Click to expand...

Good to see someone else remembers Fleming! Aside from the standard "Hardy Boys" stuff, "The Man with the Golden Gun" was my first serious read (at about nine, I think...).

I think this is one of those questions that's going to have a different answer for each person. I'm a character guy. If the character doesn't grab me, I find the book something of a slog. I recently started a book (one of those that later made the transition into movies), and am having a hard time getting into it. The plot's good, there's decent action, all that stuff. But the characters SUCK.

What really brought this into focus for me was, of all things, Warhammer 40k fiction. I started reading two series, both by some of Black Library's better authors, and found myself latching onto one while I really pushed the other away. It came down to characters. The one I rejected had better plots, but the characters were so bland and unmemorable that I couldn't suffer through it. Thinking back, I also had this problem with some of L'Amour's Westerns, too. I ended up going back to the old Hopalong Cassady books, and then comparing them to the updated ones Louis wrote. No real comparison...and it came down to characters.

But that's just me. Other folks get wrapped up in action or such, and that's fine. Just laying out my own preference.

Good writing is first for me - by that I mean grammatically right, good sentence construction, command of language. The most intriguing of characters or story can't supersede poor writing for me. Recently I picked up a book by an author I won't name, a book belonging to a friend of mine. This author has sold bajillions and bajillions of books but I'd never had a look. The writing was so appallingly awful, so completely slapdash, I couldn't get past the third chapter despite the presence of a reasonably interesting main character. Clearly this is not an issue for the bajillions of purchasers of the books.

Next in line are character(s) and story. I don't have to be hooked within moments - good writing alone will do that for me - and I don't mind "slow" starts and buildups if they're well constructed.

An intriguing premise gets me every time. I'm not much into character. That's probably why I like most of Michael Crichton's books. He always has an unusal premise, something I hadn't considered and he always delivers a thrill ride - at least for me.
Linnea

A great character will keep me reading and I can overlook backstory and boring bits if I like the character and feel she is real.

However, a great story/mystery/puzzle will keep me reading even if I don't care about the characters.

If you can combine the two, I won't put the book down until I'm finished.

I worked at a bookstore the first time I picked up a Michael Connelly book. It was Angels Flight. I was immediately sucked in by not just the character of Harry Bosch, but by Connelly's writing style. He somehow blends "just the information you need" like the former journalist he is, with a description style that is spot-on perfect.

Plus, Bosch is, in my opinion, the heir-apparent to Chandler's Mercer. Dark, and in some ways a cliche, but deep enough that you want to learn more and more about the man.

For me, the character, the situation, and all that are what hold me in the story once I've already been pulled in. The pull itself has to come in the form of a cleverly worded phrase right at the outset... if not the first sentence, at least within the first paragraph. I have a very short attention span, and if I don't see that the author is willing to put in the effort to make his/her sentences colorful and eloquent, I'm not going to put in the effort to see where the story is going.

Even after the story is in full swing, I'm a sucker for especially apt similes and metaphors and the like. Sometimes even a bland story with dull characters can hold my interest if the author can pull off some impressive literary acrobatics in the process.

I assess my level of intrigue by the actual form and craft of the writing. One or two pages isn't usually enough to be able to generate a level of magnetism with the plot and characters, so I rely on the skill of the author. If the writing is overly simplistic, and seemingly places no importance on the honing of phraseology, the chances are good that I'm not going to be interested. The effort of writing on the part of the author should be greater than the effort of reading on my part.

it's the writing. the story can be the best ever but i'll never live to know it if i get bored on the first page. sloppy uncrafted writing, 'casual' slapstick writing puts me off every time. the plot may be the hottest ever -- plots are a dime a dozen.

maybe that's just me, but i don't embark on reading a book just to pass time. when i read a book, i expect to travel to ... a different dimension of sorts, i want to take a voyage into three-dimensional lives and realities, i want to discover and wonder and i want to be haunted by that book long after i've finished it.

i want to count the days until i can allow myself to pick it up again and see what i missed on the first reading.

i can get a bull's eye story and plot and a rush watching a movie and that takes roughly 2 hours or so... reading is an investment for me, it's special. if the writing puts me off, i won't invest the time.

For me, the writing simply HAS to be good, if not great. I'm a reader of largely literary fiction and I want to be wowed by great language.
Then I need a character to care about, who gets put in a situation that makes me wonder what's going to happen next. However, I've continued to read plenty of books past that point simply because they were well written. Usually those are worth reading, although I've occasionally got all the way to the end and thought "so what?"