Pulling the Reader In

Puma said:

I've been thinking about my own question and looking at some of the first chapter posts here in SYW. My opinion is that situation is what's most important to catch the reader. There has to be something very interesting, intriguing, unusual going on to catch me immediately. But there's a trade off also with setting and the way it's described. Character would place pretty far down my list for an immediate hook. Puma

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I'm with you on this one. I'm not all that interested in character until the storyline has me hooked. If the MC isn't going to be involved in anything interesting I won't read on long enough to find out how well developed the character may be. They must be doing something cool or there must be a hint that they will be - and soon.
Linnea

For me I think it's voice that does it. Or style, whichever way you want to look at it. I've read some books where practically nothing happens for a while but the uniqueness of the writer's voice has drawn me in. I'd agree character though isn't so much of a pull as usually I take a while to get to know the character anyway, but I have read a couple of books where it has been the character that's kept me reading - the most recent one was a YA fantasy, 'Skulduggery Pleasant' by Derek Landy.

Plot doesn't rank very high with me for pull, as if the style is off-putting or boring it doesn't matter how fantastic the idea is, I can't get into it. I've got so many books here that sounded so promising in terms of story but I can't get past page one. George R R Martin's books are like that for me - I really wanted to get into the world and the ideas but I find his style totally characterless and therefore unreadable. (I know, that will probably make me unpopular, but that's just my opinion of it).

What happened with Rowling [Harry Potter] IMO was that for three decades all the kids had been fed was robots/mutant turtles etc. Suddenly they had something new to them and exciting in wizards etc. But you know, those sort of stories were all us kids had in the 40s/50s/60s/70s/
She just went back in time and produced srories that kids had previously been fascinated with for centuries. Clever woman, but they are good books.

Thread is worth a little bump every now and again

I'll vote for voice and situation. It's certainly what I use as hooks in my stories.

A story pulls me in when it asks a question that I need answered. The question could be about character or situation or perhaps other things.

Elizabeth George's In the Presence of the Enemy begins with ten-year-old Charlotte Bowen waking up in an unknown dark, cramped, musty place. By page three we know she was kidnapped. That raises all kinds of questions I simply gotta know the answer to.

And how about this for raising questions (the brilliant opening sentence of John Irving's A Prayer for Owen Meany):

I am doomed to remember a boy with a wrecked voice--not because of his voice, or because he was the smallest person I ever knew, or even because he was the instrument of my mother's death, but because he is the reason I believe in God; I am a Christian because of Owen Meany.

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To hook me: Make me ask a question to which I must have an answer.

Dale

For me it's a memorable character and how the plot works for them. I'll read a book I absolutely do not agree with or even like if the character is essential to the plot.

Heck, I read a book where I hated all the characters but how this main character started down the path of magic and saving the US from various evil entities with the help of other people with other faiths was entertaining. This book is by John Ringo. The main character I didn't like was stuck in my head because of how unique she was. She was a home-maker, had children and stated that the husband was the lord of the house and women should always follow their husbands. She was VERY normal in that regard. Other than the fact that she had very good weapons training due to a father in the military and wields a katana like she'd been born a samurai. How she became that way was interesting.

Being a Protestant she had very strong opinions about faith, gun rights, abortion and even her magic. All of which I disagreed with and think she was wrong about but I still respected her (even though I hate her at the same time) and how the author wrote her. I was expecting all that to just be glossed over once the action and magic started. It wasn't. Her faith is why her magic is so powerful but the author made it so that it wasn't just God who made her that way. Other people with other faiths were just as powerful.

Oh, her being a magic-user was interesting but that really wasn't what go my attention. She left me thinking of her stance on the normal things in life I have strong opinions about instead. She made no excuses about her stances and she didn't give out a why. She just had them, her God was her foundation and she was sticking to her guns. Literally in most cases. I wished I could've read more about her life and how she tackled the craziness of it through her faith. Because I'm from a different culture and religion she also taught me quite abit about Protestant life and how most conservative Republican house-wives actually like the marriage status-quo.

There's a thread asking for the first 3 sentences of "your" WIP Novel. Read that thread, and notice what hooks you. Mr MacDonald's post stands out big time (for me). Some others stand out more than most. In my opinion, it's 100% verbiage.

I enjoy being suspended between believable and unbelievable. Something surprising happens, that we never thought could happen, but Wow, it really did, and the first thing we want to do is tell someone. And part of a good telling is to relay that surprise, to explain why we didn't see it coming, and were amazed to believe something new about the world after it happened.

Even if the story is fantastical, the author's belief in its truth can hook me.

I am generally pulled in by the writer's voice, their distinctive writing style (Ray Bradbury is a prime example of this.) If the writing sucks, then it isn't worth my time. Once I am into the book a little ways I begin to look for a connection with the character, followed by an interesting plot. If the book lacks any of these three major components, then it is not worth my time.

Different things hook me in different novels; however character is very important to me. One thing that really turns me off is an opening paragraph of straight description. The only time description works for me is if it's told in a voice that illustrates character.

I love the opening sentence to Pat Conroy's Prince of Tides because it makes me ask questions about the narrator that I want answered.

"My wound is geography."

Four words, but the right four words.

Give me a character and make me care about what happens next.

For me, it depends on the genre. For mysteries, it's plot, though I like best those series mysteries with characters that develop over time (Elizabeth George, Michael Connelly). For more mainstream fiction, it's definitely character. An author who can create a character that is real to me (Diana Gabaldon) will have me grabbing every subsequent book. Then there are books with little or no plot and little characterization, like West into the Night that I love for the lyrical writing. I loved Three Cups of Tea, too, because it taught me something about another part of the world and changed my perceptions.

I'm a patient reader, having read all my life, everything from Tarzan, Zane Gray and, yes, Louis L'Amour, to Ian Fleming and George R.R. Martin. I don't have a short attention span, and don't mind giving a story time to unfold if it is a good story. I even read all of Michener's books, including Centennial with all the descriptive material at the beginning. But, oh what a story he had to tell!

Things that will cause me to lay a book aside--an infrequent occurence--are poor sentence structure and/or punctuation or an unbelievable plot.

If any

Seems a lot of people put character is the first thing that hooks them.
So what would you think of a book if the character you got introduced to in the first chapter gets killed off at the end of chapter one and you are introduced to the main character at the beginning of chapter 2? Would that put you off or would you continue reading to see what this new character is like?
This question is especially for those who put character as the first thing that draws them in. Though anyone can answer of course.

Many mystery/thriller authors do this. And Dan Brown. In such novels however I am expecting a twisty turny plot, and see that merely as the opening gambit, a little cliffhanger into the larger story that will be resolved eventually.

If the book is humorous, I do enjoy a huge set up, great deal of description, only to have the character be killed and never seen again. For comic effect.

I think as long as that first chapter serves a purpose for the rest of the story, as long as when it happens the reader doesn't feel like throwing the book against the wall, it is just fine.

The opening is actually relevant to something that happens a chapter or two further on. Something the MC sees. After reading this thread I wasn't sure if a lot of people would be put off by the way chapter one ends. The story is a supernatural thriller. Thanks for replying Toothpaste it helps me know at least it can still work.

Okay, I can actually understand someone not liking Bond. The movies portray using one woman after another as a lifestyle that is realistic, without consequences, and not blatently immoral. Bond movies aren't for everyone and some of them seemed about an inch deep. But there were atleast a few that were well done. The scenery/setting really grabbed me. You don't need to create a fantasy world if you are able to put together a car chase, involving a nuclear weapon, across a large part of mainland Europe. Despite his Bond's lavish sex life, he was fighting for good. There were times when he slowed down his pace. In those times you got to know the person and even see him fall in love with a woman. Not all his love trists were totally out there. Who hasn't dreamed of fighting of an evil maniac on a space station and then finishing off your adventure by being "stuck" with an attractive someone in a spaceship while orbiting earth?

ishtar'sgate said:

An intriguing premise gets me every time. I'm not much into character.

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This isn't a dichotomy. Good writers bring both good premises and good characters to the reader. That combination will get me, most every time.

And I find Crichton ultimately somewhat disappoiinting (I've read two of his novels), precisely because his characters are so wooden.

caw

Concept. Although I love to read about characters I'd like to meet, Dan Brown can still hold my attention with concept alone. "Jesus had children and his descendants are still here" is a great concept for a suspense with the right plot surrounding it. Yes, the characters were one-dimensional, but the plot was fast-paced and interesting, whether or not it was historically accurate or the least-bit true.

But then, I read mostly mystery, romantic suspense, thriller, etc.

My guess is, this answer is different for everyone. So if you want to know from a writer's standpoint what's most important, then study those who write in the genre you do and see where the concentration lies.

willfs said:

Okay, I can actually understand someone not liking Bond. The movies portray using one woman after another as a lifestyle that is realistic, without consequences, and not blatently immoral. Bond movies aren't for everyone and some of them seemed about an inch deep. But there were atleast a few that were well done. The scenery/setting really grabbed me. You don't need to create a fantasy world if you are able to put together a car chase, involving a nuclear weapon, across a large part of mainland Europe. Despite his Bond's lavish sex life, he was fighting for good. There were times when he slowed down his pace. In those times you got to know the person and even see him fall in love with a woman. Not all his love trists were totally out there. Who hasn't dreamed of fighting of an evil maniac on a space station and then finishing off your adventure by being "stuck" with an attractive someone in a spaceship while orbiting earth?

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Actually, the new Bond movies starring Daniel Craig (ie walking sexy) are much more like the character was intended to be - dark, charming and a ruthless killer. Kinda like the newest Batman series - MUCH closer to the original feel of the comics.

Dale Emery said:

Elizabeth George's In the Presence of the Enemy begins with ten-year-old Charlotte Bowen waking up in an unknown dark, cramped, musty place. By page three we know she was kidnapped. That raises all kinds of questions I simply gotta know the answer to.

Dale

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Ah, yes. I'd forgotten that one.

willfs said:

Okay, I can actually understand someone not liking Bond. The movies portray using one woman after another as a lifestyle that is realistic, without consequences, and not blatently immoral. Bond movies aren't for everyone and some of them seemed about an inch deep. But there were atleast a few that were well done. The scenery/setting really grabbed me. You don't need to create a fantasy world if you are able to put together a car chase, involving a nuclear weapon, across a large part of mainland Europe. Despite his Bond's lavish sex life, he was fighting for good. There were times when he slowed down his pace. In those times you got to know the person and even see him fall in love with a woman. Not all his love trists were totally out there. Who hasn't dreamed of fighting of an evil maniac on a space station and then finishing off your adventure by being "stuck" with an attractive someone in a spaceship while orbiting earth?

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jana13k said:

Actually, the new Bond movies starring Daniel Craig (ie walking sexy) are much more like the character was intended to be - dark, charming and a ruthless killer. Kinda like the newest Batman series - MUCH closer to the original feel of the comics.

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The Ian Fleming books about James Bond are much better than what Hollywood did to them.