Imagine James Cameron is doing a Titanic reboot.
But this time, the story goes –
Rose is pissed about the arranged marriage, but married her husband anyway for the wealth. Jack? He never boarded the ship because you don’t really win the lottery in real life. The sailor was super responsible and noticed the iceberg miles away… saving the ship. The Titanic never sank into the ocean floor. Everyone lived happily ever after.
THAT WOULD BE SO BORING.
Why?
Because there is no “conflict” in this story.
And that, my friend, is the most important part of any story hook.
If you look at any viral movie, novel, or story…
You’ll discover one similar pattern:
The story introduces you to a problem or conflict almost immediately.
AS SOON AS POSSIBLE.
A love story? You know the main character is struggling to find love in the first 5 minutes. An action movie? You sense a danger… and an adventure before you start eating that popcorn. A horror novel? You see the main character(s) do something dumb right out the gate… like wandering into an unknown wood or going to a scary cabin.
To summarize:
How do you write a compelling story hook that sucks in the readers’ attention?
1 – Use the first line to spike the readers’ curiosity and hint at a story
2 – Introduce the conflict asap
3 – Hook them into reading the next line
To wrap this up…
I remember learning from Parker, a great story marketer, and here’s his tip on writing a story hook:
Sentence 1: Start of the story
Sentence 2: End of the story
Sentence 3: Cliffhanger… what you’re about to share next
I think this is a very universally effective formula for beginners.
To be continued…
– WYH