Hooks and other things to consider

I'm not even sure where I read this, but the advice was to keep the reader turning pages by ending every chapter with a hook--what will happen next?

This can be done several ways--by someone running for their lives or by simply ending the chapter with a question. Will she make it to the town in time to stop the insurrection? We don't know and so we turn the page.

I find myself doing this automatically now, and many times I'll come up with a sentence that seems like the end of a chapter when in reality the chapter is too short and needs to go on.

How about the hook at the beginning? The adage of 'start your story with a major hook and then keep the suspense building' is a good one. But at some point we need to hear the backstory, or the narrative has no depth. Who is this woman who's running from the law? Why does she keep doing stupid things?  What in her background would account for this? Don't do an info dump, just weave it in when you need to slow down the action.

One of the things I've discovered is that when the narrative moves too quickly, it's as though we don't have time to take a breath. As a writer, breathe in and relax a moment, bringing the reader into the present, and then get in touch with what the main character is feeling. Take a short hiatus and then you can heighten the tension again. It's like mixing staccato sentences in with longer ones--they all have their place but if you overdo one or the other it makes for a less engaging story. It's like a symphony in which the music changes from fast-paced, to slow and steady.

But first and foremost be interested in what you're writing. Be there in the scene, visualize the booming cannon as it kicks backward, emitting a plume of smoke, hear what it does to your eardrums, see the sparks and the smoke from the explosion, smell the cordite. This is where you hook your reader because you've brought them directly into the action.

The more engaged you are the better it will be.

Thanks for reading and comments are most appreciated!

The Lure and the reeling in...

Still lolling about not doing any serious writing--that is, working on one of my novels in progress. Yesterday I worked for several hours linking this blog to my website, and vice-versa as well as putting more content onto my website blog--I now have three blogs.

My website, which cost me a lot to set up, seems to be taking a back seat to this blog and my other one about life here in Arizona. The blog page doesn't have an automatic button to post it to Facebook and Twitter but I don't think that's the problem since it doesn't take long to copy and paste. I personally do not like the black with white print nor do I like how it starts with a couple of sentences and then you have to click to continue reading...and...Blogger is easier for me to navigate than Wordpress although I think Wordpress has more sophisticated capabilities--if only I knew them!

As you probably have guessed, I'm rather lazy when it comes to technical things. I like to find out the basics and get on with it, not spend hours figuring it out beforehand--and my writing style is the same--a definite pantser!

So, my question is how do I tempt people to read my website blog? It differs from this one in that I'm writing vignettes related to Wolfmoon--snippets from character's perspectives that are not in the actual books...the latest is from a wolf's perspective...

I would LOVE feedback on the look of the blog as well as suggestions for content. Any enticement you bloggers know of that might help? www.wolfmoontrilogy.com/category/blog