P-A-S-S-I-O-N and Confidence And Publication Part 6 of 11

Tap tap tap, type. I love the sound of the keyboard in the morning. It’s about as good as coffee some days. Not as good as tea, that more of a paper and pen thing. Or better still a good night’s sleep, something I’ve not been getting recently. From a sick child to my own cold reducing my voice to nothing, well it’s a good thing writing doesn’t involve talking I’d be in deep trouble.

Two Words: Lemon Tea.

Just squeeze a lemon and pour the juice and pulp into hot water, no sugar drink it straight, and voila a voice this morning. Well sort of, as in I can deal better with the kids, and my patience isn’t tested by Oscar. They would make such a nice character for a book… you know the kind a martyr to just about everything.

But what hasn’t dulled is my passion for writing. Or at least for getting a first draft down. I was thinking about hooks and what makes a good start to any book. You know I could list a few of the most memorable and not so memorable, that became cliches:

It was a dark and Stormy night

Call me Ishmael

In my younger and more vulnerable years, my father gave me some advice that I’ve been turning over in my head ever since.

” I see…” said the vampire thoughtfully.

Yes, the first line, for some writers this is where they put their passion where they set the tone, where their confidence lies. Yet, Sometimes that is all there is. Of course amateur writers ( And I most certainly am guilty of this) do the hook badly. It is a sticky point.

The Question becomes how to continue it? Well you do, done well a hook goes in deep and the reader can sense the passion throughout the writing. I’ve got some hubs on hub pages up you can see them, feel free to comment here about that hubs since, it’s important as it gives me own little view on passion and writing.

So before you run off and read it, and feel free to read the others as well, go on go ahead! I’ll wait, feel free to answer this question:

What makes a hook so special?

Great you’re back. Writing is all about the reader and the hook the writer gives, I almost wish that a hook was so big as to get me to read the entire book in one sitting these days. That is a hook and a passionate writer in my view.

My Question for you today is this: What gives you the most passion in writing? What author can you recall the first few lines of a book?