Hooks

The first 25 hooks are up for the Fangs, Fur, & Fey contest. If you have time, it's great reading and I'm sure the authors would all really like community feedback. There's already been a lot of feedback from many people, but one can never have too much information, right? So far I've been making comments for each of the hooks posted, but I don't know if I'll be able to continue that through the entire contest--only 10% of the entries have even been released so far! Hopefully the judges will keep releasing them gradually, which will make this easier on everyone else, but I know they have lives too, and their own work.

All of this commenting has cut into my writing time a lot, but I don't mind a bit. In the process of reading all these hooks, I'm starting to see them more like an agent or an editor would, and that's invaluable for my own hook writing. It's funny how certain hooks just immediately stand out because of their ideas or voice, while others lose me nearly as immediately because of muddled language. Plus, it's always easier to recognize what others do right--and wrong--than it is to see in your own writing. If you're a student of hook-writing, as any aspiring novelist has to be, reading and reviewing these hooks can be a pretty valuable experience.