The Hook

I've put a great deal of thought into The Oracle (book 2 of the Gateway Chronicles) this month, particularly concerning what the hook for the second book should look like. Of course I already know what the story is going to be (I'd be in a great deal of trouble right now if I didn't at least have that figured out), but I think there is a great challenge to be met in drawing the reader into the story right away in the first chapter. Writing a good hook is always a challenge, but I think it's even more difficult when you have a series of stories like mine, in which the principle characters have to get to the other world before the real conflict of the story develops. The Six started off very gradually because it was introducing the entire series, and I want The Oracle to be a distinct break from that. I determined long ago that each book has to start in "our" world, so I took care in The Six to set up elements of conflict that can carry over from Alitheia to "here." And I think that just this morning I figured out exactly what the hook for book 2 should look like. (No, I'm not going to tell you!) Now that I know the beginning, I feel like I can finally start putting together the outline for the book.

Okay, I've been feeding peach puffs across the table to my ten-month-old, but I think he needs something more substantive. Now he's grabbing at the laptop. Time to go!