Creating That Opening Hook

What makes you look at African American books by authors for only a few moments and to not be able to put them down until you've completely finished them? It's the hook. What is a hook? A hook is something that pulls you into the story and that makes you want to read more. It's something that keeps your readers from tossing the African Americans books that they read away after only a couple of pages. It's what makes a good book become a great book. So if a hook is so important, how do you go about getting a good one?

A Great Start

There are a number of rules when it comes to working for a hook on any sort of African American books, and rule number one is that not all stories start at the very beginning. Everyone knows about nursery stories that begin "once upon a time", and while that's all fine and dandy, unless you've got something great following that epic phrase, you're likely going to bore your reader. Many of the best and most popular African Americans books actually begin somewhere near the middle, or even near the end. It's an old literary trick - you start your character just as something climatic is about to happen, and then you jump back to the very beginning of the tale, leaving your reader wondering what is going to happen to the main character. It's an opening cliffhanger, and you'll find it a lot when you read African American books simply because it's so effective.

But you don't need to start there. You can also start your story before the story begins. But wait, you're saying, you said not to begin at the beginning. And that's true. The prologue is the time that occurred before your story begins, and it's usually a great way to begin any story. The prologue is about things that happen before the main event that your book is covering happens, and it's something that can make your readers very interested in your story very quickly. One important thin got remember is that a prologue is not a first chapter. A prologue occurs before the first chapter happens.

If you're having a difficult time figuring out which type of beginning you should have for your story, try out a few different ones. Create three or four different openings and see which one fits the best. You don't have to start your work in the beginning, and in fact many of the most popular African Americans books actually had their beginnings written last.


Conrad Washington is a seasoned writer and reads all types of african american books. When he is ready for his next novel he turns to african americans books.