“Don’t knock the “hook.” It’s the difference between life & death for your concept. “
– Christopher Lockhart, Creative Exec, William Morris Agency
“Everyone is looking for a good hook. It’s virtually impossible for an unknown writer to get a spec read that doesn’t have a good hook.
The spec market is a hook market. “
– James V. Simpson, Screenwriter
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So. You are an unpublished writer - in any medium.
The good and great tell you that you need a ‘Story Hook.’
Um. Thanks. Very helpful.
So how do the professionals do it? How do they create the ‘Story Hook’?
Both of the quotes above - and thanks to ‘Writing & Building’ http://writing-building.blogspot.com/ for the inspiration - refer to speculative submissions. The Unsolicited manuscripts which flood agents and publishers offices day in, day out.
I think there are four ways of looking at this;
1. the Story Hook created by the writer in her Pitch which will get her noticed by the gatekeepers -her Synopsis still has to tell a brilliant tale, but if you cannot get read in the first place…
2. The Tag line. The few words which will tell the theme etc of the tale so that the reader/audience knows what to expect. One sentence.
3. the Story Hook created by Marketing and Publicity to attract an audience in the first place. Movie poster and Trailer Moments with that fabulous voice over. Back cover blurb on glossy harback books.
4. The expression of that Story Hook in the opening chapters of the novel or the opening scenes in a movie/play/ animation. How can it be used to intrigue the reader and force them to ask questions?
Let’s take a recent award winning movie such as Michael Clayton and let’s challenge those precepts.
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What is the Story Hook in the movie Michael Clayton?
Michael Clayton is an in-house fixer at one of the largest corporate law firms in New York. A former criminal prosecutor, Clayton takes care of Kenner, Bach, & Ledeen’s dirtiest work at the behest of the firm’s co-founder, Marty Bach. Though burned out and hardly content with his job as a fixer, his divorce, a failed business venture, and mounting debt have left Clayton inextricably tied to the firm. At U/North, meanwhile, the career of litigator Karen Crowder rests on the multi-million dollar settlement of a class-action suit that Clayton’s firm is leading to a seemingly successful conclusion. But when Kenner Bach’s brilliant and guilt-ridden attorney Arthur Edens sabotages the U/North case, Clayton faces the biggest challenge of his career and his life.
Look at the trailer. The voice over. http://michaelclayton.warnerbros.com/#
Basically, Michael Clayton’s job is to cover up secrets. To make things ‘Go Away’ for his clients. Only now his friend Arthur has to ‘Go Away’. What is he going to do? Will he make this one go away?
What is the Tag line?
It is right up there on the poster. In RED CAPITALS= power. THE TRUTH CAN BE ADJUSTED. It covers up the face of the main character. Almost obscuring him.
How is that Story Hook expressed in the work?
The opening montage of scenes showing Michael Clayton at the gambling tables, doing his disreputable work with a client he despises, the moment of the respite in the freezing cold dawn, and BANG. His car explodes. Twice. And his life turns.
This man’s job is hiding secrets. Covering up the truth. And now he has to make a decision. As the story builds and builds, we become more emotionally involved in this man’s life. Even though we know he survives the explosion, this opening sequence asks so many questions that we are compelled to watch and become engaged.
It is a defining moment for this character. He stands in that field with the horses and is sick and tired of his weakness. The car explodes. And he now takes his skills and knowledge and uses it to REVEAL the secrets, EXPOSE the dirty tricks, and find justice.
