How to Write a Hook For Your Story

[@kayeherl9195]

What does every disney movie have in common to make you care about the character from the beginning? Me: dead parents?

[@mesia2453]

Me at first: O my god! Me after I realized: *silence

[@SimpleRainbow-g2n]

Please, we all know it's the singing.

[@yellow-ish4200]

@@SimpleRainbow-g2n true, true

[@deckardcanine]

Some have both parents still alive but absent, like Aurora and Rapunzel.

[@Shaaydiia07]

My answer was the singing 😂

[@emmamichelsohn7515]

I heard a suggestion from someone that if you don't like your first chapter, write the rest of the book and go back at the end. Since the more you write the better you get, and the more you write the story the better you understand the characters and events. The first chapter in my WIP is a wimpy little place holder, and now that I'm about 2/3 through my WIP I do feel like I have more insight into how to make it work better. But to top it all off, now I can pair what I already have, and my new ideas, with the stellar advice from this video. I'm actually not dreading it at all, which is exactly the feeling I like to have before rewriting a difficult chapter. :)

[@gachandre317]

yeah.. my friend was reading harry potter and he *HATED* it so bad. crazy right?!

[@bluefish1796]

This is one of the best pieces of advice!

[@tuopsy]

@@gachandre317 what does that have to do with anything?

[@AucklandNZ1]

@@tuopsy What does what have to do with anything? Elaborate please.

[@tuopsy]

@@AucklandNZ1 the comment i replied to...?

[@r.i.p.4485]

Abby: "There's a secret ingredient to Disney movies, come on what is it?" Me: "MONEY!!!"

[@AnnoyingMoose]

Me: "The main character is an orphan."

[@absolutelyabbie3510]

@Domenic Buffaloe no one cares

[@sanaayasureka8256]

@@absolutelyabbie3510 It was kind of funny

[@donalddeluxe6407]

“NOW GET ME SOME GOD DAMN MONEY!!!!” - South Park Mickey mouse

[@TomEyeTheSFMguy]

Money! Money! Money! Money! Money! Money!

[@lylaiscooler]

I know this might sound dumb but I am 10 years old and I love to write story’s. I want to be an author, and this video helped me a lot! I have like 20 pieces of papers with beginning pages that totally flopped. But this made my characters feel more genuine. This is such a helpful video and I’d like to see more 😄 Edit: Thank you guys for your support! Its been a while and I’m still writing the introduction to my book. With me taking my time I feel like I get better results with my work. Also, instead of using this, I’ve kinda come up with my own method for hooks that’s more suit to me. Anyways, have a good day❤️

[@turquoisermain]

I can freaking relate to you. I’m a young teen and I have more than 20 documents with failed beginnings, and I almost gave up when I realised my mistake and began to focus on my characters. And, don’t ever give up, all right? :)

[@DashiSama]

Good luck! I know I found my passion for writing at the age of 8 :)

[@lunalovegood616]

@@turquoisermain I know right! I had some good ideas but didn’t plan them out and ended up with lots of three page documents..

[@kittyqueen9000]

Nothing dumb about it. Keep going, you'll get there.

[@user-te7ws5sz1f]

-You sound like me four years ago- But nothing's dumb about it

[@dragonartz3207]

I've discovered that the name of Chapter One can also make me want to read it more. Rick Riordan has mastered this, especially in Book One of Percy Jackson which is entitled: "I vaporized my pre-algebra teacher" This single sentence made me laugh so hard.

[@teenat7044]

The only book I ever just randomly remember the first sentence of all the time, is book 5. "The end of the world started when a pegasus landed on the hood of my car." I also laughed at it lol

[@TNcFlipbook]

❤❤

[@TheYasminStuff]

lol

[@stevenboxleitner4612]

I am in writer heaven right now - I have been crossing my fingers for a series like this :D Thnx! You're a real inspiration to me :)

[@princekermit0]

i know right

[@vminmotivationalcurve88yea64]

How's your boom coming up?

[@TNcFlipbook]

❤❤

[@nicodiangelo6788]

I misread and thought that said “I am a writer in heaven right now.” I had to do a double-take lol.

[@syberyah]

"Rules? I've always thought of them more like guidelines anyway"

[@alisonvenus4891]

That’s what I always say! I’m glad someone else knows it.

[@Starrthekid]

I just watched the movie and saw this, are you a witch?

[@kristine95660]

This wins the internet!

[@syberyah]

@@kristine95660 Aww, thank you!!

[@Big-guy1981]

And how many copies of your book have you sold so far?

[@passantamreltarek9946]

I just LOVE your passion for writing and psychology, and I very much relate! I'm 15 and I just found your channel (and literally watched every single one of the 97 videos you have), and I like how all your videos are related to each other, and the fact that you're just teaching the same writing method starting simple, going into more details with every video! Your videos just gave me an understanding of literature and why I love the books that I love and hate the ones that I hate. You're such an INSPIRATION, Abbie and please never stop what you're doing. You deserve to be heard by all the writers out there, because everyone should learn from you!

[@AbbieEmmons]

Thank you so much for your kind words! They mean so much to me, and I am thrilled that the content I make encourages you to chase your dreams and make your story MATTER!

[@Friendship1nmillion]

@@AbbieEmmons You { excellently } tell in your videos like you're a school teacher. { still can't get use to your voice & personality #NoOffence } . When telling your example with the Passenger movie , I'm disappointed you didn't mention about Jennifer Lawrence { Character } . No , by the way i haven't seen that movie. Also I love dogs. So I was hopeful while watching the video when you started mention of #Disney that you'd include a { visual } example of a live-action dog's movie { like " Homeward Bound " } . 👨‍💼42yrs 🤳🇦🇺🇳🇴

[@Idontevenusethisshit_766]

I'm 13 and I was thinking of writing a fanfiction for fun and this inspired me to go through with it :)

[@morrigan_crow1709]

@@Idontevenusethisshit_766 Same! I wanted to write some fanfiction but didn't know how and then I came across Abbie's channel accidentally and now i'm really motivated.

[@TNcFlipbook]

❤❤

[@stoppickingurnose7852]

Dang, I was just editing my Prologue when this popped up on my phone.

[@shiyuhe3499]

😂

[@saraoln]

Well, you're in luck 😂😊.

[@dion789]

'Mr. and Mrs. Dursley, of number four Privet Drive, were proud to say that they were perfectly normal, thank you very much.' Doesn't get any better than that. There are not many books whose first sentence is engraved in my mind.

[@Kiki-alienmom]

Potterhead for life!

[@VioletEmerald]

Weird to make the hook all about getting us to sympathize with the internal conflict of Vernon Dursley's fear of losing normalcy/desire to maintain normalcy what that's not really that important to the book at all. The inciting incident in the Dursley's lives is the day Harry's parents are killed but this is all a prologue and backstory and not actually the inciting incident of this story. The real inciting incident is Harry being invited to attend Hogwarts and discovering there's a magical world.

[@zoeotaku5608]

As much of a potterhead I am too, my fav and imo the best one I came across was: "Sophie had waited all her life to be kidnapped."

[@torroro33o]

"Look, I didn't want to be a half-blood." caught me good. (Speaking as a Potterhead myself, and a Percy Jackson fan as well.)

[@ExploreTheWorldWithBri]

@@zoeotaku5608 Oh yeah that was good

[@hannahbyssainthe9271]

I am 16 years old and I have 15 book ideas, all different plots. I am really glad that I found this channel, because I never know where to start. I'm like a newborn baby when it come to the writing world.

[@hadim_mc]

Im 18 and I also have many book ideas. And I keep finding new ideas.

[@halleematthews5670]

Gosh I feel you. Most of my friends like to write too, and I'm still known as the person who attempts six stories at once. 😂

[@hadim_mc]

@@halleematthews5670 are we crazy? 😂

[@halleematthews5670]

@@hadim_mc Absolutely! But that's the fun of it! 😂

[@TNcFlipbook]

❤❤

[@tophat2115]

The Three-Act Structure This formula was used by ancient Greeks, and it’s one of Hollywood’s favorite ways to tell a story. It’s about as simple as you can get. Act I: The Set-Up Introduce your main characters and establish the setting. Brandon Sanderson, a popular fantasy writer, calls this the “inciting incident”- a problem that yanks the protagonist out of his comfort zone and establishes the direction of the story. Act II: The Confrontation Create a problem that appears small on the surface but becomes more complex. The more your protagonist tries to get what he wants, the more impossible it seems to solve the problem. Act III: The Resolution A good ending has: High stakes: your reader must feel that one more mistake will result in disaster for the protagonist. Challenges and growth: By the end, the protagonist needs to have grown as a person by overcoming myriad obstacles. A solution: All the trials and lessons your character has endured help him solve the problem. Suzanne Collins’s bestselling young adult trilogy, The Hunger Games, uses the three-act structure.

[@TNcFlipbook]

❤❤

[@maxvoroshilov3207]

Thanks, what a nice summary! ... I mean i have heard about this countless times, but then there is always a nice more cutting through way of describing these elements of structure. Just as you did! now reading this gave me an idea that I should put my protagonist through more negative experiences to make him really chase the only treasure he can finally be satisfied with.

[@Jane-pm9wo]

My desire: wants to write a great novel My fear: didn't know how to make it good That's right, all hoomans in earth have internal conflict, even me

[@Jane-pm9wo]

@Ana Geike Ooh, thank you for the idea! :D

[@rob-karryhunt817]

Same

[@destroyerinazuma96]

Imho "great" is a but of a liability here. It's good to have ambition nut at the same time "great" is hard to define and may push you into toxic comparison to others. I'd swap "great novel" for "a first draft I can appreciate on some level", for instance. Cause when you're starting from little, it's a lot more likely to complete and evaluate a palatable first draft than to directly end up in "great novel" territory.

[@TNcFlipbook]

❤❤

[@SleepyHeadArts]

( new inspiration unlocked)

[@ace_of_cups4096]

My characters desire: To let someone in and prove that just because her father left her, doesn't mean everyone will. Her fear: That they'll leave her, too, and prove her right.

[@saraoln]

Wow, that's good 👏🏻.

[@sadlife9471]

Nice, but isn't it "prove her wrong" tho? Sry for being a perfectionist lol

[@thebardsblock]

this is a very good example!

[@zetjet9901]

Nice 👌🏼

[@afrozaayreen4869]

this is literally me in a comment!!!

[@louisehad]

Why am I only discovering your channel now? Your video gave me a lot of ideas and made me realize a lot of things about the story I'm currently writing. The other videos you suggested seem just as great, I'm going to watch them right now. +1 suscriber

[@AbbieEmmons]

Thank you so much for your kind words! They mean so much to me, and I am thrilled that the content I make encourages you to chase your dreams and make your story MATTER!

[@rebeccasperring1747]

I know right? I've been watching author tube videos for YEARS. Found the channel yesterday. Pick up your game KZbin recommendations!

[@lyndacamacho1056]

@@AbbieEmmons Love your videos

[@deez6285]

"what can everyone relate to" Me: anxiety

[@ruriva4931]

I like to think of the first chapter as a short story with an open ending.

[@TNcFlipbook]

❤❤

[@adaliawright6891]

Ooh, that's an interesting way to look at it!

[@noahlee2042]

I honestly thought an ad started playing at 1:49 because of how it sounded... Geez that's how you know this is professional level quality.

[@thedailychailatte]

Same. I had my mind prepared for “Skip Ad” 🙂

[@TheYasminStuff]

WhY dOeS yOuR StOrY mAtTeR? gOoD qUeStIoN wHaT iF i ToLd YoU tHaT tHeRe'S a ScIeNcE bEhInD eVeRy GrEaT sToRy? I dOn'T jUsT tEaCh YoU hOw To WrItE i TeAcH yOu HoW tO cHaNgE tHe WoRlD wItH yOuR sToRy AnD mAkE yOuR aUtHoR dReAmS cOmE tRuE ✨wRiTeR's LiFe WeDnEsDaYs✨ WiTh AbBiE eMmOnS

[@zm6342]

I've been trying to develop healthier sleep habits and yet I still stayed up way too late last night reading the first third of your book! How dare you! 😂

[@syberyah]

Relatable.... I once stayed up until like 3 or 4 a.m. Reading Cinder by Marissa Meyer.

[@mykellecarter7345]

@@syberyah Ohmygod CINDER?!?

[@mykellecarter7345]

It's so good

[@RocketJo86]

Your video just made me realize something about an old story of mine. I wrote it back in middle school and never really lost interest in it. I like the characters and the world. But the more I learned about writing, the more distant I grew. I tried to edit it, re-write it, even re-plan it, afraid of cliche and stuff and ended with a monster of a story that I felt was even worse then what I wrote way back. I never really got why. Because my craft definitly was getting better, my experiences had grown - I KNEW how to write technically at least. But with watching your video I realized one point: In trying to avoid cliche, I decided not to have my protagonist watch his father be murdered. But that what defined him. My middle grade story actually had a great hook with my protag awakening from a nightmare and remembering his father's dead. That he died to rescue him and his brother. That conflict - could he as a five-year old at that time, have prevented his father's dead if he behaved correctly - is what drives him from the very start of the story. It's what makes him accept the king's proposal to become an army officer and what leads him to take revenge on the man behind his father's murder. I kept the plot points in every iteration of the story. But I lost my protag's internal conflict COMPLETLY. Thanks for making me realize it - probably rescuing that old piece of my soul ^^

[@TNcFlipbook]

❤❤

[@TheMaltianRobloxian]

That's awesome!! This may be a bit too much, but if you ever publish it one day make sure to tell me the title so I can check out the first chapter and see if it hooks me!

[@SpuunSpong]

Very similar to the opening of Renegades! Good trilogy by the way

[@adriengaro5289]

It's funny thinking about the Lord of the rings and how it's beginning is just pages and pages describing the happy and uneventful life of Hobbits...

[@sunsetsky9885]

I think the reason was that he wrote it for himself and was never really sure if he even wanted it published.

[@odojang]

@@sunsetsky9885 According to the 25th anniversary edition of the trilogy, Tolkien in fact didn't want to write it at all! What he wanted to publish was The Sillmarillon. But his editor wanted more Hobbit stories, not this dry, heavy pseudo-history treatise. So he made a deal with Tolkien to publish it if he would give him an equally big Hobbit story. Hence why he lost himself in the details of Hobbit life for almost half of the book, procrastinated for so long and even short-circuited the whole story and almost ended it right in the middle of the current first tome with the introduction of Tom Bombadil. This would explain why the first book is so slow, tedious and frankly boring hundreds of pages of exposition with little going on, while the two following tomes are action-packed, character rich and fast-paced.

[@opalfenwick3953]

@odojang o_o I loved the hobbit so much I was reading it with one hand and whisking my cream of wheat with the other because I could not put it down but I could not starve either :|

[@odojang]

@@opalfenwick3953 Obviously you were not the only one :)

[@ThreeFunnySisters]

im 10 but i really want to be a writer. i sometimes sit down and write stories on google docs. i hope one day i can publish a book.

[@davetaylor2088]

I had the same dream at your age and I am now 49. I let my fear and all the people saying "You can't" stop me. Work out when your 'one day' is, work out what you need to know to get there and don't let anyone deter you (especially yourself!). I'd say 'good luck' but what I mean is dream, plan, do - luck has very little to do with it.

[@davetaylor2088]

PS: Abbie's videos seem like a good place to start!

[@AsifHassan]

Hook in my short story: MC's desire: to be a part of someone's life, to have a meaning. MC's fear: that she is unimportant to the world, that no one actually cares whether or not she exists.

[@jacindaellison3363]

Finding Nemo does the same with backstory. From that, we understand why Marlin was overly protective of Nemo. He goes overboard with it without being out of character.

[@TomEyeTheSFMguy]

Well, it is in character for him to go overboard.

[@jacindaellison3363]

@@TomEyeTheSFMguy oh definitely. What I meant was that Marlin doesn’t get out of character, such as lying to how dangerous the ocean is or lying about a disease Nemo has in order to protect him. He is overly protective but knows that Nemo has to go to school which is why he had take him there.

[@TomEyeTheSFMguy]

@@jacindaellison3363 I see.

[@TNcFlipbook]

❤❤

[@exist6nce]

I’m going to implement this into my music

[@syberyah]

That's actually really interesting. I'm curious how you plan to go about that.

[@Eki_________]

I love how I'm the opposite. I try to incorporate musical composition in my story lol.

[@syberyah]

@@Eki_________ Yeah, I actually wrote a lullaby for my current WIP and I'm really happy with it. I may end up writing a more upbeat song for it too; a ballad maybe. It's a story about pirates so I feel like music fits quite well. :)

[@michaelcauchy4430]

Bold call. I hear the hook brings you back.

[@happyfellowship4291]

DUDE that's so cool!

[@SpiritedHeart94]

7:25 my head snapped up when you said “genre” because it sounded too much like my name (Shandra) 😅😂😂😂

[@user-gh3wg9gg4s]

Who else just clicked on this video, as a teen author, just for the intro?

[@TimRG]

The best advice I have heard about the blending plot and character came from Brandon Sanderson. He says you are a master when you can advance plot, character, and setting (worldbuilding) all in a single sentence. He gave credit to Ursula K. Le Guin for being able to do this marvelously.

[@captainpinky8307]

did he give examples???

[@jpjordan90]

Like the opening of The Gunslinger

[@TimRG]

@@jpjordan90 Yes. It is such a simple opening line but by the end of the, you realize just how important it is.

[@ezziba8240]

I like Louis L'Amour's opening to Passin' Through. It implies the man you're reading about is a rough but capable character. A rowdy cowboy in rowdy country.

[@TNcFlipbook]

❤❤

[@Quietcloud]

This was the best explanation of a story hook I've ever heard! I get it FINALLY. Internal conflict.

[@TNcFlipbook]

❤❤

[@sidjohnson9413]

Me: already has a really strong hook Also me: watches this video

[@saraoln]

Some extra tips never hurt, right 😂? I mean: unless I were doing it wrong the whole time, then I would panic...

[@ieatbees3195]

sierra johnson always room to better yourself 😊

[@jenniferr8639]

Same 😹

[@shiaras4675]

New note for storywriting: Figure out the protagonist's "I want" song even without an actual song. It's only as I'm watching this that I realized my character's external conflict is cemented but I haven't really thought about the internal conflict

[@reveoncelink6133]

Sis, you're a LIFESAVER, and I mean it. Like seriously, can we take a moment to appreciate the efforts she has made to help us and become better writers? Keep it up, sis! You're amazing!✨ Your new subscriber here!❤

[@muskankaur3126]

I didn't understand at first, but then when u showed the Disney princess scenes I was shocked.

[@ugandahannah]

Yes that was so helpful (and funny)!

[@sarahg4613]

You glow like a writing princess/guru/superhuman! I LOVED your examples--I need to go watch Passengers now tbh, and I'm so excited for this series!

[@AB-solutely813]

This may be weird, but I really like the first few pages. It’s really fun for me to just get my ideas on paper and start fresh! Now the second chapter, that’s what scares me 😅

[@TNcFlipbook]

❤❤

[@katiegahagan4137]

Dang it you can’t play all the “I want” Disney songs in succession and not give me chills and choke up a little

[@s93532]

Abbie, I have to say, you are probably my favourite KZbinr - across all areas. Your content is so well organised. It’s relevant, informative, and practical; and your delivery is the perfect amount of entertaining as well as to-the-point! You’re not only a writer but a natural teacher, too 👌🏼

[@TNcFlipbook]

❤❤

[@JoleCannon]

I think I wrote a good introductory hook for my debut novel (still in draft). A professional editor read the first 3000 words (for a charge of course), and she gave me a lot of great advice, critiques, etc. What I remember and loved is she said she cared about my main character and what is happening to him. She wants to learn more about his life and where it's going. That warmed my heart.

[@TNcFlipbook]

❤❤

[@trilobite3120]

I pay my editor with muffins.

[@earthstuart]

That's wonderful news! Keep it up.

[@JoleCannon]

@@trilobite3120, I need to try this. I bake Portuguese Custard Tarts. I bet I could attract great editors with them. :)

[@JoleCannon]

@@earthstuart, thank you. 😊

[@zetjet9901]

I keep thinking your intro is a Master Class ad or something lol

[@tatayonnataylor2137]

I am a 12 year old aspiring author, I am currently writing a novel and I watch your videos all the time!! They help me so much, so thank you for all your videos cause they help me so much :)

[@smileywarhead5178]

People who are fundamentally opposed to prologues and backstories only tell "And Then" Stories Now: hiding a flashback within a story told by another character... that's the best of both worlds!

[@selihal]

So basically I‘ve been watching your videos since a few days and I improved my story so much already. I really got to the point where I just stopped worldbuilding for a moment and took a breath, opened my laptop and began getting to know my characters. I was shocked by how LESS I knew about my protagonists and how much I relied on the few aspects I figured out about her in order to just make the world fitting and unique. Nevertheless I carried on working on my protagonist and I think I pretty much am finished with her. She is a regular person (almost haha), who I got to know. I am really confident about her, but still: I was SO struggling with my outline. I rewatched your video on the first Act of the book and managed myself through the different aspects. When the hook came up, I watched this video. When the character arc came up, I switched to the character building video. And so on. I think you got the pattern. But you know what I‘ve just realized? The reason I still struggle with the hook is not the well known „I don‘t know how to start my book“, it rather is the problem of me not knowing what the external problem is. I spent 3 days working on the internal conflict of ONE of my characters, but absolutely forgot about the external conflict, even though it was mentioned throughout every video I’ve watched! Here is the problem: I knew what I was going for when the story came into my mind. And I really was confident about the world, because I created it JUST the way it is. God, I even knew why I chose my protagonist to be just the way she is. And still, I forgot to outline the exact external conflict, so that I could actually have a proper setting for the internal conflict. Don‘t get me wrong, I do know what the story will be about, I just have to write in clear words, what I want the external conflict to be about. Like in detail. And hopefully, by the time I got that figured out, I can finally begin writing. Thank you so much for all the videos you filmed and published, Abbie! I really was so lost with my story, I stopped working on it. Not because I didn‘t like it anymore, but rather because I was just overwhelmed by the non-existent structure.

[@luna_balloona09]

I've been writing stories since i knew how to and now me and my bsf are writing a 6 book series together! We're 12 and 13 and our dream is to be professional authors Your videos are LIFESAVERS FR!!!! I gave all our characters internal conflict and now im considering rewriting my first chapter or adding a new chapter just so i can show the starting protagonists' internal conflict.

[@godhathirumalaianandanpill3140]

My character's desire: To know the truth behind the beginning of everything Her fear: The truth itself because what if it isn't what she wanted it to be and everything spirals out of control when she knows it?

[@jacindaellison3363]

Ooooh, that sounds great! How is the book coming along?

[@aadyapanday6049]

Amazing

[@shaillamaeb.revilla7949]

We have the same internal conflict but the problem is we have to be very detailed about it. And that's the writing process itself.

[@oddlysatisfying1790]

My story Desire: that he wants to live a perfectly normal life without anyone dying, anything going wrong, without anything being his fault Wants everything he has to stay with him. His fear: that his life is destined for him to always have nothing. And that he can’t change it.

[@GiddyGeese]

Please respond to this comment! (Question) so I made a hook, tel, me how to improve it? Thx. Here it is: Opening lines: I awoke to a strange beeping noise, I felt my mind becoming hazy as again, I heard a high pitched squeak, almost deafening. As I opened my eyes, I glanced at the modern white wallpaper, with a few scarlet red smudges. I was about to question them before a light hearted nurse blocked my vision. She looked at me, smiling, yet I could see behind her cheery mask, was a mind full of curiosity, as if she was questioning my every move. She turned all around, and it seemed like she was looking for someone. She opened her lips, (which were practically 60% lip gloss) to turn her head sideways, face the door way, and say “she’s awake! Dr Smith! Come here!” I watched as she ran out the dull room, leaving me with millions of unanswered questions. This was my chance to look around. I could tell that this was a hospital, yet something seemed odd, though it might just have been that tingling sensation in my brain. After looking around for a few minutes, I caught myself looking at the same place, it was the name of the patient in the room. It said, Rose Evergreen. It felt like it wasn’t quite right, yet it felt oddly familiar. At first, I thought that it was the name of another patient, but when I looked around, I couldn’t see anyone else. That’s when it hit me, I- I don’t remember who I am. Am ℹ- Rose Evergreen? I think so… (Thanks!)

[@andreabknight]

Hi Abbie love your videos, they are so useful and uplifting/motivating. I was wondering- are you thinking about doing a video about writing short stories? This would be really useful. p.s. I loved your book :-)

[@AbbieEmmons]

Thank you so much for your kind words! They mean so much to me, and I am thrilled that the content I make encourages you to chase your dreams and make your story MATTER!

[@AquilesAwK1]

i've been consuming storytelling content on YT for quite a while and i just found your channel. OMG your format is amazing! congrats!

[@letsnotgetstressed8552]

12:02 - aka, all H.P. Lovecraft’s stories except The Whisperer in Darkness are “a sure-fire way to lose […] readers attention” about which “nobody cares”. That advice is, well, spectacularly not good.

[@justanormalhumanbeing1903]

Even when a book doesnt have a good hook, i still read on because possibly that author couldnt write it well and the rest is incredible. Ive heard my friends abandoning books because the first few lines werent interesting, and i picked up those books, read through them and they were amazing. (Though i do have a compelling need for closure so once i start reading i need to know the ending.)

[@nexus1g]

"What's the one person that every single person can relate to?" "FOOD!" "That's right! Internal conflict!" "...of the food and stomach acid, right...?"

[@d34ddud3]

When Abbie mentions the part about rules not being constricting all I can think is: Rules are made to be broken. The apprentice learns the rules so they know why each rule is there. The master who knows all the rules knows which ones to break and how in order to accomplish the same goal the rule was in place for, but in a creative and different way.

[@zemoi]

I knew I absolutely loved the work you’ve done on this channel and in your books, but 12:01-12:40 really sealed the deal. My current issue is that I’m having trouble giving my readers a reason to have a connection with my character in the first five minutes of reading. The story starts off with her in a nightmare, and in the nightmare nobody can see her as she watches the events of her past unfold. She does not know this is her past, how she became and orphan, but the way I’m starting the story isn’t really displaying that well. It’s both a flashback and foreshadowing… she doesn’t know that nightmare was and IS her past. I also have this issue with being overly action based when it comes to writing. It’s hard to give characters a natural voice that flows well with the visual parts of the story without it sounding out of place. For example, “I placed the doll back on the shelf. I never liked dolls.” Doesn’t that sound so…. Nothing? So bland, and straight to the point. It barely even has a voice in my opinion. FYI that’s not an actual excerpt from my novel, it’s just an example of my disliked writing style that I want to stray as far away from as possible.

[@sarakhadel8236]

I had a hook but I wasn't sure if it fit my character and how they think so this was a video that helped me feel more confident with myself and my writing. Thanks, Abbie!

[@AbbieEmmons]

I'm so glad!

[@magicfeliuri2681]

@@AbbieEmmons

[@infurnus3541]

🧤

[@cosmicprison9819]

Hang on - a misbelief about *themselves?* That seems very specific, and only lends itself to personal-growth stories, I'd say. It's similarly specific to "how can they get what they want, while still avoiding their fear"? My story is set on a spaceship, too - a generation ship - and the core misbelief is in the purpose of the mission. Sure, the protagonist has her own misbeliefs, too. But her main transformation is a philosophical one - away from both the ship's "survival" purpose and her own hedonistic tendencies towards a more utilitarian view.

[@sumadey4993]

Wow, I am so excited for this series!! I literally feel like you've fixed the idea of the 3-act story structure in my head permanently from the past videos of it, but it's still never enough. Looking forward to the next video.😊

[@t.k.abrams4720]

I think in order for this series to truly be helpful you would have needed to /create/ your own example with each video. Because as it is the only thing I've been able to get from this video is that "the hook is desire vs fear" and I don't get a scene from that. I just get character description. And if it's supposed to be a conflict or decision, why don't you say that? I'm just so much more confused after watching your videos honestly.

[@ameyd3728]

15:00 funny weird intimidating backgroud music

[@saraoln]

Why didn't I hear that the first time 😂?

[@OystersEntertainment]

You know a story is gripping if you get depression when your favourite character is sad.

[@kennedypatton7874]

The best hook I ever read /saw was Anne with an E and Anne of Green Gables

[@moonie9000]

"Nobody cares about the world" Hard disagree here. I cared about the Star Wars world before I cared about any of the characters. Same with Mass Effect, same with Fallout, same with lots of things if the world is unique and interesting enough.

[@garlandthompson5970]

The quality of these videos is blowing my mind, and your clever and charming! Instant sub!

[@renahammock7476]

Abbie: whats something everyone can relate too? Me: " Wanting to just be lazy on the couch instead of leaving the house." Abbie " Internal conflict" Me"that too"

[@Onkruidentuintje]

Ahahahhaha i honostly laughed at your disney montage, the little texts!

[@TirzahJohnson-ry9bt]

I have a question: is it better for the hook to be a negative incident? Like does something bad have to happen? (In Abbie's book it's a literally car crash...)

[@clearestlittlekid]

i think it doesnt really matter if it's negative or not. you just have to make it matter

[@TirzahJohnson-ry9bt]

@@clearestlittlekid right that makes sense. Thx

[@stronggirlsyndrome]

Aaah! Saw this and stopped everything to click! 🤩 lol

[@noelle_reads_alot]

#AskAbbie. 6:53 So my character falls down the stairs and looses her memory on her wedding day. I am having trouble answering this question for her, because she doesn’t have memory. Can you help? 9:39 So because my character has memory loss would flash backs be okay in the form of something like a dream as she is recovering her memory?

[@kevinreily2529]

You are providing a great service for people who actually want to write a novel, or any kind of story. I salute you for that.

[@PeriGacha]

I swear you have a video for everything

[@melissaspencer8889]

Excellent information, & I loved the Disney montage. Thanks for sharing.

[@amyroseauthorofficial]

So people say not to write the opening of someone waking up etc.. But my character has sleep paralysis and she's in her dream state in the very beginning, I have 3 detailed paragraphs before she wakes up from it. Is that against the rules? Lol

[@brianquinn7689]

Thanks, I was freaking about my first chapter when this popped up

[@darkkwinter9715]

i am writing a murder mystery novel. in the beginning, the main character returns to her hometown according to her best friends wishes to, even if she doesn't want to. however, she finally accepts, and the scene starts in her hometown. the hometown is home to many sour and traumatic incidents that had happened to the mc. and she has many internal conflicts. is this a good hook for a beginning of my story?

[@MikeActualLi]

I write screenplays; no inkling to write books. But your videos are so incredibly helpful for any format of writing!

[@axolotlandpangolin]

Ugh, this is so true! The worst for me is font. I will not even start books with Times New Romans, it's so boring and painful to look at.

[@happyfellowship4291]

Cracks me up how you just call the male lead in Passengers Chris Pratt instead of his actual name or whatever. Lol. Your videos are amazing!! I'm using this series to outline my novel right now, and now that I have my protagonist's desire, fear, and misbelief ALL set in stone, I really get it and I'm making so much progress! Thanks for your teaching and advice!!

[@adisuyash]

So you show the internal conflict or tell it?

[@sycamoretree7788]

You were exactly what I needed. I'm in love with this series. Your energy and passion is amazing.

[@gloryometere5547]

Hi. I know Abbie may not see this comment since it's an older video but still, I need an answer and I hope anyone that stumbles on this can help me. Question goes, what is the difference between the hook and the inciting incident? Cause I'm writing my outline and I can't seem to differentiate the two. Why can't the book open with the incident that pushes them out and then show why it matters to the characters?

[@weronikag7660]

you're giving me so much inspiration ;_; thank you i literally was scared of starting but now i feel like maybe i will be able to finally write something

[@angelartamesia2]

So I’ve got the desire and fear down... in my life at least

[@syberyah]

Does the MC have to have a desire and a fear? I was struggling to come up with something for my MC and then I realized that she wants this one thing, but she also wants this other thing, but she can't have both. Does a Desire vs Desire work as well as a Desire vs Fear? It's still creating internal conflict.

[@gordonbarnes7005]

That's a fair point, but I could also say that when desire clashes with desire, there's a _fear_ that you're going to have to give up one of the things you want.

[@fishscammers]

I can't reach the the links in the description box. Are they included in the paid plan now?

[@ieatbees3195]

I have a hook that basically starts as an older version of my main character reflecting on the story “I still remember the day I fell off the grid, with little trace. The day my life got ripped to pieces and my plans thrown down the drain. How it all started, what part I played and how I was thrown out to brave the wilderness of forests and city streets at the age of seventeen to survive somehow, barely an adult, barely graduated, barely prepared for the awful events leading up to that fateful day.” I feel like it’s okay, but this book is going to full of some tense moments, and I wanted the reader to feel like they were just as unsure about the mc’s safety as he is, but with the “I remember..” bit, it makes me feel like it will give readers a sense of reassurance about it all. Which is not the greatest, since the book is about fear and survival, as well as finding peace in difficult situations. I think it’s good, but kinda counterproductive of what I’m trying to accomplish.

[@oddlysatisfying1790]

I think it’s great! And your book sounds exciting! Don’t know if you’re still writing it or not, but to tense it up a bit, you should change fell to something more extreme and worrying. To kinda like make the audience worry about whether if your mc is okay or not, even after the event. To say how horrible it was. And I suggest saying “I will always remember the day...”, I feel like it gives you this cautious feeling of importance or something. You know? Idk, that’s usually how I make the readers feel something. I heard you’re supposed to catch they’re attention. Don’t know if this is gonna help or if this is just stupid logic.

[@apocalypsereading7117]

big Passengers fan here: I actually think the opening works because Chris Pratt's character is an "everyman", there for the viewer to project onto during the opening dilemma - a "what would I do?" character. I honestly think it's better that he has no backstory or personal conflict prior to the plot problem, since it makes him more of a blank slate which is what I think the film is going for. That means when he eventually makes his terrible, monstrous decision, still in the opening phase of the movie, we know it's related to this space isolation problem alone rather than whatever emotional baggage he's brought to it, and I think that makes the moment all the more shocking and powerful. It's like, we see what this situation has made a "normal", everyday person become. Where the film falls apart is in its third act in my opinion, where it doesn't know how to reconcile the internal conflicts that have developed and so it goes for the least satisfying conclusion by having a new external conflict (the ship about to explode or something) basically take over the film, throwing character development under the bus so we can have explosions and plot stuff.

[@ashlyntaylor1065]

you are so pretty!!!!❤️❤️❤️

[@reality2222]

Bruh I have to write a hook for my bmitzvah project 😢😢😢😢😢

[@dancersupreme3023]

Watching this and trying to figure out my hook has helped me zone in on my internal conflict and I’m so happy I did because now I can figure out my hook better.

[@AbbieEmmons]

So glad this video helped!

[@daviddimitrov3696]

I have a question, so since my story starts with the character at their lowest is it better to show what got them to that point then come back to the present of show off what happened to them gradually?

[@abhinitichaubey]

Frozen is really the best example for making the audience hook and care about the character

[@dmtdreamz7706]

There was a very strange feature in this case, strange because of its extremely rare occurrence. This man had once been brought to the scaffold in company with several others, and had had the sentence of death by shooting passed upon him for some political crime. Twenty minutes later he had been reprieved and some other punishment substituted; but the interval between the two sentences, twenty minutes, or at least a quarter of an hour, had been passed in the certainty that within a few minutes he must die. I was very anxious to hear him speak of his impressions during that dreadful time, and I several times inquired of him as to what he thought and felt. He remembered everything with the most accurate and extraordinary distinctness, and declared that he would never forget a single iota of the experience. ‘About twenty paces from the scaffold, where he had stood to hear the sentence, were three posts, fixed in the ground, to which to fasten the criminals (of whom there were several). The first three criminals were taken to the posts, dressed in long white tunics, with white caps drawn over their faces, so that they could not see the rifles pointed at them. Then a group of soldiers took their stand opposite to each post. My friend was the eighth on the list, and therefore he would have been among the third lot to go up. A priest went about among them with a cross: and there was about five minutes of time left for him to live. ‘He said that those five minutes seemed to him to be a most interminable period, an enormous wealth of time; he seemed to be living, in these minutes, so many lives that there was no need as yet to think of that last moment, so that he made several arrangements, dividing up the time into portions-one for saying farewell to his companions, two minutes for that; then a couple more for thinking over his own life and career and all about himself; and another minute for a last look around. He remembered having divided his time like this quite well. While saying good- bye to his friends he recollected asking one of them some very usual everyday question, and being much interested in the answer. Then having bade farewell, he embarked upon those two minutes which he had allotted to looking into himself; he knew beforehand what he was going to think about. He wished to put it to himself as quickly and clearly as possible, that here was he, a living, thinking man, and that in three minutes he would be nobody; or if somebody or something, then what and where? He thought he would decide this question once for all in these last three minutes. A little way off there stood a church, and its gilded spire glittered in the sun. He remembered staring stubbornly at this spire, and at the rays of light sparkling from it. He could not tear his eyes from these rays of light; he got the idea that these rays were his new nature, and that in three minutes he would become one of them, amalgamated somehow with them. ‘The repugnance to what must ensue almost immediately, and the uncertainty, were dreadful, he said; but worst of all was the idea, ‘What should I do if I were not to die now? What if I were to return to life again? What an eternity of days, and all mine! How I should grudge and count up every minute of it, so as to waste not a single instant!’ He said that this thought weighed so upon him and became such a terrible burden upon his brain that he could not bear it, and wished they would shoot him quickly and have done with it.’¹

[@megs6990]

The perfect hook literally hit me as I was watching this! Thank you!!❤❤

[@august1837]

warning, this comment includes a bit of a ramble about musical theatre I find the Disney movie thing quite interesting, especially the examples you showed. All of them are musicals, and that’s because this is more of a musical theatre thing than it is a Disney thing. All of the examples you showed are from the 90s and later, which means that they all came after the little mermaid, which was the first Disney movie Howard Ashman really worked on. He thought that the nature of Disney movies will blend really well with musical theatre. That’s why most of the 90s Disney movies seem like animated broadway musicals. Ashman started this with the little mermaid and we still see the influences of that in later Disney movies, such as frozen and Moana. The song that establishes the characters’ desires, part of your world, reflections, belle reprise, out there, etc, is typically called the I want song in musical theatre. It’s the song where the main character just sits and tells the audience their desires. For example, the opening number of into the woods, or the wizard and I from wicked. This song is found in almost every musical. Recently, musicals diverge from this format a little bit, where the want is not explicitly stated, or we’re told the want of several characters. The best modern example I can think of is Hamilton, in which you can argue that both Burr and Hamilton are main characters. We get Hamilton’s sort of I want song in my shot, but it isn’t as intimate as I want songs in traditional musicals usually are, and for burr, you could argue that his actual I want song comes all the way in the second act, which is the room where it happened. But that isn’t the song that gets you attached to his character, rather it’s wait for it, which is towards the end of the first, act. You could also make the argument that this is his I want song. I think both approaches are quite effective. It’s good to establish the character’s wants at the beginning, but also, if you can give the reader an insight into the character from the beginning that isn’t their desire, you can develop their want as the story goes on. I don’t know if any of this makes sense. I just find musical theatre to be a really interesting form of storytelling

[@elisa4620]

I am French and not very knowledgeable in Theater musicals so that was an interesting insight. Thanks.

[@bandicrawford2795]

This is such a great video! Thank you for posting this, I needed this one this week! So helpful

[@sylardiaz9673]

U: The book need a hook Also u: The interesting part begins after three minutes of video

[@izstrella]

I love this series already. Thank you, Abbie!

[@RiyaPlayzYT]

this video's first few minutes are just Abbie going on about why it matters lol ]

[@lh8649]

Okay, I’m convinced. Abbie is a genius.

[@Zistheone2]

What if you’re struggling to think of a hook or a gimmick that sets your story apart from other stories in the same genre? Ex- can’t think of a hook for a sci-fi story because everything you think of is too similar to something like Star Wars & Star Trek, or you can’t think of a fantasy story because it’s too similar to Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings, & The Owl House?

[@ginacaparotta7971]

How long does the Prologue have to be?

[@syberyah]

I am very much *not* an expert, but as far as I know there's no minimum length for a prologue. You don't even have to have one if you don't want, but I would guess that just as long as you need it be to carry the information to the reader is sufficient. ^shrugs^

[@themichellerimme]

Not a single word more than it needs. And it has to be relevant. So as long or as short as your story's prolog needs to be. Also think very hard about if it needs one at all, can the story be told and understood perfectly without it. Then cut it completely 🙂 the same goes for epilogs 🙂

[@ginacaparotta7971]

michellerimmemusic thank you I will keep that in mind.