tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3266371808927804670.post8269369522202896476..comments2023-08-15T05:06:03.233-06:00Comments on The Writing Sisterhood: The Hook Brings You Back…The Sisterhoodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09889577041903181315noreply@blogger.comBlogger15125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3266371808927804670.post-52777742725040263992011-05-27T16:44:19.592-06:002011-05-27T16:44:19.592-06:00I saw Nick of Time and although it has a fast pace...I saw Nick of Time and although it has a fast pace, I put it at the bottom of my must-see Johnny Depp movies (right down there with Dead Man and Don Juan deMarco). I guess train stations can mean a quicker pace for a thriller-type/western film/storyline?Mary Maryhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09429769115085903305noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3266371808927804670.post-31317072854010203022011-05-26T21:20:46.407-06:002011-05-26T21:20:46.407-06:00Forgot to mention that Nick of Time starts at a tr...Forgot to mention that Nick of Time starts at a train station. (That's why I thought of it when you mentioned 3:10.)Lorenahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17848249911635132594noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3266371808927804670.post-77779926372464131332011-05-26T21:17:50.240-06:002011-05-26T21:17:50.240-06:00Hey Adina! It's good to "see" you ag...Hey Adina! It's good to "see" you again. I'm glad you're back! I must say that from the books I mentioned, the most disappointing were Summer Affair (I feel like the author took "the easy way out." If you read it, you'll know what I mean) and The Year of Fog (ending was bittersweet.)<br /><br />Debbie, if you end up liking Daddy Long Legs, I found the Japanese cartoon movie on YouTube! If you have little ones, they may enjoy it (my 7-year-old girl loved it.)<br /><br />http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mNDZePR9NTU<br /><br />(It's in six parts.)<br /><br />Sisters, I've never seen or read 3:10 to Yuma, but the story reminded me a little bit of Nick of Time with Johnny Depp. The hook is this: A man and his six-year-old daughter are kidnapped by police impostors who threaten to kill the little girl if Depp doesn't murder the governor within 90 minutes. It's intense to say the least!Lorenahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17848249911635132594noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3266371808927804670.post-75495301493272321042011-05-26T13:36:09.958-06:002011-05-26T13:36:09.958-06:00Okay, so there are a few "Three-ten to Yuma&q...Okay, so there are a few "Three-ten to Yuma" dissenters out there ☺, but my point was that it's good to have a story where there's an either/or situation and the hook hangs on what will happen. High Noon is a good movie, as well, but like you said Steph, they just stand around shooting each other till the train comes rolling into town. It's the whole idea of will the main character die before he's able to make it out of town. Many plots follow this idea and I think it's a good one.Mary Maryhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09429769115085903305noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3266371808927804670.post-67925452122517294022011-05-26T08:27:05.621-06:002011-05-26T08:27:05.621-06:00I read 3:10 when I was a little girl and it bored ...I read 3:10 when I was a little girl and it bored me. Westerns works better on the screen for me, besides, like Sister Stephanie I missed the girl-element. I saw the Crowe version and though I love him, it didn´t work fo me. However, Sister Stephanie I reccomend the 50s Van Heflin-Glenn Ford version. It´s much better.Violantehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02800111423488923625noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3266371808927804670.post-7198212033411833652011-05-26T08:14:05.462-06:002011-05-26T08:14:05.462-06:00This is really neither here nor there, but we saw ...This is really neither here nor there, but we saw 3:10 to Yuma recently (haven't read the story) and it didn't work for me, though all my friends loved it. It seemed such a ripoff of the much better High Noon, with Grace Kelly and Gary Cooper. OK, maybe it is relevant, actually, because the latter story has fascinating characters. It has a woman, for one thing, which I don't think 3:10 does. And Gary Cooper's character has internal conflicts beyond the train and bad-guy situation. He's got his relationship with Grace Kelly's character to sort out. HER big problem is that she's a pacifist in the wild west, marrying a sheriff; this becomes critical to the story. High Noon seemed like it was about men shooting at things while they waited for the train. :) I couldn't make myself care about any character; I couldn't even differentiate between them. Maybe Leonard's story was better ...Stephaniehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02187854108656107958noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3266371808927804670.post-10151701450187843822011-05-25T09:35:35.830-06:002011-05-25T09:35:35.830-06:00I just jumped over to Amazon and found Daddy Long ...I just jumped over to Amazon and found Daddy Long Legs on Kindle. Thanks for the recommendation! I'll read it today (on vacation).<br /><br />~DebbieDebbie Maxwell Allenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02533418585502995994noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3266371808927804670.post-25627836879850521542011-05-25T02:53:05.308-06:002011-05-25T02:53:05.308-06:00I agree completely with your conclusions, and in a...I agree completely with your conclusions, and in answer to your questions, I think a good hook would inspire me to buy a book, but I can't remember offhand if I've ever done so and been disappointed!Adina Westhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08860528131098237473noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3266371808927804670.post-89670968441758719042011-05-24T10:13:06.696-06:002011-05-24T10:13:06.696-06:00Sorry to say, but I don't think I've read ...Sorry to say, but I don't think I've read any of the books you listed, although, I must say they have some great hooks. I don't know why, but the story that popped into my head is Elmore Leonard's short story "Three-ten to Yuma." In the movie the whole hook is will Ben Wade (Crowe's character) make it to the train without being killed. Pretty simple, but pretty darn good in the end!<br /><br />In all, hooks are very important this day and age of literature. There are so many things competing for people's attention and a novel has to have something going for it as well if it wants to be bought and read.I'd love to read A Reliable Wife! (hint, hint)<br /><br />BTW Lorena, I responded to your comment on my blog.<br /><br />♥ Mary MaryThe Sisterhoodhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09889577041903181315noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3266371808927804670.post-25772848321732482272011-05-24T06:55:47.759-06:002011-05-24T06:55:47.759-06:00I am an odd duck, I know. I might plan a post on t...I am an odd duck, I know. I might plan a post on the subject.Violantehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02800111423488923625noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3266371808927804670.post-4166257024364897752011-05-23T23:33:07.141-06:002011-05-23T23:33:07.141-06:00Dear Susie, I have a copy of "Little Darlings...Dear Susie, I have a copy of "Little Darlings" I can lend you. (I think you'll enjoy it much more than COTCB.) It's a fast read and only 180 or so pages.<br /><br />Sister Violante, we should do a survey among our readers to see how many like suspense and how many don't. I didn't think it was possible that someone didn't like suspense until I met you :).<br /><br />Sister Steph, I do agree that, in general, something other than the hook is what keeps us reading. It's funny but the author of "A Reliable Wife" has a literary style of writing (even though he has a "commercial" hook.) He focuses a lot on description and the weather is extremely important (certain events happen because of it) it also sets up the mood/tone of the book. (Sort of like Al Pacino's movie Insomnia. Remember how being in Alaska during those sunny nights affected his life?) I kept thinking about Fargo as I read Goodrick's book. So I think that besides the hook, there were other elements that made me read. (The character of Catherine, for example, was very complex and interesting to me. It was hard to predict what she was going to do.)<br /><br />In the case of Daddy Long Legs, what attracted me were two things (besides the hook.) First, it's an epistolary book (which have always appealed to me) and second, the protagonist is extremely endearing and has a great voice. <br /><br />You could say that the authors of "The Year of Fog" and "Summer Affair" also have a literary/commercial style, whereas the other books I mentioned were really enjoyable (for the plots and characters.) I'll try to think of literary novels with hooks for you :-)Lorenahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17848249911635132594noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3266371808927804670.post-26195270356271431782011-05-23T13:27:34.475-06:002011-05-23T13:27:34.475-06:00(I fixed a spelling error so I'm reposting my ...(I fixed a spelling error so I'm reposting my comment.)<br /><br />Thinking of a story from this perspective first is probably such a helpful thing. I should try it. :) But seriously, if you can boil your own story down to a big question like this, to be answered by the end, then that's got to help with the writing as well as with the selling.<br /><br />The recent read that came immediately to mind was Suzanne Collins' "The Hunger Games." Twenty-four teenagers are put into an arena, and they must fight to the death on live TV. Only way out is to be the last one alive. That's quite a hook! Another recent read that has a great hook is "True Grit" by Charles Portis: A fourteen-year-old girl treks out into the wild west to avenge her father's murder.<br /><br />We've been catching up on some old(ish) TV shows on Netflix, and one of them was Battlestar Galactica. It's TV, I realize, but still storytelling so bear with me. What we noticed with this show, more than several others, was how really difficult it was for us to turn off the TV after one show. Since we had the whole thing available on Netflix, we *could* keep going; like with a novel. You can stay up all night with a really good one, and wouldn't we all love to write *that* novel? Some weekends we'd gorge ourselves on four or five episodes in a row. The whole show overall is one big hook: Cylons have killed all the humans except a few thousand and are hunting those last ones down. Will the humans escape? Of course each show has to have a mini-hook to keep you going. The main trick here was to create extremely sympathetic characters and give them immediate problems to solve. Do you think it's fair to say that often, the hook is what gets you to pick up the book (or show), and the characters are what keeps you reading (or watching)?<br /><br />Some of the more literary reads I've picked up have had, notably, no hook. Not even the jacket-blurb writer could come up with one. :) Sometimes this is because there's no way to summarize the tightly-plotted story with one question, sometimes it's because the story is a big meandering mess. And in the latter case, I wish the writer had at least *tried* to come up with a hook!Stephaniehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02187854108656107958noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3266371808927804670.post-85335342967503177152011-05-23T13:25:19.907-06:002011-05-23T13:25:19.907-06:00This comment has been removed by the author.Stephaniehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02187854108656107958noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3266371808927804670.post-63703432973280898332011-05-23T10:52:46.468-06:002011-05-23T10:52:46.468-06:00Sister Lorena
I have an ambivalent posture towards...Sister Lorena<br />I have an ambivalent posture towards hooks and questions, but it´s entirely personal. As you know, I hate suspense and I always read the end, even in mysteries because I rather know how they solve the problem than learn the secret. But I tend to pick my reading material from the info on the jacket or Amazon blurbs, so I do get myself “hooked.” Great post!<br /><br />Sister Suze, Daddy Long Legs, being a May-Dec. romance, is now listed among the novels accused of promoting pedophilia (He He)Violantehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02800111423488923625noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3266371808927804670.post-40111831339200639352011-05-23T09:28:47.340-06:002011-05-23T09:28:47.340-06:00I loved 'Daddy Long-legs,' and was *so* gr...I loved 'Daddy Long-legs,' and was *so* grateful to you for having introduced me to it. I think that is a good example of a book which did not have a dramatic, over-the-top hook but rather a very simple, engaging question at its center which paid off nicely in the end.<br /><br />I think I may pick up 'Little Darlings.' :)Suzehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07908805179119217608noreply@blogger.com