Hooked

Hooked: Write Fiction that Grabs Readers at Page One and Never Lets Them Go
by Les Edgerton
ISBN: 978-1-58197-457-6
$14.99, 256p
Available April 2007

Read an Excerpt!

Learn about the core components of a great opening scene. Click here to view or download the table of contents, along with an excerpt from Chapter 2: Opening Scenes: An Overview.

About the Book

The road to rejection is paved with bad beginnings. Agents and editors agree: Improper story beginnings are the single biggest barrier to publication. Why? If a novel or short story has a bad beginning, then no one will keep reading. It’s just that simple.

In Hooked, author Les Edgerton draws on his experience as a successful fiction writer and teacher to help you overcome the weak openings that lead to instant rejection by showing you how to successfully use the ten core components inherent to any great beginning. You’ll find:

  • Detailed instruction on how to develop your inciting incident
  • Keys for creating a cohesive story-worthy problem
  • Tips on how to avoid common opening gaffes like overusing backstory
  • A rundown on basics such as opening scene length and transitions
  • A comprehensive analysis of more than twenty great opening lines from novels and short stories

Plus, you’ll discover exclusive insider advice from agents and acquiring editors on what they look for in a strong opening. With Hooked, you’ll have all the information you need to craft a compelling beginning that lays the foundation for an irresistible story!

About the Author

Les Edgerton (MFA Vermont College) is a novelist and author of Finding Your Voice. His short fiction has appeared in Best American Mystery Stories 001, Kansas Quarterly, Arkansas Review, North Atlantic Review, Chiron Review, and many others. His honors include a Pushcart Prize nomination, Edgar Allen Poe Award nomination, and an Indiana Arts Commission Fellowship.

Table of Contents
Foreword by Lisa Lieberman Doctor
Introduction: Why a Book on Beginnings
Chapter 1: Story Structure and the Scene
Chapter 2: Opening Scenes: An Overview
Chapter 3: The Inciting Incident and the Story Problem
Chapter 4: Setup and Backstory
Chapter 5: Combining the Inciting Incident, Story-Worthy Problem, Setup, and Backstory
Chapter 6: Character, Foreshadowing, Language, and Setting
Chapter 7: Great Opening Lines
Chapter 8: Opening Scene Length and the Use of Transitions
Chapter 9: The View From the Agent’s and Editor’s Chair
Epilogue: Play the Game Forward