Saturday, October 1, 2011

Horton Hears a Hook Hop!

That's not a hook, Horton!
Kimberly Zook over at Book Nook is doing a Hook Hop. Say that ten times fast and you've got yourself a Dr. Seuss sequel. It's a great idea, and here's how it works if you'd like to join in. Post a hook from any one of your works-in-progress on your blog (all genres accepted).

But what's a hook?
Your hook, dear Horton, is your opening lines, between one and five sentences.

Then what do I do?
Fill in your name and blog address in the linky below.
Then what do I do?
Hop over to at least three other hook hoppers and comment on their hooks. (you can find many hook hoppers at Zook's Book Nook, too.)
And then?
Sit back and wait for the hoots and hollers on your hook to come showering down--much in the same way you once waited for the bazillions of dollars you expected to earn off a chain letter. Only this really works! It does! Really!

Here is my hook, from a middle-grade novel:

My Daddy named me Lyndon Baines Hawkins on account of how both me and the president messed up his life. That old cowboy president sent Daddy away across the ocean to a country he never wanted any part of, and when he got back here to Tennessee it turned out he was dragging me along too, like a sackfull of scrip, that’s how Daddy puts it when he’s feeling dark—though for real I wasn’t even as big as a two-pound crookneck squash inside Mama’s belly in those days.

13 comments:

  1. What a lot of great voice your MG novel summary has! I like it! Especially the 2-lb crookneck squash. Very nice. :)

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  2. I really liked this opening. I'm also presuming this is historical fiction, which I also write in. It's nice to meet someone else who writes in this genre.

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  3. This is fantastic, Gail! I LOVE the voice! It pulls you right in. I would read this in a minute - where's the rest? :)

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  4. Thanks, ladies! This is a brand new novel, so it's nice to hear it's working so far. And yes, Carrie, it's historical (with a dash of magic realism).

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  5. Wow, that's a lot of voice you've packed into the first paragraph! I can tell right away this is a character I'll enjoy hearing from. Good job!

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  6. Love the voice and your first sentence! Your second sentence was a little long for me, and a little hard to follow. Was the MC not born yet when his dad dragged him around after returning to Tennessee? At first it sounds like the MC is remembering this, but it threw me when you imply he wasn't born yet. Maybe you could rephrase that sentence and start out with the how Daddy puts it part?

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  7. Very intriguing. I'm immediately pulled in by your MC's voice.

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  8. I agree with the voice. What Cortney said about the 2nd sentence also resonated with me.

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  9. Great voice. Just end the 2nd sentence after along. "Like a sackful of squash" in quotes should start the next. I'm hooked. Hope there's a good dollop of magical realism in it. Now somebody will have to remind me I signed up for this because I've resisted the urge to join anything else during the campaign.I mean, here I am just getting around to my mg/ya group. I was hoping to read your challenge 2 entry. I'm number 52. There's a chocolate contest tab for followers on my blog.

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  10. Absolutely wonderful.. I agree with everyone on the voice! :)

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  11. Hey thanks everybody! Advice about that second sentence has been incorporated. I'm psyched about this new book and can't wait to read your hooks. Wonderful to meet you new fellow campaigners, too. I'll be visiting your blogs, but I'm on vacay until Monday, so won't see you until next week. Happy writing.

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  12. The voice is really good. I can hear the character speaking, instead of just the meanings of the words.

    English isn't my native langague so I fell out when figuring out 'sackfull of scrip', but I got back into the story quickly and laughed at the image.

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