2008-07-03 Writing, A Hook and a Catch

A Hook and a Catch.

Most any book about writing will tell you that you must "hook" your reader's attention with the first sentence. But few of them will tell you that the last sentence should "catch" your reader's memory with something good. It may be something funny, or it may be something serious. But, like the punch-line of a joke, it should be something memorable.

Take, for example, Meg Cabot's book "Missing You", the last of her 1-800-Where-R-You series. The end of chapter 14 and the beginning of chapter 15 reads like this:

[quote]
"Well," I said, "in that case, you can ask your son to turn himself in to the officers who should be waiting in your reception area right about" ---I glanced at my watch and saw that it was ten o'clock---"now."

15

Both Randys were busy gaping at me when the intercom on Mr. Whitehead's desk suddenly buzzed.

… "I'm sorry, Randy," the receptionist's voice crackled. "But there are about a half dozen police officers out here who say they need to see you right away."

All of the color drained from Mr. Whitehead's face. …
[/quote]

So, the phrase "right about … now" is a super "catch", or punch-line, which completely sets up the "hook" at the beginning of the next chapter --- the intercom buzzing and the police being right there.

In all of my high school English, no one ever said anything about the last sentence of a paragraph being important. All I heard was to start my paragraphs with a sentence telling what the paragraph is about. But forty years later, I'm reading Strunk and White's "The Elements of Style," and there it is. The most important sentence of a paragraph, the conclusion, the memorable point, should be the last sentence of the paragraph.

[quote]
"22. Place the emphatic words of a sentence at the end."
… [The last paragraph of that section says:]
The principle that the proper place for what is to be made most prominent is the end applies equally to the words of a sentence, to the sentences of a paragraph, and to the paragraphs of a composition.
[/quote]

I know. I know. Could they have been any more boring with that last sentence? All they are saying is, put the climax of the story, or paragraph, or sentence, at the end.

For example --- again from "Missing You" ---

[Rob, speaking to Jess]
[quote]
"Now that you have your powers back, does this mean if we have kids, you're always going to know where to find them?"

I thought about it. "Yes," I said.

"What about me?" He put his arms around my waist. "Are you always going to know where to find me?"

"Oh, yes," I said, grinning back at him. "Now that I've found the person who's been missing the longest of all, anyway."

"Who's that?" Rob asked, curious.

"Myself," I said. And hugged him.
[/quote]

Meg Cabot does a pretty awesome job of bridging her chapters with memorable sentences. Sometimes a chapter break will also be a significant time break in the story. Other times, the chapter break, like the first example above, takes no time at all.

So think about this when you write. Can you say something interesting at the end of each chapter or paragraph? And can you begin the next chapter or paragraph with something just as interesting? Or with something that bridges the gap between the breaks? If you can do this, your readers will not want to stop reading your story.


Write well,
Logan