The Meet

Let's talk today about that moment that sometimes frustrates writers but hooks readers, the thing the rest of your book hinges upon and that contests, agents, and editors all judge you upon.

The meet.

Which usually happens in the first chapter of a romantic book.

Sometimes writers complain about the typical romance structure feeling formulaic, and as a writer, to a certain extent I can understand that, because you may feel limited in what your creativity can do. And let's not forget there are exceptions to the "rule" (such as Sleepless in Seattle). If you think your story could be an exception, go for it! But most stories aren't exceptions, and for good reasons.

Because as much as writers may think they want to break with tradition, the formula exists for a reason. It works. As a reader of a lot of Christian romances, I can tell you that I have put many of them down after feeling frustrated by the story. A good rule to follow is that if something doesn't feel fun to you to write, it probably won't feel fun for someone else to read. But even if it is fun for you to write, that doesn't necessarily mean someone will want to read it. You have to prove to readers that your story rocks. And one way to do that is through establishing a really great "meet" between your hero and heroine. When a reader sees chemistry between the two main characters, it will make him or her want to keep reading! Looking back, I realize that some of my own favorite books held my interest because they had such a great first meet, and then had me wishing throughout the whole book that the hero and heroine could have that kind of moment again. In many ways, this mirrors the basic doctrine of Christianity, if you think about it. We were in perfect communion with God, we fell away from that, and we've been longing for it ever since. And isn't that what Christian fiction should do, demonstrate to the world the relationship between Christ and the church?

So here are a few ways you can keep your "first meet" interesting...

1) The spark. We want to see the "it" factor when we read. We want to think, "Oh yeah. I remember that that feels like," and we want our heart to skip a beat as we live vicariously through this heroine who's just found a major hottie.

2) The conflict. You need a reason to keep your hero and heroine from falling in love immediately, and we need a reason to worry. If the spark is really as true as you make us think it is, then these two people need some major obstacles to keep them from a relationship. If you can find a way to incorporate the conflict/obstacles into this first meet scene, all the better for your book because we know right off the bat what they're up against.

3) The need. Running opposite the conflict you set up, you need a force that pulls the hero and heroine together. It can be simple thing, like being neighbors, or a more complicated thing, like an arranged marriage. But if we don't have the assurance that the hero and heroine are going to be in regular contact with each other (resulting in more conflict and obstacles, of course), we won't want to keep reading. So be sure you build this element in early on, maybe even into your "meet" scene.

What questions do you have about these things? Do you like writing the first meet?

Creating Hooks That Catch the Reader

So, you've got a great story. You're a really interesting person, and you have fabulous shoes. I have some unfortunate news you may have already discovered: no one cares.

I'm just kidding! But it can feel that way when you're trying to catch the attention of an agent or editor, can't it?

But think about it from the editor's perspective. They get a lot of material sent their way, and frankly, much of it (maybe even the majority of it, depending on who they are and where they work) is simply not very good. I'm talking "I've never heard of punctuation" not-good. So imagine that you're the one getting hundreds of these less-than-stellar pitches and proposals every single day. You want to find the diamond in the rough, but would someone just give you a brownie first, because sending so many rejections is exhausting! What is going to finally catch your attention? What is going to make someone stand out from the crowd?

A good pitch. A hook. Something that makes you say, "Wowsers."

I love writing hooks for my books as well as for chapter endings. I don't know why. I think something about it feels like a challenge to me, and I like the tease factor of it. You don't have to put every little piece of information into your hook. In fact, you don't want to. So ask yourself, "How can I make this idea the most interesting, even if that means leaving out some important information?" You don't want to be deceptive about the way you describe your book, of course, but it is okay to leave out the character's darkest secret or the seventeen jobs your character goes through in the book.

When you're pitching to someone, you've got about five seconds to make a good impression. Let's face it, we all have short attention spans. So while the details of the characters' lives--your character's favorite cheesecake flavor, for instance--may seem relevant, they're probably not relevant to an agent unless the cheesecake was poisoned. I struggle with this each time I write a pitch, because all the details seem so important! You've spent all this time crafting your characters, and you want your audience to know it. But don't despair. If you get the attention of an agent or editor, the details will come in the proper time. Giving away too much too soon would be like going on a first date and spending the whole time talking about your genealogical history.

So how do you craft a solid pitch?

1) Brevity breeds interest. Generally speaking, the shorter the better. Less for the listener or reader to process.

2) Use your voice. Your writing voice, that is. Whether it's humor or suspense, get your voice in your pitch one way or another.

3) Only include the most relevant details.

4) Clearly set up the stakes for the highest point of conflict in your story. Does someone die? Is someone left at the altar? These things are interesting. Say them first. Your reader/listener will be saying to themselves, "I want to hear more about what happens."

5) Give us a reason to worry about your characters. We can't worry if we don't care.

For this week's Fiction Friday postings, we'll be focusing on hooking the reader. So start thinking of a hook for your novel this week, or even for an idea you'd like to write a novel about, and get it ready for submission next Friday!

Questions for Comment: Do you enjoy crafting pitches and hooks? Do you have any "tricks of the trade" to share?