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Creating a Good “Hook” When Writing Fiction for Page or Screen
Means Creating Engaging Characters People Care About
The popular Netflix series Virgin River opens with a solo main character driving a car through a deep, forested landscape, as a cool song plays in the background. She is pretty, with an expressive and pensive face. As day turns quickly to night, “Mel” loses cell service, is blinded by the oncoming lights of a logging truck, and is run off the road. She hits her head, which triggers a flashback to another accident — on the day she met her former husband for the first time — when her head injury was treated in the ER. As she’s momentarily lost in the past, she hears an abrupt knock on her window, which startles her; “Doc” informs her that there’s no cell reception, and says she’ll be lucky to get her car repaired this week. Then he calls over his shoulder, “Are you comin’ or not?” A certain leap of faith is Mel’s only practical choice of action. She has to trust someone, but he certainly doesn’t make it easy.
This is a lot of action to take place in a few minutes of filming, and it is accompanied by a lot of emotion, which prompts the viewer to identify with Mel and want to follow along as her journey continues. After the first few minutes, it’s clear that hers is a journey into the unknown. She has no idea what she’s getting…
