tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1471605774458166134.post7458781422677214563..comments2024-03-28T02:06:57.141-07:00Comments on Writer's Corner : Hook or Gimmick?Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1471605774458166134.post-58414513700270282010-09-19T15:26:42.902-07:002010-09-19T15:26:42.902-07:00Very interesting post. Enjoyed reading your movie...Very interesting post. Enjoyed reading your movie examples!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1471605774458166134.post-63054514483832804512010-06-30T12:18:48.197-07:002010-06-30T12:18:48.197-07:00Oh, I've heard of that! Thanks for the link.....Oh, I've heard of that! Thanks for the link...Traci Bhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15708393153242672277noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1471605774458166134.post-30330275794278006382010-06-30T12:04:33.883-07:002010-06-30T12:04:33.883-07:00The Dark Elf Trilogy by R. A. Salvatore
http://en...The Dark Elf Trilogy by R. A. Salvatore<br /><br />http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Dark_Elf_TrilogyYodahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14024111889895306996noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1471605774458166134.post-25235985293287209172010-06-28T21:24:38.397-07:002010-06-28T21:24:38.397-07:00Love that example - thanks for posting it! Yes, I...Love that example - thanks for posting it! Yes, I agree, that sometimes an initial hook can certainly seem gimmicky (like you were talking about, if you'd read that particular hook first). But as long as the writing is strong, I think just about any hook could work...<br /><br />What's the name of the book/trilogy? *curious*Traci Bhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15708393153242672277noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1471605774458166134.post-41203955869101144022010-06-28T20:07:53.044-07:002010-06-28T20:07:53.044-07:00This is probably a bit of a stretch to your topic,...This is probably a bit of a stretch to your topic, but as I was musing over your challenge to consider hooks/gimmicks, a particular instance came to me.<br /><br />I read some fantasy/sci fi, but it's not my favorite genre because it seems so much of it is repetitive and predictable. You've read one, you've read them all, so to speak. However, someone turned me onto a trilogy years ago that was a typical motley group of characters on a quest. The story was not particularly original, although it was well written, but one of the characters was mysterious and fascinating. <br /><br />He is a Drow (dark) elf, a member of the most notoriously evil of all of the races within the fantasy world. The Drow are a stomach churning group. This character is also a ranger. Rangers are among the most decent, conscience driven, purest living of all of the "professions" within the fantasy world. The character was an oxy moron, a polarity so extreme you could imagine he was created by someone who casts those reality tv shows where the families swap moms. <br /><br />As such, this character could have been ridiculously trite, an in-your-face cliche of the duality of man and the contrast of good and evil. Instead, he was so well written and so interesting that fans of the trilogy literally begged for his back story. The character became the hook. <br /><br />I read an interview with the author one time where he talked about his surprise with the overwhelming response he received concerning this particular character. He was supposed to be a supporting member within the quest, and he was, but the audience universally yearned for more. <br /><br />I am curious if the backstory had been written first, and the back of the book explained that it was the story of a Drow who became a ranger, if many people would have passed it over, seeing the premise as gimmicky. I am certain I would have been one that would have put it back on the shelf for that very reason.<br /><br />As it turned out though, his backstory remains one of my favorites of all time, and is easily my favorite within its genre.Yodahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14024111889895306996noreply@blogger.com