IT’S A HODAG! Woohoo!

As writers, we hear all the time that we’ve got to hook readers in just the first few pages or else. We’ve got to hook agents in the first few pages or else.

Whether you’re looking to get published or just hoping to hook your reader, first impressions are vital. Compelling opening scenes are the key to catching an agent or editor’s attention, and are crucial for keeping your reader engaged.
JEFF GERKE, THE FIRST FIFTY PAGES

This month I snagged from the New Release shelf:

Beast of the North Woods by Annelise Ryan

Thank goodness for Annelise Ryan. If you listen to the first few minutes of this episode, you’ll catch a little rant about my almost-selection and the tired trend of titles with “Daughter” in them. Already in 2022, other folks were sharing just how rampant those titles are. (The blog Fictitiously Yours covers quite a few). You’d think we’d be done with them by now! But nope–of all the suspense-ish books on that New Release shelf, I almost picked Joseph Finder’s The Oligarch’s Daughter.

And while this book has a prologue (UGH), I was happy to read it. The dust jacket warns of a fisherman mauled to death by a Hodag, and the prologue is focused on sharing that crime scene with us, along with the reveal of the creature. For my fellow writers, this prologue’s a lovely example of pacing: solid, steady, strong pacing. We have two paragraphs establishing the crime scene’s witness and the wintry morning, and one paragraph to set up the scream. Every paragraph after is a fine balance of active movement and sensory observation, especially when it comes to discovering the body. Ryan could have placed the Hodag right by the body, but nope–it’s a few more paragraphs of hearing mysterious grunts and scrapes while our witness tries to figure out how to call for help. Of course the witness presumes a bear is nearby (understandably so!), so when the Hodag is revealed near the end of the prologue, we readers are just as aghast as the witness. If you’re looking for an escape from the world today, you can’t do much better than a snowy adventure in Wisconsin’s North Woods, hunting a creature long thought to be a hoax. 🙂

Coming up, I’ve got another terrific interview, some ideas on time management, and the importance of stories for boys. But if you follow me on Instagram, you also know I’ve been dealing with some medical issues. Things are on a better keel now, but in case I’m not able to write next week, I hope you’ll enjoy a silly interlude Bo shared with me about the struggles to publish. 🙂

Read on, share on, and write on, my friends!