Author Archive | Rachel Hauck

A writer I’m mentoring sent me an email from an agent who read her piece as a result of a contest.

She loved the author’s writing and story telling but her story lacked a unique hook.

“What makes your story of a sports playing hero different from all the other sports playing heroes out there?”

The agent mentioned several ABA authors who wrote sports books similar to my friend’s. She also reminded the author that an agent or editor will see dozens of books “mimicking” those sports hero books so a book really has to stand out. It must have a different hook.

This hook is used in marketing, getting the book past the booksellers and onto the shelves. It’s used with the media to get the book some publicity.

The HOOK is what makes your every-day-story unique.

Okay, so let’s say you’re writing about a football player. What can you do to make him different?

After the NFL draft where the first openly gay player was drafted, the secular market will have books with that hook releases — if they haven’t already.

It’s not a topic readily accepted in the CBA, so you might not want to be so controversial.

As wonderful as craft books are, a lot of times, our best teacher is life and our keen observance of it.

I read a book awhile ago called Live a Praying Life by Jennifer Kennedy Dean. I wasn’t reading it to improve my writing. I was reading it to better understand God’s design for prayer.

But as writers, we usually have that third eye (or ear) open and observant and aware. Ready to soak up some juicy insight. Some truth, some reflection of the human condition that we can apply to our characters and our stories.

So when I came upon this, I immediately switched into writing mode:

Jennifer writes, “Usually, what we call ‘the desire of my heart’ is really a secondary desire orbiting around the true desire. Usually, what we think we desire is really the way we have imagined the true desire will be met.”

She goes on to say, “We think we are asking for the desire of our hearts, but we are really asking for the desire of the moment. Often, in order to give you the desire of your heart, God will withhold the desire of the moment. He only says no as a prelude to a higher yes.”