By Jenn Windrow

Years ago, I found this graphic on Pinterest and immediately saved it to my computer. This was well before I started my developmental editing business. But as a writer, I always found it compelling. I firmly believe in the idea of hooking the reader, grabbing their attention, so they don’t want to wiggle off the hook, ensuring they want to stay captured and captivated.

But keeping them hooked requires more than a perfect first line.

However, writers obsess over the opening line of the book, something I fully support, but they then forget that every single chapter opening has the same job.

To hook the reader again and again and again.

If your chapters don’t pull readers in and push them forward, your story stalls. Quietly. Invisibly. Until readers drift off and never come back.

Hooks Aren’t Just for Page One

A hook is a promise. It tells the reader something interesting is happening and it’s worth their time to keep going. It engages them. It evokes emotion. It pulls them into the story.  

And while a killer first line is one of the best hooks you can have, it shouldn’t be the last hook in your book. Each and every chapter should have its own hook. But not just the start of your chapters, the end of your chapters as well.

Here’s why.

Every chapter opening should:

• Re-engage the reader
• Re-establish tension or curiosity
• Make it impossible to put the book down

And every chapter ending should:

• Create forward momentum
• Raise a new question or complication
• Make it impossible to put the book down (yes, that is listed for both, you want your readers to go to work exhausted the next day because they were up too late reading your words.)

When I’m writing, I will spend far too much time focusing on the opening paragraph to every chapter, as well as the chapter endings. For me, this is really some of the most important real estate my books have, and I spend the time making sure they do the job they were constructed to do.

Here is an example…

This is the end of chapter 3. I wanted to end the chapter with a bit of foreshadowing of what to expect.

A water nymph fought against the goblin guards. A nymph who would be used and abused to prove a point. A point the commander wanted hammered into my skull. Because I had saved a nymph, he would sacrifice one.

            And the mind games were about to begin.

And this is the start of chapter 4. A quick recap to reengage the reader, but also add the emotional tension and internal conflict the main character now faces.

The commander caught a nymph. Just another one of his sick, twisted, and manipulative ways to prove that he would always win the unspoken battle between us. A battle I wasn’t sure I was corrupt enough to fight.

But not every writer knows how to write a good hook. They struggle with what a good hook is supposed to do, how to construct it, and where to even begin. If you are one of those writers, here are 13 easy cheats to get you started.

13 Types of Hooks You Can Use Anywhere

These aren’t just for your first line. These are tools you can use at the start of any chapter, and even echo at the end to keep momentum alive.

1. Action

Drop us into something happening.

The blade slipped from her hand.

Why it works:
Action bypasses explanation and goes straight to engagement. The reader doesn’t need context yet, they need motion. Movement creates questions automatically. What just happened? Why does it matter?

Use it when:

• You’re entering a high-stakes moment
• The previous chapter ended on tension, and you want to pay it off immediately
• You need to accelerate pacing

Common mistake:
Starting with action that has no emotional anchor. Action without meaning is noise.

2. Analogy

Frame the emotional state quickly.

Grief settled in like a storm that refused to pass.

Why it works:
An analogy compresses emotion into something instantly recognizable. Instead of explaining how a character feels, you translate it into something the reader already understands.

Use it when:

• You’re shifting into a more introspective or emotional beat
• You need to quickly ground the reader in tone after a scene break

Common mistake:
Overcomplicating the comparison. If readers have to think too hard about it, you’ve lost the effect.

3. Command to the Reader

Break the fourth wall with intention.

Remember this moment.

Why it works:
It creates immediacy and importance. You’re signaling that what follows matters, which sharpens reader focus.

Use it when:

• You have a strong, voice-driven narrative
• You want to emphasize a turning point or key moment

Common mistake:
Using it without a payoff. If you tell the reader to pay attention, you’d better deliver.

4. Bold Statement or Interesting Fact

Make the reader pause.

Magic always comes with a cost.

Why it works:
It establishes rules, stakes, or intrigue in one clean line. It also invites the reader to test that statement as the story unfolds.

Use it when:

• You want to anchor theme or world rules quickly
• You need a strong tonal reset at the start of a chapter

Common mistake:
Generic statements. If it sounds like it could apply to any story, it’s not pulling its weight.

5. Character’s Thoughts or Feelings

Pull us inside.

I shouldn’t be here.

Why it works:
This creates instant intimacy. Readers don’t just observe the story, they experience it from within the character.

Use it when:

• You’re reconnecting after a POV shift
• The emotional stakes are driving the scene

Common mistake:
Starting with vague or low-stakes thoughts. “I was tired” won’t hook anyone.

6. Definition

Reframe an idea.

Betrayal is just trust, turned inside out.

Why it works:
It signals theme and adds a layer of meaning to what’s about to happen. It primes the reader to interpret the scene through a specific lens.

Use it when:

• You’re setting up a thematic chapter
• You want to deepen the reader’s understanding of a concept central to the story

Common mistake:
Sounding like a dictionary or a quote board. It needs voice and specificity.

7. Dialogue or Quotation

Start mid-moment.

“You lied to me.”

Why it works:
Dialogue skips setup and drops the reader directly into conflict. It implies context without explaining it, which creates curiosity.

Use it when:

• You want immediate tension
• The scene begins with confrontation or high emotion

Common mistake:
Starting with neutral or mundane dialogue. If the line doesn’t create tension, it doesn’t belong here.

8. Foreshadowing

Hint at consequences.

This was the last time she would trust him.

Why it works:
It creates anticipation and dread. The reader now knows something is coming, and they’ll read to find out how it happens.

Use it when:

• You’re building toward a turning point
• You want to layer tension into a quieter scene

Common mistake:
Being too vague or too dramatic. It needs to feel earned, not manipulative.

9. Onomatopoeia

Use sound for immersion.

Thud. Something hit the floor behind her.

Why it works:
It engages the senses immediately. Sound is one of the fastest ways to pull a reader into a moment.

Use it when:

• You’re opening in the middle of an event
• You want a sharp, sensory entry point

Common mistake:
Overusing it or making it feel gimmicky. It should enhance the moment, not distract.

10. Question

Create curiosity.

Why was the door already open?

Why it works:
Questions naturally create forward momentum. The reader wants the answer, and the only way to get it is to keep reading.

Use it when:

• You’re introducing a mystery or problem
• You want to guide reader focus immediately

Common mistake:
Asking questions that don’t matter or get answered too easily.

11. Theme Statement

Anchor the story.

Power always demands a sacrifice.

Why it works:
It tells the reader what this chapter, and often the story, is really about beneath the surface.

Use it when:

• You’re entering a pivotal or reflective moment
• You want to reinforce the story’s core message

Common mistake:
Being heavy-handed. It should feel like insight, not a lecture.

12. Sentence Fragment

Cut straight to impact.

Not again.

Why it works:
Fragments strip language down to emotion. They’re fast, punchy, and often carry urgency or dread.

Use it when:

• You want a sharp tonal hit
• You’re continuing momentum from a previous chapter

Common mistake:
Overusing fragments so they lose impact.

13. Setting or Picture

Drop us into the world.

The castle stood silent, its gates wide open.

Why it works:
It orients the reader while creating mood. When done right, setting itself becomes a source of tension.

Use it when:

• Atmosphere matters to the scene
• The environment plays a role in what’s about to happen

Common mistake:
Letting description stall the story. Setting should create curiosity, not pause it.

Chapter Openings: Re-Hook the Reader

Every time a reader starts a new chapter, they’ve had a break. Even if it’s just a breath. You have to earn them back. Because you want them to stay rooted in your story, attached to your characters, and submersed in your world.

Strong chapter openings:

• Start in motion or tension
• Avoid re-explaining what we already know
• Anchor us quickly in who, where, and what matters

Weak openings:

• Ease in with description
• Rehash the last chapter
• Delay the point

If your chapter takes a page to “get going,” it’s already too late.

Chapter Endings: The Real Power Move

A strong chapter ending is what makes readers say, “Just one more.” You don’t need a cliffhanger every time. But you do need momentum. You need them to want to stay. You want them to turn that page and keep reading.

The most effective chapter endings...

• Introduce a new problem
• Shift the stakes
• Reveal something unexpected
• Leave an emotional beat unresolved

The Mistake I See Constantly

As an editor, I ensure that all my clients understand what I expect at the start and end of each chapter. Some of my clients might say I am too tough on openings, but I do it because I want them to create the best book possible.

However, I have noticed that writers treat chapters like containers instead of engines. They start soft. They end neatly. They move on. But stories don’t thrive on neat. They thrive on tension.

If a reader can comfortably stop at the end of your chapter, you’ve given them an exit. And the last thing you want a reader to do is exit.

Your job is to make them hesitate. Make them want to stay.

A Simple Fix You Can Apply Today

Take one chapter and do this:

Step 1: Rewrite the opening using a different hook type
Try action, dialogue, or a bold statement.

Step 2: Rewrite the ending to create a question
Not confusion. Curiosity.

Step 3: Read the transition into the next chapter
Does it feel inevitable? Or optional?

Final Thought

Your story doesn’t hook the reader once. It hooks them over and over again. At the start of the book. At the start of every chapter. At the end of every chapter. That’s what keeps pages turning.

Because you story is not built on good writing alone, it's built on relentless momentum. And momentum is built one hook at a time.

About Jenn Windrow

Jenn Windrow once attempted to write a “normal” book—and promptly bored herself into a coma. So now she sticks to what she does best: writing snarky, kick-butt heroines, broody supernatural men, and more sexual tension than a vampire in a blood bank.

She’s the award-winning author of the Alexis Black novels and the Redeeming Cupid series, where the undead never sparkle and the drama is always delicious. Jenn moonlights as a developmental editor, helping other writers wrangle their wild plots and tangle-free prose.

When not arguing with her characters or muttering about Oxford commas, she can be found binge-watching trash TV, wrangling the slew of animals that live in her house (husband and teenagers included), or telling herself she’ll only have one more cookie.

You can find her at jennwindrow.com or lurking on social media where she pretends to be an extrovert.

Header image from Unsplash by Kaptured by Kasia