How to (Try to) Succeed as a Writer

This sentence I’m writing right now is called a hook, hopefully being able to draw you, the reader, in. A hook, coupled with concise writing and an interesting title go a long way to capture and keep a reader’s attention. Without a creative title, the essay would never attract any readers, aside from the teacher forced to read the dull piece of work. Even if the essay does manage to have an imaginative title, without a hook, the essay would never make a lasting impression on the reader. In addition, concise writing and wording is important to keep the reader’s interest. If the language used is of poor quality, the reader would just stop reading to end the suffering right there. In the next three paragraphs, you will be given three tips about how to succeed as a writer by someone who certainly has not.

        The title of an essay should be creative while giving a hint as to what is discussed in the writing. A title such as “Macbeth’s Greed:  A Photo and a Story” for an essay comparing Shakespeare’s Macbeth and and photograph symbolizing greed is so direct and obvious it needs a “Spoiler Alert” sign next to it. The audience that the title attracts would be too narrow, and it would be unlikely to capture the attention of anyone else. An essay with the title, “A Story’s Theme Versus the Moral” is exactly about what anyone could guess: the comparison of a story’s theme and its moral. To make the title more engaging, I could have stopped being such a square and tried using a creative pun or a short, witty phrase that gives a hint about the essay context. A title of any piece of work should leave the readers asking questions, and only then will a reader want to read past the title.

        After the title comes the hook, which should be the first to second sentence of the essay. Its purpose is to continue to draw the reader in, and help him/her decide whether to continue reading or not. Although a question is not preferred, it is still better than having no hook at all. For example, a first sentence reading: “Through several short stories such as “The Yellow Wallpaper” by Charlotte Perkins Gilman, “The Story of an Hour” by Kate Chopin, and “A&P” by John Updike, the differences and similarities between a story’s theme and its moral are shown.” (Xu, A Story’s Theme Versus the Moral) is not a hook. It simply is an explanation of what will be discussed in the essay. After reading that sentence, you’d probably be getting ready to leave already. The only way anyone would stay would be if the sentence came after a hook that draws readers in. Another rather boring first sentence is “A central theme in William Shakespeare’s Macbeth is greed for power.” (Macbeth’s Greed:  A Photo and a Story) Although this sentence doesn’t give away all the information, like the previous example from “A Story’s Theme Versus the Moral,” it still lacks the engaging qualities a hook should possess. A quote, a question, a provocative statement or a relevant fact could all serve as a hook. Without one, a reader is unlikely to continue past the first sentence of the essay.

        As the title and the hook grabs the reader’s attention, it should be the actual content that keeps his/her attention. However, content varies with each essay, but the quality of writing does not. An essay should use words that are clear and concise. An overuse of the word “very” before adjectives to increase its scale does the exact opposite, weakening the language. In the sentence, “She works very well on a team,” (Xu, Winter Journal) “very well” could be replaced by words such as “phenomenally.” While one use of “very” before an adjective is hardly noticeable, repetition will be taken in by the reader quickly. In the same paragraph, Alice makes the same mistake, writing, “She was also very hardworking there too.” (Xu, Winter Journal) Here, taking away the “very” would not subtract from the overall meaning the author is trying to convey. In fact, it could actually strengthen the point due to the sentence becoming more concise and polished. A few sentences later, Alice uses “very” again: “She was good at using Explain Everything (at least better than I could) and came up with a lot of ideas, including the Red Wedding connection to Macbeth that I personally thought was very creative.” (Winter Journal) Similarly, “very” does not play an essential role in the sentence and could be deleted without taking away from the “scale of creativity” the author is expressing. In many cases, the word “very” is not necessary at all. If it is, then the wrong adjective was used. Other words that naturally express the same meaning in a greater scale would be preferable over using “very,” because it will strengthen the language and polish the writing style.

A dull title and the lack of a hook prevents the potential audience from gaining interest in an essay, and weak language with lack of concision will drive readers away.

All three are important factors of an essay. The author writes to engage the reader, and an essay without a reader is nothing but a personal diary that is not so personal. A writer must come up with an imaginative title to capture attention, a hook as the first sentence to further engage the reader, and clear and concise writing to keep their attention. With these three rules, one can at least try to succeed as a writer.