Of Hooks and Barbs

Writing a hook is really flippin' hard. Yes, I was a foolhardy soul and squeezed one out of my aching brain for the Crapometer over at Miss Snark's. All in all, the hard part wasn't taking the criticism - I didn't do too badly, and any time an agent is willing to give me feedback you can be damn sure she's got my undivided. The hard part was writing the thing.

I'm not (often) a drama queen, but I spent more than a minute stomping around the house muttering obscenities. I knew what I wanted to say, but putting it in "hook" terms was a bitch and a half. A hook has so little to do with the process and language of writing a novel - it was horrible twisting my brain into super short and snappy mode. Owie, owie, owie! On the other hand, it forced me to get absolutely clear about a few things that will be helpful when I jump back into the story tomorrow.

Truly, though, I've got nothing to complain about - poor Miss Snark still had 479 hooks to go through when she threw in the towel tonight, and the submission window doesn't close for another 7 hours. I wonder what insane-o number it will reach by the end of the Crapometer. Yowchie!