Books, hooks and one-liners…oh-my!

By Maureen L. Bonatch

That love-ly time of year is right around the corner, that’s right, Valentine’s Day.  Whether you’re in love, looking for love or reading about it, first impressions, and first lines are something you can only do once.  And hopefully it's something leaving you wanting more. 

Believe it or not, there are entire websites devoted to pick-ups lines, just to get that ‘hook’ in there. 

Here's just a few pick-up lines from pickup lines galore:

“Do you have a sunburn, or are you always this hot?”

“I thought happiness started with an H.  Why does mine start with U?

                                                   “I don’t have a library card, but do you mind if I check you out?”

                                                    “Are you a fruit, because Honeydew you know how fine you look right now?”

                                                       “Are you a parking ticket?  Cause you’ve got fine written all over you.”

                                                   “I was wondering if you had anextra heart, mine seems to have been stolen.”

How about some other ‘lines’?                “You had me at hello.” 

I can’t remember much about the movie Jerry Maguire, except for that line.  

Let’s see if you can:

Name these other ‘movie one liners’

    (no peeking at the answers below!)

1. “My momma always said, life was like a box of chocolates. You never know what you’re gonna get.”
2. “Nobody puts Baby in the corner.”
3. “Frankly, my dear, I don’t give a damn.”
4. “Here’s Johnny.”

Answers:

1.  Forrest Gump 2. Dirty Dancing  3 Gone with theWind  4.The Shining

With books, you'll hear about  'the hook'.  The first line has to grab you, hook you in, keep you reading.  That’s why, as a writer, I work hard to get it just right.  I’m working on a 85,000 word manuscript, spending 80% of the time, okay maybe that’s an exaggeration…75% J of the time, on the first page…the first line.  Because if book gets put down before they’ve gotten past there, they might not be going back to finish it...because first impressions mean a lot. 

Name these ‘book hooks’:

 (no peeking at the answers below!)

1. “Call me Ishmael.”
2. “You better not tell anybody but God.”
3. “I stood in the shadows of a deserted shop front across from The Blood and Brew  Pub, trying not to be obvious as I tugged my black leather pants up where they belonged.”
4. “When I wake up, the other side of the bed is cold.”

Answers:

1.  HermanMelville, Moby Dick  2. Alice Walker, The Color Purple  3 Kim Harrison, Dead WitchWalking 4.Suzanne Collins, The Hunger Games

Feel free to share some of your ‘hooks’.  Whether it be the pick-up line that got you your love, or caused you to run for the hills, or your favorite line from a cherished movie or book.

                    Check out this page for a sweet giveaway on February 13th!