Welcome to the Get Hooked Writing Challenge brought to you by the Improve Your Writing profile. This will be a recurring series, so you will have plenty of opportunities to practice this important literary device, which will ultimately help you improve your reader engagement. If we like what you've shared with us, we will include it in our Get Hooked Anthology.

The submission window for our current writing challenge will be open from 1 July, 2023 through 31 August, 2023.

What is a hook?

- a dramatic action, a mysterious setting, an engaging character, or a thematic statement that draws in readers at the beginning of a story.

Hooking your readers is more than dropping them into an action scene. A hook can be the creak of a staircase when nobody else is home, the morning after a drunk text, a mailbox holding a package from an unknown sender. A hook makes your readers want to know what's going to happen next.

For tips on how to incorporate a hook into your story opening, follow this LINK to read our chapter on The Hook located under the Literary Devices title.

👇          👇          👇

If you believe your story has a great hook in the first chapter, we want you to share that first chapter with us! Keep reading for more deets!

Have you completed a story on Wattpad? Or are you currently uploading chapters of a new story? Have you lured your readers in with a brilliant hook in the first chapter? What about your opening line? Do you believe it captures the attention of your readers?

If you have answered yes to any of these questions, we want to see that first chapter!

👉 IMPORTANT: We are not talking about the prologue (if your story has one). We are asking for the first chapter that starts your story. Your prologue may have a great hook, but your readers will also expect a hook in the first chapter. So, if your hook doesn't happen until the second chapter or later, you will not be eligible for this writing challenge.

If you are unsure if your first chapter contains a true hook, we recommend you read the article we've linked above titled The Hook. And if you feel your opening line could use a little TLC, we have provided you some inspiration below with samples of famous first lines from literature.

"Here is a small fact: you are going to die." - The Book Thief

"It was a queer, sultry summer, the summer they electrocuted the Rosenbergs, and I didn't know what I was doing in New York." - The Bell Jar

"If you are interested in stories with happy endings, you would be better off reading some other book." - A Series Of Unfortunate Events

A few eligibility guidelines for this writing challenge

- Entry must be written in English.

- Entry must not exceed one chapter.

- Entry must abide by Wattpad's Content Guidelines. (link below)

- Entry can be part of a collection of works or standalone.

- Entry can be from a completed or ongoing story.

- Entry can be from a short story, novella, or novel length story.

- Entry can be any genre.

- Entry must meet our submission guidelines. (link below)

- No mature content, please. We want to keep our anthology rated for everyone.

- You can add the tag #gethooked to your story (optional).

- Entry must be received during our submission window: 1 July, 2023 through 31 August, 2023.

- We will accept co-written entries. However, choose only one username when you submit the entry.

- One entry per user, please. You will have more opportunities to enter this challenge in the future.

- Winners must be willing to share their entries with the Improve Your Writing team via Google or Word doc so they can be uploaded to our Get Hooked Anthology.

The prizes and perks of participating

Should you choose to accept this writing challenge, you will earn the privilege of having your entry considered for our Get Hooked Anthology. You will also receive a shout-out from our profile. Wouldn't it be nice to see your work featured here? Of course it would!

Participants whose first chapters make it into our Get Hooked Anthology will be contacted via PM within thirty days after the submission window closes. Please, be patient with us as we give every entry the consideration it deserves.

TO SUBMIT YOUR ENTRY, click on the link to this FORM.

👉 IMPORTANT: All contest entries undergo a level of screening to make sure our readers get quality story recommendations. Not all entries submitted will make it into our anthology. For guidelines on what we look for in a quality story or contest entry, read How To Submit To Our Reading Lists in the Reading Lists & Submission Guidelines chapter of our Profile Guide.

CONTEST DISCLAIMER 

Please note that this challenge and any rules associated are the creation of a team of Ambassadors (volunteers) and are in no way affiliated with Wattpad or its staff. Judging of entries is performed by its creators and is not the responsibility of Wattpad or its staff. We are not obliged to give feedback related to entries. Please note that the decision of the judges is final. Abusive language directed at the Ambassadors, the profile, or the judges will not be tolerated and may be reported to Wattpad's Trust and Safety team for their inspection.

We ask that you keep the Wattpad Code of Conduct in mind when participating and that all entries adhere to Wattpad Content Guidelines.

Feel free to visit the Safety Portal at any time to learn more about keeping safe on Wattpad.  

We look forward to reading your first chapters! Good luck!