What is a hook in a romance story?
Is a hook another word for high concept?
A high concept is a shorthand explanation of a story idea. An example of high concept is the movie Legally Blonde. It’s pitched as “Barbie goes to Harvard Law”.
High concepts work with story elements including hooks. The reader understands what the Barbie doll represents and what could possibly happen in the situation of Barbie going to law school.
Is a hook another word for theme?
A hook piques the reader’s interest when they read the title or back cover copy. The theme is the overall message or moral of the story. A theme can be straightforward but it’s a larger idea, such as “love conquers all”.
Is a hook another word for trope?
Katie Gowrie, an editorial assistant for Harlequin, says a hook serves a story differently than a trope. A hook is about the character or setting.
How is it different from a trope? According to Gowrie, a trope is a plot situation. These are the classic or familiar storylines.
So, let’s say you picked up a Christmas romance about a cowboy entering a marriage of convenience with his neighbor.
The hooks are Christmas and cowboy.
The tropes are marriage of convenience and neighbors-to-lovers.
In category romance, readers can often determine the hook and tropes from the title.
Consider this Harlequin Presents release, Desert King’s Surprise Love-Child by Cathy Williams.
The sheikh or desert king is the hook.
The surprise love-child is the trope.
A reader who enjoys love stories about royalty and secret babies is going to pick up this book to learn more.
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