My100: Original One-Page Story Hooks 77 and 78

The challenge: 100 first-page story hooks in sixty days. Just the first page (or less), and it has to hook the reader to want more. Today I'm 3/4 of the way done. It's been an interesting ride.

The reward (for me): I have two writing notebooks crammed full of story ideas. It occurs to me that here's a chance, with these hooks, to try writing what's in them, just the first page, try it out, see if it has legs. Both of these are from that book. I haven't written a sports story...ever. The second one was just a first line. Now it's more.

Seventy-seven:

The linebacker shot the gap and smashed into Tyler just as Craig handed him the ball. It slid, alive, threatening to twist away and fall, but Tyler gripped it like a falcon and hung on until he hit the ground. He was screaming, “Time out!” at the referee before he even touched the grass, but the whistle was slow and two more precious seconds came off the clock. Home cooking. But not their home.

Tyler winced as Craig hauled him upright. Thirty-one seconds, and eighty-one yards to go. Tyler staggered a little, put out his hand and steadied himself on Craig’s shoulder pad. Craig turned a bloodstained face his way, and grimaced. “I think we’re going to run out of time,” he said.

Photo Credit

Seventy-eight:

It was still snowing when the power went out.

Not our house alone. From the front window I could see two, sometimes three neighbors, lights winking through the thin trees, but theirs were gone, too.

Carol put her hand on my arm and we stood looking out at the piling white for a moment before she said, “Are we at the point where it stops being pretty and starts being dangerous?”

“That depends. Did we replace the batteries in the flashlights?”

“Keith and Wendy are getting them. We checked last week.” Her voice carried no worry.

That would change.

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If you're looking for writing help--and who isn't--there are a lot of good editors on the Discord channel. I recommend it.

~Cristof

P.S. This series is the brainchild of The New Creatives, which challenged us to create 100 of something as a way of attaining mastery of a particular art form (or beginning the process, more like). This is my attempt. #TNCmy100