Great writers build spaces for compelling stories and settings that capture our imagination. Here’s how author Neil Gaiman hooks readers using exploration and discovery of a setting in Chapter 1 of his novel Coraline. Read the transcript on Medium.

A big change in a character’s life sets them on a new path and on a new story. See how Neil Gaiman uses the start of a new life to hook readers in his novel American Gods. Read the transcript on Medium.

How author Susanna Clarke asks the right questions to hook readers and drive the story in the opening chapter of her fantasy novel Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell. Also, how the philosophy of Romanticism comes alive in the story and setting, and what writers can learn from cartoons. Read the transcript on Medium.

In Life of Pi, Yann Martel searches for the “spark that brings to life a real story.” Life of Pi itself uses first-person storytelling to light that spark. See how Yann Martel uses the power of first person in the opening chapters to hook the reader, and why the novel starts before the first page. Read the transcript on Medium.

How the first three chapters of Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone hooked readers, agents, and editors, using voice, mystery, and nostalgia. Read the transcript on Medium.