How do Action/Adventure authors hook and hold readers?

1. How do Action/Adventure authors hook and hold readers? Creating a hook is refers to being able to capture someone's attention and maintaining their interest. ( Hedges) There must be something substantial to say and it must be creative and concise. ( Hedges) Headline and opening sentences can serve to hook the reader (Hedges) Openings that have a brilliant opening hook, then fade out after the first page do not hook and hold readers (McAlister) “Remember that true tension lies in anticipation” (McAlister)

2. How do Action/Adventure writers persuade their readers? Authors write to influence a reader or to prove a point to a reader Evidence and support must be gathered and used to persuade the reader (Murphy) “Spotting the weak parts of your argument will help you and your readers. Make sure your supporting material is relevant to the point you are making.” (Murphy) Authors can relate points that they’re trying to get across by playing on the readers emotion ( Tools of Persuasion) Authors have many techniques of persuading readers such as: supporting their opinions with facts and statistics; trying to persuade to a conformity; taking advantage of self-consciousness; appealing to an authority; a sense of urgency; using sparkle and glitter. (Tools of Persuasion)

3. What is the relationship between Action/Adventure and truth? Philosophical ideas of truth Good vs Evil Reading a good book might could give you an insight into something that is true. (Can truth be found in novels) “Robert Harris is an international bestseller whose book Lustrum (2009) gives a fictional account of Cicero’s life [106 BC – 43 BC] but which is nevertheless based on the facts. From one perspective it tells us not much more than Harris’ imagined tale of a man who succumbs to corruption in Roman times. After all, how can we know what the life of Cicero was really like? The historical facts about Cicero’s life may count as historical knowledge, but how can the claim be made that Harris’ fictional book reveals some type of truth?”(Can truth be found in novels)

4. What is the relationship between Action/Adventure and truth?(cont’d) Fact is defined as a piece of information about a circumstance that existed or events that have occurred. It is merely saying the information that is verified to be true or had actually occurred. ( Difference Between Fact and Fiction) Fiction- “an imaginative creation or a pretense that does not represent actuality but has been invented” (Difference Between Fact and Fiction )

5. What truths are best communicated through the Action/Adventure genre? These truths can be described as the main point that the author is trying to get across The theme or themes of the book can be considered as the truths of the book The truths of good and evil can be communicated through novels Dan Brown refuses to accept the idea that faith in God is rooted in ignorance of the truth. The ignorance that the Church has sometimes advocated is embodied in the character of Bishop Aringarosa, who does not think the Church should be involved in scientific investigation. According to The Da Vinci Code, the Church has also enforced ignorance about the existence of the descendents of Jesus. Although at one point in the novel Langdon says that perhaps the secrets of the Grail should be preserved in order to allow people to keep their faith, he also thinks that people who truly believe in God will be able to accept the idea that the Bible is full of metaphors, not literal transcripts of the truth. People’s faith, in other words, can withstand the truth. (Themes, Motifs, and Symbols)

6. What truths are best communicated through the Action/Adventure genre?(cont’d) “Without the usual authority figures to direct the boys, they must fend for themselves. By default, the personable Ralph takes on a leadership position. He knows little more than any of the others, but he manages to gather them in one place and is voted leader. At his side is the compassionate, clever, but fatally clumsy Piggy, a nicely rendered character who serves as Ralph’s conscience.” (Brauner)

7. How might an Action/Adventure author reveal the underlying meaning behind the story? Theme – ‘’The idea or point of a story formulated as a generalization. In American literature, several themes are evident which reflect and define our society. The dominant ones might be innocence/experience, life/death, appearance/reality, free will/fate, madness/sanity, love/hate, society/individual, known/unknown. Themes may have a single, instead of a dual nature as well. The theme of a story may be a mid-life crisis, or imagination, or the duality of humankind (contradictions).” (Jordan Henley) Authors use imagery to reveal the theme of the story

8. How might an Action/Adventure author reveal the underlying meaning behind the story?(cont’d) One more work that is concerned with grief that rape causes is Laurie Halse Anderson’s novel Speak. Though the theme is disclosed through a different perspective here – after being raped by a popular senior the main character loses ability to speak – the message of the author is the same. She speaks of the drastic effects of being raped that change one’s life once and forever. In this work more emphasis is placed on the way society ignores her personal tragedy being unwilling to understand and to help her. In all these three works the disasters that rape brings are depicted with much skillfulness of the author. Kakutani's review of The Lovely Bones states: "The novel 5 is an elegy... about a vanished place and time and the loss of childhood innocence." Sebold adds "It's about living an extraordinary ordinary life […] People who are living their lives very much attached to the people around them, family, maybe, but also community and friends" (Vinerpara. 31). We suppose that the value of the three works considered is not rooted in the significance of the theme described only, but in the hope for better that the authors managed to give the reader. The authors never tried to deny the fact that grieving after the loss of dear people is not simply a problem of time, or that other consequences of rape are easily avoided. They did realize the significance of the issue and made the readers believe that with the help of others the grievances can be reduced to a minimum. This is where the main value of the works is rooted. (Sebold)

9. What is the most interesting part about Action/Adventure books to you, the reader? Suspenseful endings can help to interest readers “I read a good number of books. Some stick with me. Some fade away very quickly. Those rollicking tales of adventure I read mostly as a child are ingrained into my mind. I have revisited some of them as an adult and the experience can be exhilarating. Not only do the heroes and villains come rushing back but the bedroom where I first read that tale of bravery, conflict, and intrigue returns into focus. Adventures in faraway places, especially when they are entwined with historical facts, just don’t seem that far-fetched when you are eight or nine. Anything is possible.” (Davies)

10. How might an Action/Adventure author keep you the reader guessing about the ending? At the beginning of the novel, Huck struggles against society and its attempts to civilize him, represented by the Widow Douglas, Miss Watson, and other adults. Later, this conflict gains greater focus in Huck’s dealings with Jim, as Huck must decide whether to turn Jim in, as society demands, or to protect and help his friend instead. (The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn)

11. Why is an Action/Adventure book a good choice for a reader with an active imagination? Adventure novels allow readers to feel as if they were doing what was in the novel "I like fantasy and adventure books by authors like Anthony Horowitz and Derek Landy and getting pulled into books to the point when you can't put them down," says Harry Smurthwaite, 12. "I love playing Xbox, too, but I like to imagine the characters in books which you can't do with a computer game because the visual effects are all done for you." (Abbe) “First, let’s consider the most accessible aspects of the novel. The story begins just after a plane crash. We meet English schoolboys who have survived the crash and find themselves on a desert island without any adults. A dream setup for any ten-year-old, right? Stay tuned...” ( Brauner)

12. What characteristics do action/adventure novels show? “There are several different types, or genres, of fiction novels. Mystery, historical, romance, fantasy, western, science fiction, action/adventure, humor, medical, tragedy, erotic, thriller, horror and espionage are some of the main categories of fiction novels. Some genres follow a consistent theme. For example, all mystery novels involve a crime or other mysterious event that usually gets solved by the end of the book.” (Mulvaney) Conflict is necessary in a novel, because it makes the story feel real. Happily ever after all the time would make for a dull story. (Mulvaney) The point of view is essentially the voice of the narrator. “The basic principle of an adventure novel be based on it that a hero from its everyday world breaks open into a strange, dangerous world, in which it with mortal danger all kinds of problems and samples to exist has.” ( Adventure Novel)

13. Works Cited Hedges, Ken. "Learn How To Hook Your Readers And Keep Them Interested In Your Writing." EzineArticles Submission - Submit Your Best Quality Original Articles For Massive Exposure, Ezine Publishers Get 25 Free Article Reprints. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 Feb. 2011. http://ezinearticles.com/?Learn-How-To-Hook-Your-Readers-And-Keep-Them-Interested-In-Your-Writing&id=5187720 McAlister, Marg. "The Opening Hook ...and the Follow-Up!." writing4successclub.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 Feb. 2011. http://www.writing4successclub.com/public/608.cfm?sd=97 Murphy, JJ. "The Writing Life: Writing to Persuade Your Readers." EzineArticles Submission - Submit Your Best Quality Original Articles For Massive Exposure, Ezine Publishers Get 25 Free Article Reprints. N.p., n.d. Web. 9 Feb. 2011. http://ezinearticles.com/?The-Writing-Life:-Writing-to-Persuade-Your-Readers&id=362827 "How do authors use language to make you agree with them?." Tools of Persuasion. N.p., n.d. Web. 1 Mar. 2010. www.austinschools.org/curriculum/la/resources/documents/LA_Persuasive_Tools_of_Writing.pdf

14. Works Cited (cont’d) 5) Jordan-Henley, Jennifer. "The Elements of Literature." Welcome - Roane State Community College. N.p., n.d. Web. 1 Mar. 2011. http://www.roanestate.edu/owl/ElementsLit.html 6) Sebold, Alice. The Lovely Bones. New Jersey: Back Bay Books, 2007. Viner, Katharine. “Above and Beyond.” Guardian. Aug. 2002. 18 April 2008 http://books.guardian.co.uk/departments/generalfiction/story/779186.html 7) " Adventure novel ." Language Translation | Translate Free Online. N.p., n.d. Web. 1 Mar. 2011. http://www.worldlingo.com/ma/dewiki/en/Abenteuerroman#Merkmale 8) Abbe, Elfrieda. "Writers Handbook - Google Books." Google Books. N.p., n.d. Web. 2 Mar. 2011. <http://books.google.com/books?id=P0XxZ1r4hbgC&pg=PA71&lpg=PA71&dq=how+do+action+adventure+books+hook+authors&source=bl&ots=nsx77f8_2x&sig=ig7poVFaZm2Ni2hTtGWUxneylck&hl=en&ei=0kpuTfrXG4WctweQpIWJDw&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=6&ved=0CDYQ6AEwBQ#v=>

15. Works Cited (cont’d) • 9)Elkin, Susan. "How to hook kids on books - Features, Books - The Independent." The Independent | News | UK and Worldwide News | Newspaper. N.p., n.d. Web. 2 Mar. 2011. http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/books/features/how-to-hook-kids-on-books-1932452.html • 10) Mulvaney, Meg. "Characteristics of Fiction Novels | eHow.com." eHow | How To Do Just About Everything! | How To Videos & Articles. N.p., n.d. Web. 2 Mar. 2011. http://www.ehow.com/about_5427200_characteristics-fiction-novels.html • 11) Brauner, Asher . "Review: 'Lord of the Flies'." Books & Literature Classics. N.p., n.d. Web. 2 Mar. 2011. http://classiclit.about.com/od/lordoftheflieswg/fr/aa_lordofflies.htm • 12) "Can truth be found in novels? ." Theory of Knowledge Student. N.p., n.d. Web. 3 Mar. 2011. http://theoryofknowledgestudent.com/can-truth-be-found-in-novels

16. Works Cited (cont’d) 13) "Difference Between Fact and Fiction | Difference Between | Fact vs Fiction." Difference Between Similar Terms and Objects. N.p., n.d. Web. 3 Mar. 2011. http://www.differencebetween.net/language/difference-between-fact-and-fiction/ 14) "SparkNotes: The Da Vinci Code: Themes, Motifs, and Symbols." SparkNotes: Today's Most Popular Study Guides. N.p., n.d. Web. 3 Mar. 2011. http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/davincicode/themes.html 15) "SparkNotes: The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn: Key Facts." SparkNotes: Today's Most Popular Study Guides. N.p., n.d. Web. 3 Mar. 2011. http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/huckfinn/facts.html