Is the hook expected to be the "theme" of the story? My story has more than one theme. I just want my hook to be something that catches the readers attention. Isn't that enough?
The hook needs to make the reader want to keep reading. You don't need more. But as the book progresses, the reader will not stick around if the hook turns out to be nothing more than a gimmick. That's where the theme(s) come in.
Ginger's right. More specifically, the hook is something interesting at the beginning of the story - ideally, something in the first paragraph that's enough to get the reader to keep reading. It doesn't have to be action, or sex, or comedy, or anything else; all it has to be is interesting. The hook gets the reader to turn to page two, and maybe read as far as the end of the first chapter. But the hook won't make the reader finish the book. You have to keep things interesting. This is why my signature says "Don't bore the reader!" That's really the only unforgivable sin in writing. If the reader is bored, he or she will toss your book aside and never pick it up again. And it's likely they won't pick up any other book of yours, either.
Ok awesome! My book has several themes, and my hook is tied to one of those themes. I have been told that the book is great but the beginning was a chore to read. That's when I did away with the "infodump" prologue, and changed it to an actual chapter, with actual characters interacting.
