Hook

Purpose

Generate 3 hook options from the Hook Arsenal, tailored to the content at hand.

Read ../../references/context-contract.md and resolve available audience context, including optional AUDIENCE.md or a named shared guide. The explicit assignment audience takes precedence; missing audience context does not block the task.

Invocation

/cw-hook [context] — Generate hooks for the specified topic/piece
/cw-hook — System asks "What's the piece about?" then generates options

The Hook Arsenal

Hook Type	What It Does	Use When
The Already-Happened	Past-tense revelation of surprising outcome	The result proves your point
The Paradigm Flip	Challenges assumed truth	Presenting contrarian takes
The Visceral Moment	Sensory detail + emotion	Personal discovery pieces
The Time Stamp	Specific date/time that changed everything	Career pivots, revelations
The Failed Expert	Smart person + spectacular failure	Teaching through mistakes
The Future Glimpse	Present tense description of coming reality	Trend pieces, predictions
The Contradiction	Two true things that shouldn't both be true	Complex, nuanced topics
The Vulnerability Drop	Admission of struggle/weakness	Building trust and connection
The Stats Shock	Number that reframes everything	Data-driven arguments
The Definitional Challenge	Redefining familiar concept	Thought leadership pieces

How to Generate

Analyze the content — What's the piece about? What's the core tension or insight?
Select 3 hook types that fit the content best. Consider:
- What material does the writer have? (personal story? data? contrarian take?)
- What's the emotional register of the piece?
- What will resonate with the target audience?
Generate one hook per type — Each should be 1-3 sentences that could open the piece.
Present all three with the hook type labeled.

Output Format

## Hook Options

### Option 1: The [Hook Type]
[1-3 sentence hook]

### Option 2: The [Hook Type]
[1-3 sentence hook]

### Option 3: The [Hook Type]
[1-3 sentence hook]

---

Which resonates? Or want me to try a different approach?

Principles

Concrete over abstract — Start with a specific moment, fact, or detail
Tension is magnetic — Create a question or contradiction
Earn the right to their time — The hook must justify why they should keep reading
No throat-clearing — Get to the interesting part immediately

Lessons

[Skill-specific lessons will be added here as they're captured]

cw-hook