The Gap Framework
Print this. It's the diagnostic you run on any hook.
what they
already assume → a crack in it
(the gap) → a pull to
close the gap
already assume → a crack in it
(the gap) → a pull to
close the gap
Build a hook (3 steps)
1 · Find the assumption
What does your reader already believe about this topic? Write it as a
plain sentence. ("Consistency is what grows an account.")
2 · Crack it
Contradict, flip, or withhold part of that belief so a hole appears.
("Posting daily for a year, the consistency wasn't what grew it.")
3 · Hide the resolution one swipe away
Make the answer feel close but not given. They must reach.
Diagnose a dead hook
Ask: is there a gap at all?
If the answer is given, guessable, or unwanted → Failure 1: No
gap. Fix: take the answer back out; find a belief worth cracking.
Ask: can they imagine an answer?
If the crack is so vague it reads as a bluff → Failure 2: Gap too
wide. Fix: shrink it, get specific, make it feel scratchable.
The sweet spot
Small enough to feel closeable. Big enough to matter. Both, or the pull dies.
Source: Loewenstein, G. (1994), The Psychology of Curiosity.
Curiosity is a felt gap between what you know and what you want to know.