What to do with player's that won't bite...

I'm running Vampire the Dark Ages (V20) because that was what my players wanted me to run. I put a ton of effort into getting ready, and prep is always painful to me. I ask them explicitly what they want, come up with plot ideas tailored to their characters, etc. However, we had to end the game early yesterday because they didn't have any interest in biting at any of the hooks I tossed out. They would respond immediately to things that happened to them (bangs), but that was sort of it. This really has killed my creativity, which doesn't thrive when you keep saying (no, they won't like that either).

Some things I've already thought of:
1. no we can't switch to (insert your narrative-system that solves this problem). They like traditional games and are super into VtDA;
2. no, i'm not railroading. i prep situations but then they can do whatever they want in that situation.

What to do with player's that won't bite...