The Importance of Headlines – Or Super Sun Kills Family of Five…Snowpeople

I freely admit that one of my biggest challenges as a writer is titles and/or titles.

Coming up with that zippy thing that really makes people want to know more is one of the hardest things to do — sometimes.

I’ve been reminded of this as I’ve seen the link titles to some news stories in the past couple of weeks. “Flesh-Freezing Cold Grips US” — now can’t you just SEE the ice cubes attacking? It’s a Liquid Nitrogen Zombie Movie!!!!! Who said talking about the weather was boring?

Today’s offering with our local CBS affiliate — “Rash of Tire Boots Plague Dallas Parking Lots”. Now, what kind of topical cream does one use for a tire boot rash? Does a baking soda wash on the asphalt keep it from contact spreading? How contagious is it?

I’m in a giggly mood today. I’m easily amused. HOWEVER, it does make you almost want to check out the stories, doesn’t it? Except, unfortunately, you let your imagination run with the title possibilities and the REAL story ends up losing some of it’s punch.

Writing Rule #247 – TRY to let the story live up to the cool title.