A few days ago I met with a group of Children's book writers. All eager to create the next bestseller, we huddled together and read our manuscripts. One writer shared with us her story. It lacked the finesse of the other writers and we made a few suggestions. The first thing we recommended is to write in active voice with strong verbs. It immediately made a big difference in her storyline.
Writing news headlines also requires strong writing. Not difficult to master, but one that certainly takes practice, writing headlines is an art form. May I humbly share that my first attempt at writing a news headline crashed and burned before my eyes? After a few tries, I got the hang of it.
One of my favorite headline styles that I want to master is the “surprise with unusual combinations” headline. Here are a few that won awards in 2009.
'Going once, going twice, going to be confused.' (Story about a state's foreclosure auction process.)
'Small step for man, giant gaffe for NASA.' (Story about when NASA erased first moon landing tapes.)
'In the world of tag, he's it.' (Street artist that does it all.)
No matter what kind of writing we specialize in, good writers are needed in every industry. With practice, we can become proficient in the art of writing headlines. Who knows, one day we might be working for a newspaper.
Here's a sign that says it all. Make sure you proof-read your documents.
I like your examples of the "surprise and unusual" headlines you wrote. They would make me want to read the articles because of the headlines. Good luck on your manuscript!
ReplyDeleteI really like your grammar mistake for the week. Mistakes don’t usually change the meaning so drastically.
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