Writing Exercises for Titles and Headlines

Writing for newspapers, magazines, and blogs all require good, strong headlines.

The same is true for poems, short stories, and novels, except they require good, strong titles.

Today’s writing exercises ask you to compose headlines and titles that make people want to read your work.

Titles and Headlines

Magazines use enticing headlines prominently displayed on the front cover to entice customers. Newspapers use them to draw readers into a story, and bloggers, as many of you know, use them to generate buzz and link bait.

The best headlines and titles are catchy. They impart a teaser about what a reader can expect to find within the article. Therefore they tickle the curiosity of the target audience. They are also often memorable and include familiar phrases. Here are some starters for popular headlines:

• The top ten…
• How to get…
• Everything you need to know about…
• The twelve best… ever
• What [someone] never told you about…

Other common strategies that are particularly effective with headlines include the use of words and terms that quickly capture people’s attention. Examples include sex, money, lose weight, and a host of celebrity names, especially the names of anyone who’s currently in the spotlight and generating a lot of news, or rather, gossip.

Titles, like headlines, should capture a potential reader’s attention and make them want to read the entire piece. An effective title piques a reader’s curiosity and tells a little bit about what the story or poem will be about.

You can learn how to write good headlines and titles with the simple writing exercises below. In time and with practice, your headlines and titles will become great.

Writing Exercises

These writing exercises are simple and ideal for any writer who struggles with titles and headlines.

Instructions:

Write some compelling headlines and titles. Wait – there are a few details…

Write at least three headlines each for five different publications.

• Focus on newspaper and magazine headlines.
• Identify your target publication for each of your sets of headlines.
• Include at least one publication that you would never read. If you’re a swinging, childless, single person, do headlines for a parenting magazine. If you’ve never left your home state, write some headlines for a travel rag.

Write three titles each for short stories, poems, and novels.

• Ask yourself whether short stories and novels have different requirements for titles.
• Should a poem’s title come from the body of the poem?
• You can use famous or obscure novels, poems, and short stories (rename your favorites) or you can use your own. However, be sure to title real material rather than nonexistent.

Come back and post a few of examples from your headline and title writing exercises in the comments section.

You never know, maybe one of those headlines will kick off a whole article. Or perhaps one of your titles will inspire you to write a story or poem.

And keep on writing!

Do you have any writing exercises to share? Did you find these exercises helpful? Share your thoughts by leaving a comment.