You Should Write 10 Headlines Every Single Day…if you want to be a better writer.

Tim Denning says so. That’s why. Just kidding.

I used to write the headlines after I wrote my essay. It seems like the right approach. Every writing session, the blank page was staring back at me. Writing a headline was a commitment for the rest of the session. What if the headline wasn’t good? And it took me halfway through writing the essay to figure that out?

I don’t recommend that approach.

Now, I write the headline first. Why? Because it’s a commitment to the rest of the session. It’s telling myself, “I’m going to sit here and write until this is done.”

The headline is the most important part of your article.

You should write your headline first. Let the rest of the session follow from this commitment. Here are some things to think about regarding the “headline first” approach.

1. As mentioned, it’s a commitment. And committing is hard. But do it anyway. The more you get used to acting in the face of adversity, the better off you will be.
2. You can practice turning lemons into lemonade. You may not be excited about the headline at first. But limiting yourself can work wonders for your creativity. It’s counter-intuitive to think that placing limitations INCREASES creativity, but it does. You’re not exhausted by going back and forth on a headline.
3. You can save that energy for the body of your article.
4. A headline is a first impression. It’s like an elevator pitch for your article. You want to make sure it’s interesting enough to get people to read more.
5. Your headline should be reflective of the quality of your article.

Action step: write 10 headlines daily.

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