Headlines

Make it good and keep it accurate.
How do you think up good headlines?
Do you use certain techniques? Stuck for a headline? Try these tips

Thanks to John Schlander, a news editor at the St. Petersburg Times, for this list of methods he uses when he gets stuck.

WORD ASSOCIATION: Maybe the most common method. Think of key words and  do some free association to develop angles. This is how most word play, good and  bad, seems to develop. Good word play makes good use of contrast, or delightfully  twists a phrase or is somehow pleasing to the ear. It's not a groaner pun, and it  doesn't rely purely on alliteration. A great word play example from sports (and a  monthly contest winner): So close, so Favre (when Brett Favre and the Packers stole  a game from the Bucs). Think also of rhyming words, or words that sound like they look: gritty kitty, for example, or beep and boom. The reader can almost hear the headline.  
MENTAL PICTURE: What picture comes to mind as you read the story? Use that in your headline. Prime examples: Uprooting fallen history and Square peg, round world. Both are recent headline contest winners. Also, these recent heads: Wearing jackets of ice, crops weather freeze; Flecks of Hitchcock, swirled in a snow globe; Bashful moon to blush as earth passes by; and From intensive care to death chamber.  
PERFECT VERB: A fresh verb can really make a headline. Great example: Summer muscles its way into spring. Deputies inch toward unionization. This also creates a strong mental picture. Strong, well-chosen verbs often do that.  
PERSPECTIVE: Come at the head from a different viewpoint. For example, instead of writing the head from the government's perspective (Officials consider later high school starting times), write it from the affected person's perspective (High schoolers, don't reset alarm yet). Last month's winning headline directly addressed readers: Have faith, the rookie does. A change of perspective can do wonders.  
EMOTION: Go for the emotion in the story. Is there anger? Love? Frustration? Desperation? Appreciation? Respect? Elation? Shame? Embarrassment? Readers respond to emotion. Hit 'em in the gut or the heart. A headline contest winner: In the  hot glare of fame, secret is revealed (Classy but still emotional head on story about Dr. J acknowledging Wimbledon sensation Alexandra Stevenson is his daughter.)
QUOTE: Is there a great quote that sums up the story? Don't overuse this  technique, but it can be effective: "He never had a chance.” 
FORESHADOWING: Give readers a compelling detail that foreshadows the action and makes them wonder, but doesn't frustrate them with vagueness. The "hot glare  of fame'' head fits in this category, too.
SPECIFICS: Sometimes, just making a headline more specific really helps. If you  have a rather vague head, sub in specifics. Instead of Slain woman mourned at service, try 1,500 attend funeral for  slain woman. How many people have that great a number of mourners show up for their funeral? This was what made the story good enough to go  on a section cover. 

The Hook That Grabs the Reader