Are You a Hooker?
@owlwings (43910)
Cambridge, England
March 18, 2016 9:08am CST
The title of a discussion is surely the first thing we see here.
I find it difficult to say what exactly I find a compelling title - one which says "Open ME! Open ME!". Sometimes it's because it describes the subject (and its one I'm interested in), sometimes it's because it's quirky and I want to know more. Whatever it is, the title is the bait which makes people take the hook. It's not the only thing, of course. Sometimes it is just the fact that it's someone I know to be readable which will inspire me to open the discussion.
Do you think about your title before you write your post? I usually try to think of a title before writing (but then I might change it during or after writing the post).
I've been told by someone that I should 'post like an idiot' and that I make people think too much. What do you think?
54 people like this
52 responses
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@thesids (22180)
• Bhubaneswar, India
18 Mar 16
Your posts and even responses have almost always been so well researched that I always read them. no matter what title you have for the discussion.
Personally, to me, titles do not matter. At times I have come up with the worst ones, and I admit, I am no good at them. What appeals to me is -
1. The person who started the discussion
2. How close I am to him / her here at mylot and what opinion I have about him (as all people around here are not that close to me, but some I keep visiting because I love reading their discussions - maybe because of their style of writing or even anything else).
3. If the starter is a close friend, I can post anything as my response as I know, I will not be misinterpreted. If not, i keep myself restricted to the content.
About - your posts making people think too much... well, they will still keep thinking in case they do not get the point. I have seen many people misinterpreting many discussions from many others too.
7 people like this
@ElusiveButterfly (45940)
• United States
18 Mar 16
Well, it hooked me into opening the discussion. The crafter in me initially thought it could be about hooking rugs. My love of fishing also brought me to this, as I love to hook onto a fish, big or small.
I try to think of a good catch line, but often fall short.
3 people like this
@owlwings (43910)
• Cambridge, England
18 Mar 16
Mention of hooking rugs reminds me of the hearthrugs which my aunts had in their cottages. They were made on a hessian base and from cut and twisted strips of old stockings, dresses and blouses or other reasonably lightweight materials. They had no particular pattern, that I recall, but were often rather dark colours with maybe a splash of a bright colour in them.
2 people like this
@ElusiveButterfly (45940)
• United States
18 Mar 16
@owlwings, there was a business nearby that hired people to hook rugs. I often thought about doing it, but never took it up. Unfortunately the business faded into the sunset.
3 people like this
@akalinus (43408)
• United States
18 Mar 16
I try to pick an interesting subject and an intriguing headline. I try to word my first few lines in a way that the reader wants to keep reading. I am doing better in picking subjects, I finally figured out what the majority of the readers want to see.
4 people like this
@akalinus (43408)
• United States
18 Mar 16
@Bluedoll Things I write here are not professional like an article I might write for a site like a magazine, a literary article, or a writing site that wants scholarly articles.
It is hard to explain, I still have a lot to learn. The best advice I have had is to write for your audience.
1 person likes this
@akalinus (43408)
• United States
19 Mar 16
@Marty1 Poetry seems to be one. People also shy away from religion.
The key to writing here seems to be the reader. These are discussions. They have to be about something people want to discuss. That usually means it has to be something they can identify with. I am still trying to figure it out.
@fishtiger58 (29820)
• Momence, Illinois
18 Mar 16
Oh yes it was your title that got me here for sure. And to answer the title question yes I'm a hooker, love to fish every chance I get lol..
6 people like this
There are those who are quite happy to sit by the river all day and never catch a thing! You couldn't call them hookers!@fishtiger58 (29820)
• Momence, Illinois
19 Mar 16
@Marty1 Not around here they don't we call them fishermen.
2 people like this
@fishtiger58 (29820)
• Momence, Illinois
19 Mar 16
@Bluedoll I do so love to fish.
2 people like this
@JohnRoberts (109846)
• Los Angeles, California
18 Mar 16
Had you placed the photo of a lady with your titles, the views would skyrocket lol!
5 people like this
@jaboUK (64354)
• United Kingdom
18 Mar 16
It's true that the title is the first thing we see, but an obvious attempt to lure me in will sometimes have the opposite effect. For instance I would not have opened this if it wasn't someone like you writing it.
Yes, I do take trouble with my titles, they are important.
I don't agree with Bluedoll at all - it's good that you make people think.
2 people like this
@jaboUK (64354)
• United Kingdom
18 Mar 16
@Bluedoll But you do say 'If you posted more like an idiot you would make more', and I fail to see the logic in that. Just because some people make a lot from writing 'drivel', it doesn't mean that everyone would make more by descending to their level.
I agree that you weren't telling Owlwings what he should do.
I agree that you weren't telling Owlwings what he should do.1 person likes this
@owlwings (43910)
• Cambridge, England
18 Mar 16
I must try a two word title sometime. See how much meaning can be squeezed into (or out of) just two words! That was a challenge, wasn't it?
I wonder if it would be possible to write a two word Haiku (that had some meaning, of course!)
1 person likes this
@Marilynda1225 (83176)
• United States
18 Mar 16
titles do draw my attention and this one was quite interesting. Couldn't wait to see what you were talking about
2 people like this
@FibroGodess (540)
• United States
18 Mar 16
Though it would be about crocheting. I've been a happy hooker for years. *be well*
2 people like this
@owlwings (43910)
• Cambridge, England
18 Mar 16
I may be crochety or grumpy by turns but the last time I recall doing any crocheting with yarn was some 60 years ago, I think, and I'm not very good at writing down music, so my crocheting career in that respect would be quavery and breve.
@miniam (9154)
• Bern, Switzerland
18 Mar 16
l think title matters in a post,titles like "im tired" don't inspire people to open and look what`s in the post.But titles like "How my jogging/work make me tired" will inspire more people to open and read.it`s the same thing tiredness but im sure the second example sound more interesting
2 people like this
@pgiblett (6524)
• Canada
18 Mar 16
I think that titles are so important, it tem that attract people to what you have written, sometimes that have to be a little crazy and sometimes they must challenge the mind. I have written on this subject before:
By Peter B. Giblett Let’s be very clear, this has very little to do with stick insects, because they don’t care about what you write, unless of course you count us humans as crazy stick…
1 person likes this
@owlwings (43910)
• Cambridge, England
18 Mar 16
@pgiblett I forgot about Rugby (and Golf and perhaps Cricket as well, I can't remember).
I did disagree slightly with you on avoiding the most used words - especially 'You' - but it depends a lot on the real keywords you are using and the information in the article. (I would have thought that "Wouldn't You Love Free Health Insurance?" would work quite well!).
1 person likes this
@pgiblett (6524)
• Canada
18 Mar 16
@Marty1 Firstly my profile picture is me, I used a cartoon software on my phote to make an original picture, I am glad you have equated me to Twain or Poe maybe I will achieve similar literary success.
A course is always a good idea. I should let you know that I taught myself how to use English properly and now I regularly assist people in improving their English. The first step in improving your English is purchasing the largest dictionary you can afford and every day open it at a random page and blindly pick on the definition of one word on that page whether you already know the word or not - read the definition in it's entirety and ensure you understand each part of the definition (even if you have to look up definitions for other words). Then once you understand the word make up a sentence with the word in it.
1 person likes this
@owlwings (43910)
• Cambridge, England
19 Mar 16
@Marty1 A text editor is like a word processor but generally simpler, without all the formatting options which a word processor has. Spell checkers and grammar checkers are tools which may or may not be built in to a text editor or word processor.
Windows Notepad is a text editor, Windows Wordpad is a simple word processor (which can do simple formatting but doesn't have a built in spell checker or grammar checker) and Microsoft Word is a full-blown word processor (which includes a spell checker and a grammar checker).
@Drosophila (16571)
• Ireland
18 Mar 16
I think there's a lack of post that makes me think at all.. so don't stop
1 person likes this
@Bluedoll (16773)
• Canada
18 Mar 16
@Drosophila only bothers me when I need to make a decision otherwise think is my friend
2 people like this
@Drosophila (16571)
• Ireland
18 Mar 16
@owlwings I guess "over thinking it" has been my particular huddle
1 person likes this
@nanette64 (20364)
• Fairfield, Texas
18 Mar 16
I love the title @owlwings . It could be taken in quite a few ways. lol. I do believe the title can be the 'draw' to the post and I try to make mine interesting. You keep on doing titles the way you want to.
2 people like this
