About Titles

They Were Hard Once

When I first started writing at Medium, I had a difficult time coming up with a good title. I’d get the piece all written and not be able to stitch a title or a subtitle to the top.

I know there are websites that will help you with your ludicrous-sounding title to come up with something eye-catching, but for some reason, I’ve never used them. It’s not that I don’t want to; it’s just that I haven’t done it yet.

I don’t because something happened somewhere along the way while I was writing. The titles started coming to me. Sometimes they are there before I even write the piece. For me, as a writer, I realized this was an important development.

Just think: you’ve got your outfit on, standing in front of the mirror, and all you need are shoes. Looking into your closet at all the many pairs of shoes you own, you cannot for the life of you decide on the shoes. In the end, you take off your outfit and start all over again. Eventually, your bedroom looks a shambles.

I can’t tell you how this happened, but I can guess. I practiced. I kept doggedly writing articles and short pieces, which all required a title and a subtitle, until I was blue in the face. And, one day, it got easier.

The same thing happens when you are learning how to ride a bicycle. It is a tense time. You’ve got training wheels on the bike and somebody to run after you to steady it once you take the training wheels off. It is tense. It is frightening learning how to balance, and then one day, you have it. You can get on a bicycle and shoot off to enjoy your afternoon. However, I have never ever heard of one person who learned to ride a bicycle without falling off first.

There is another thing going on with my pieces. Not that many people are reading them right now. Could it be how I write? Could it be that I am a bad writer? No, I don’t think so. I think this might be one of those life lessons in perseverance. I think there is also a bit of the law of manifestation going on too.

I think that if I continue on my path of writing that the people who need to be reading what I write are going to be there. It’s just going to happen. I have an unshakable faith in this. And it will all be like magic. When the student is ready, the teacher will appear. It goes the other way, too: when the teacher is ready, the student will appear.

I’ve got more to do than just write amusing, self-deprecating pieces. I am out to change your worldview. I am here to urge you to let go of jealousy, of anger. I am here to help you get excited and love again. I am here to help mend your broken heart. And I’m here to show you not to be afraid as you grow old.

I remember hearing the advice people gave me about writing. I remember them saying it was important to write every day without fail.

Writers write. And so, now, do I.

Thanks for reading.