ADVICE
What the Kick is a Kicker?
A most unfortunate name
Why on earth would a title of a post have an element called a kicker? And what the heck is it, anyway?
It’s a term that comes out of the world of journalism. If you had an education or training from that world, you’re familiar. If you’re new to the world of writing formally, it might be unfamiliar.
Here are a few blurbs:
Oh, and there’s scholarly controversy about kicker terminology and use as well.
It’s unclear to me where the term originally got its name. Some believe it’s descriptive of the surprise punch you would feel if you got kicked by a horse or mule.
The point of my writing about kickers today though, is just to give you a very easy how to on where it goes and how to get it there.
See that word at the top, above my title? ADVICE. That’s the kicker. It’s not very surprising, I know. I am the one with the boring kickers. You can make your kickers into whatever you like, to get that element of surprise.
In fact, the kicker is an opportunity to make a short couple of words joke related to your piece, to give your reader the idea that something funny follows just below.
SO — you wrote your post. You titled it. You subtitled it. You have a cool photo.
Let’s add the kicker.
Place your cursor in front of your title, just before the first letter. Press return, or enter. You’ll get a new line above the title. Start to type the words there that will become your kicker. Highlight it to choose the small T and all the formatting will automatically self correct. It’s that simple!
Here’s a super short video of me creating a boring kicker for this article.
I hope that’s helpful! Now go kick up your articles. On MuddyUm, we like to kick them all.
And remember to close the barn door when you leave. Don’t let the animals out where they might kick unsuspecting and unfamiliar writers when they aren’t looking.
Susan B. did NOT grow up in a barn. She always shuts the door tightly behind her. A useful trait if you’re getting ready to leave the planet on a spaceship.
