Why Your Logline Is Your Most Important Sentence Ever
It’s what you say to close the deal.
Going to a writers’ conference? Pitching a publisher? Trying to tell someone what your book is about? Your logline is the most subtle piece of weaponized language you’ll ever create. The logline makes it easy for a publisher to take an interest in your story, easy for them to sell it onward in the chain.
So, quick! What’s your story about? You have 10 seconds.
THE LOGLINE is a description of your story’s basic idea in 25-35 words. Similar to the story’s premise. Your logline is a concise version of what you need to say when people ask, “So, what’s your book about?”
A good logline includes or suggests:
IRONY. The unexpected.
CONFLICT/PROBLEM. What makes your Viewpoint Character (VC) react?
A COMPELLING MENTAL PICTURE which promises more to come.
A CHARACTER in a challenging situation.
THE POINT or THEME.
AN ANTAGONIST. Who/what tries to foil your VC?
GOAL. What your VC hopes to achieve or defeat.
A logline is not a summary of your script, or the teaser line on the movie poster.
DEVELOPMENT FROM BASIC LOGLINE
A rich guy wants to take over the world but a woman stops him.
No hook. No character arc. No sign of what her struggle is. WHY is she uniquely able to stop him? HOW is he empowered to take over the world? WHAT are the STAKES?
LOGLINE RECIPE
- WRITE SOME PUNCH PHRASES TO DESCRIBE SITUATION, PLOT, AND CHARACTERS
- REARRANGE UNTIL SATISFIED
- LOGLINE EXAMPLES
Worldwide cyber war, Global superpower, freedom of the mind, Controlled society, Ultimate theft, ultimate prize, erotic online world, brain trust of ultra-rich, hard-luck woman, hidden puppet-master, shadow government
A rich guy wants to take over the world but a woman stops him.
– becomes, for example –
A billionaire seeking to become a global superpower launches an erotic online world to control millions and capture the ultimate prize: freedom of the mind. His only obstacles are a hidden puppet master and the hard-luck woman who enslaves his heart.
When a sorority queen is dumped by her snooty boyfriend for being “too blonde,” she follows him to law school to win him back. She learns she has more legal smarts than she ever imagined. – Legally Blonde
An exiled leader conjures a storm to lure the king to his desert island so his daughter can marry back into the aristocracy. – The Tempest
A starship commander goes to investigate the silence of a planetary colony only to find two survivors and a deadly secret. – Forbidden Planet
A cop comes to L.A. to visit his estranged wife when her office building is taken over by terrorists. – Die Hard
A businessman falls in love with a hooker he hires as his weekend date. – Pretty Woman
A villainous banker tries to extract an exorbitant fee but is foiled by a woman’s legal ingenuity. – Merchant of Venice
Two lovesick couples elope to the forest, only to get caught in a war between mischievous fairies who are intent on switching who loves whom. – Midsummer Night’s Dream
