Screenwriting : Interesting article about loglines by Martina Cook

P. S.: must say I don’t fully agree with point #3...

Hi, Martina. Thanks for sharing the article. :) Me, I agree with #3 in that it shows the not-so-great choice of ending a logline with a question. Oh man... is that annoying. And just plain bad writing.

The one mistake listed that I see quite often here on Stage 32 is #4 — the logline contains a dozen half-baked ideas instead of one, clear, well-thought-out concept. Me included. Lol! ;)

Good article - already applied the lessons to my latest effort. Yep, it reads better. So, even though it's a holiday, I was productive!

Thanks for sharing! Something I procrastinate on far too much.

Hi Beth Fox Heisinger! Yes, the question at the end is murder! What I don’t agree on is giving away the ending explicitly as I feel it spoils the script...for the rest totally agree! :)

Glad it helped David Downes! :)

You’re welcome David Verner! Ah, totally understand considering I’m Queen of procrastination! :)

I enjoyed that article, thank you for sharing. I'm getting better at boiling my loglines down but I'm far, far from perfect. This has given me some good reminders.

Happy it did Adam Harper! I think everyone struggles at some point with loglines, so you are in good company! :)

How to write a logline that kills:

# Describe your protagonist with strong adjectives

# Give your protagonist a clear goal

# Use irony

# Increase the stakes (make them primal)

# Don’t be afraid to break convention

# Focus on one theme

# Use a great hook

# Make you protagonist active (he/she 'must')

# make your logline/story marketable

What not to do:

# Do not use 'names' or 'timelines' if not absolutely relevant

# Do not use - ? -

# Don't bury the lead (through the construction of your logline)

# Don't use too many words, as I often do

# Contructing your logline in a way it is not clear who is the protagonist or antagonist

Logline formulas that help you construct a logline:

(1)

In a (SETTING) a (PROTAGONIST) has a (PROBLEM) (caused by an ANTAGONIST) and (faces CONFLICT) as they try to (achieve a GOAL)

http://graemeshimmin.com/writing-a-logline-for-a-novel

... but we are missing the STAKES here, so..

(2)

When [INCITING INCIDENT OCCURS], a [SPECIFIC PROTAGONIST] must [OBJECTIVE], or else [STAKES]

For practise, here's a logline generator:

http://thestorydepartment.com/storydr/drafts/logline-generator

(again missing the stakes)

For more logline madness:

www.logline.it

You can “give away” or hint at the ending to create intrigue. Usually, that “give away” is the stakes, what the story is about. ;)

As referred to in the article... in a much-abbreviated narrative summary (the logline) you leave much to be discovered and experienced when reading a script or watching a film. ;)

Put me in the hates writing them camp. Trying to challenge myself.

Oh, just to add... a trick (or rather method I picked up from somewhere) that I've been using when writing a logline or when considering loglines (like those posted in Your Stage for feedback) is to work backward to suss out the essence of the story. The who, what, when, why, and how somehow becomes more clear. Dunno why... it just works. Lol! Hope that helps!

Reverse engineering... good stuff.