Screenwriting : Is it hard for you to come up with good loglines for your scripts? by Steve Kaire

Steve Kaire yes I agree with you that there are plenty of underwhelming loglines out there. I'm so not interested in another story about a hitman.

I always have a logline in mind as I outline and write a screenplay, and I also keep updating the logline to improve its effectiveness, flip around the word order to focus on aspects of story, revise many times once the screenplay is complete.

Many loglines on which people ask for feedback sound to me fairly familiar and derivative, especially if the characters sound like stacks of cliches and the story sounds tortured and contrived, unoriginal, lacking intrigue.

But some writers might have plenty of passion and craft yet lack imagination, so everyone has a different point of attack and I respect people working through the stages they need to go through, who knows maybe the next script is the breakout !

So yes it is hard to come up with good loglines and concepts, and it's immensely challenging to write good scripts.

I have been writing feature specs for about six years altogether, and the first three scripts I completed were student work, definitely not suitable for pitching or developing, partly because the concepts lacked punch, irony, logic, many things.

And through crafting those deeply flawed yet still somewhat legit scripts, I figured out ways I wanted to develop my craft further and working more led to better ideas, concepts, scripts and loglines. I'm currently outlining my seventh feature.

I love to develop a logline that is above all accurate and true to the script, and evokes curiosity, each one to me can be unique and does not have to be formulaic or "must include" certain story elements in a specific order, although obviously it is essential to provide some kind of insight into the script's main character and story logic.

Part of the challenge is that you can write dozens of different loglines for the same script, there will always be plenty of missing information, but you want it to encourage a reader to want to know more about the story.

I have three loglines on my Profile page here for completed feature screenplays.

Ultimately as writers we each have to apply our authority and satisfy our own discernment there, if it is a solid foundation and well-crafted, it should withstand the barrage of critique and opinions from others.