You don’t have to read all this. I just need to get this off my chest, because it’s driving me crazy. Either there’s a handful of people targeting me who don’t understand what loglines are, or I’m missing something right in front of my face, and I don’t understand what loglines are. Let me explain. Now, from what I’ve read and been told, a logline needs three key points. 1) A basic understanding of the protagonist, 2) the protagonist’s goal and 3) what’s standing in his or her way. Is this wrong somehow? Because one of my loglines has gotten criticism for not containing things that go much deeper than the aforementioned three points. Here’s a logline for one of my scripts, called Daytime Noise: “When a hard-partying rockstar is kicked out of his band due to a drug addiction, he starts giving guitar lessons to fund his habit.” Now, in my opinion, this fulfils the three points of what’s necessary for a logline. We get an idea of the who the protagonist is. We know what his goal is: to feed his addiction. And what’s standing in his way is also his drug addiction. Anyone with a basic understanding of addiction can tell you that it’s both your highest priority and your biggest obstacle in anything you try to do. But apparently neither the goal nor the obstacle is in that logline, according to the fine people at logline.it, where I posted my logline. They also posted criticism such as “This is a situation not a story” or “This is not a plot. A plot is when critical circumstances change, forcing the character to change in some way.” Where to I even begin on these criticisms? I mean, god damn. Again, maybe I’m missing something that’s staring my right in the face. But I figured that the logline says enough about how the character would be forced to change. I mean, it’s a rich rockstar becoming a guitar teacher. Why do I have to spell out the way a person would need to change from that alteration in lifestyle? Surely the change in circumstance could tell you how a person needs to adapt? Let’s look at the Die Hard logline: “A New York City cop travels to Los Angeles to reconcile with his wife but learns she’s been taken hostage by terrorist in a skyscraper — and he struggles alone to save her.” The logline implies how the protagonist must adapt and change to overcome the situation. He has to go from average cop to hero. But apparently, people can’t understand the change of rockstar to guitar teacher, and how a person would have to adapt to that change in lifestyle? And that Die Hard logline is a “situation”. A building is taken hostage by terrorists, and the cop has to save the day. Just like my story is a situation. The rockstar is fired, and has to give guitar lessons to get drug addiction. Situations are stories to any storyteller worth their salt. I dunno. I figured that the logline was the hook. A little taste of what the story is and what it could be so that people would want to read/watch it. I don't want to give away the progression of the story and the character development of my protagonist. But according to the criticism I've received, I have to explain the protagonist, his goal, the inciting incident, the obstacles in his or her way, and the character development that must occur in order for the protagonist to reach his or her goal. I’ll say it for the third time: I could be missing something huge and fundamental here. Is my idea of what a logline should be completely missing the point? I feel like the goal and obstacle in my logline are made clear to anyone who’s able to put two and two together in relation to drug addiction. But do I actually have to spell it out? Do I have to spell it out in a medium that relies so heavily on subtext?
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I've co-written with a fabulous partner who used to be my mentor. She's a great 'idea' person and really gets structure. So, when we decide on our next script, she 'talks' it as I scribble furiously (...
Expand commentI've co-written with a fabulous partner who used to be my mentor. She's a great 'idea' person and really gets structure. So, when we decide on our next script, she 'talks' it as I scribble furiously (we co-write long-distance). Then I start the script, write a bunch of scenes then she reads it and rewrites - we go through this process several times. We respect each other -- very critical. On our latest project (which I started individually then asked her to come on board) she'd call me and say, "You might hate what I did at the end of Act 1!" I'd read it and LOVE it. She in turn loved my description and action sequences and we're both strong on dialog. It's been a really great partnership. Our first project together (an MOW) we sold and it was produced and aired within 1-2 years from conception. Probably the biggest benefit in this relationship is we had known each other for a long time, so we already had a relationship, we knew each other well. Having that friendship made our commitments stronger, I know. But I must say, it is really nice to brainstorm with another writer who has an equal creative investment in a project. So try it, but pick your writing partner carefully.
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@Marla... sounds like a great partnership you share with your writing partner. What I've liked about my collaborations is when my partner complimented me through our characters' dialogue... an in-refe...
Expand comment@Marla... sounds like a great partnership you share with your writing partner. What I've liked about my collaborations is when my partner complimented me through our characters' dialogue... an in-reference only I got. On the flip side of the coin, when partners start using their co-writing to take personal cheap-shots (again, only in-references I get)... that's when it's time to abandon that partner.
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@Brian… Clever way to compliment your partner… I like that. One thing that was really interesting for my partner and me was that by the time a script is finished (well they're never really finished… b...
Expand comment@Brian… Clever way to compliment your partner… I like that. One thing that was really interesting for my partner and me was that by the time a script is finished (well they're never really finished… but…) neither of us could remember who wrote what! It's also been nice to have a partner when we go to pitch… she used to be an actress so she's really great in a room and I'm the one who remembers many of those important little details. We are lucky, we balance each other out.
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@Marla... sounds like the perfect Sword & Shield writing partnership that you two possess. Gotta love it when that happens. :-) Like in the movie "Rocky" when Paulie asks why Rocky likes his sister. R...
Expand comment@Marla... sounds like the perfect Sword & Shield writing partnership that you two possess. Gotta love it when that happens. :-) Like in the movie "Rocky" when Paulie asks why Rocky likes his sister. Rocky replies, "I dunno... we fill gaps... she's got gaps... I've got gaps... and together, we fill them."
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@Brian… Exactly! What I didn't mention is we certainly don't always agree on a direction/a scene/even dialogue. But that always leads to more discussion which I believe, leads to better writing. I've...
Expand comment@Brian… Exactly! What I didn't mention is we certainly don't always agree on a direction/a scene/even dialogue. But that always leads to more discussion which I believe, leads to better writing. I've recently had the pleasure to work with a talented filmmaker who hired me (through Stage 32) to revise/rewrite a short he's now in the process of producing. It's a story that is very personal for him and he's very passionate about the subject matter. We spent hours on the phone discussing belief systems, ideas before he welcomed me in. We worked well together, also -- a few areas where we saw things differently but we worked through it and it has been, but overall, a great experience. I hope to continue to be involved with the film as it progresses. Check out "Life and The Lady"...