Killer Log Lines

I wish I could give you the recipe for a killer log lines — those one liners that make agents want to snap up your book or your script. But they take real work. They're practically harder to write than the manuscript.

Last night at my writer's group, we were grappling over one writer's log line. One thing was obvious, I'm going to have to get someone to write my log lines for me. I'm too close to my story. It takes real objectivity to write a log line.

Good log line

A good log line looks like this. For the movie Pretty Woman, the log line was something like, "A businessman falls in love with a hooker he hires to be his date for the the weekend."

Bad log line

The bad, writerly version for Pretty Woman would have looked something like this: "A wealthy businessman picks up a hooker, who has aspirations of bigger things, and asks her to be his girlfriend for a few days days. During those few days she starts finding out that there's more to him than a cut throat tycoon. He discover the "pretty woman" side of her too. But the businessman's creepy friend nearly blows this perfect relationship out of the water before it starts. Laughs ensue in this tale of self discovery as businessman and hooker fall in love in true Cinderella style."

Hire a Professional

I'm considering hiring a professional — I'm only halfway joking here. Wouldn't it be great to hire someone from an ad agency, someone who's great with short copy? Preferably the guy from Nike who came up with Just Do It!

Have a great weekend everyone!

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Loglines - Getting a Producer's Attention

The NWSG's pitch session in Seattle this Saturday left many writers bewildered and reworking their loglines. They can see the flaws and want to improve them for the next pitch.  

So what is a logline?

Basically, a logline is a one-sentence summary of your script.  Think of a movie poster. It succinctly describes your story in an enticing manner -- so enticing you want to buy a ticket and see it.  

If you're pitching to producers, the logline should be so enticing that they not only picture people buying tickets, but see themselves devoting time and serious money to the story.

Creating a Logline

It seems like it should be easy to write one or two lines, but it's hard work to condense your story down to its most basic and exciting elements. The logline must convey:

• the genre

• what the story's about (the major conflict or what's at stake), and 

• possibly the main character.

You can find good tips on creating loglines at  Scriptologist.com.

Practice Your Logline

The next step is to practice your logline. Try it out on your mom, friends, waitress and bus driver. Watch their reactions. If they're bored, hone it. But once you've got people excited and they're ready to lay down their $7.00 for a ticket; you're ready to pitch the logline to a producer.

Good luck!!

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