What Are “Loglines”?
A log you say? No…Logline!
Now what the blazes is a logline? Simple…a logline is your story’s heart and soul summarized in one or two sentences. The subplots and other obstacles are not included but what the basis of your story is all about.
Loglines are usually found for screenplays but even for novelists this is a tremendous help to sharpen your answer when asked, “So, what’s your story about?”
Pinning your story down to only a line or two is not easy but with practice you will be able to give your reader a true account on what your book offers for them.
Here is a basic and simple outline to follow what a logline should contain:
Who your protagonist is, which will also answer the question who the story is about
His goal, what he/she is striving to achieve
Who/what stands in his/her way
A logline won’t explain the whole storyline nor any of its subplots but will give a good impression of its genre and what the main character’s strive is all about.
When setting up a logline instead of giving a name give the descriptive detail of your character, for example:
John Smith’s adamant belief a witch living in his neighbourhood is the cause of his recent bad luck, begins to hound the old lady into submission until she suffers a fatal heart attack and now haunts his dreams to the point he takes a family as hostage to prove his sanity and her existence.
Now read this:
An eccentric loner’s adamant belief a witch living in his neighbourhood is the cause of his recent bad luck, begins to hound the old lady into submission until she suffers a fatal heart attack and now haunts his dreams to the point he takes a family as hostage to prove his sanity and her existence.
By the wording ‘eccentric loner’ it gives the reader the impression of no one coming to his aid since he isolates himself from everyone. If it would have been ‘a ‘on suspension’ officer’ then the complications involving a possible police investigation comes to mind. Or even ‘ a lonely man’s’ gives now an impression of a man with nothing better to do than come up with his own devices to give himself something to do.
Examples of fictional loglines to study:
A pair of vigilantes who believe they are cleaning up the streets in their neighbourhood only succeed in riling up the wrong gang.
Three musicians are on the ride of their life when they sign on with an agent who ends up embezzling all their money, leaving them back on the poor side of the track to make the comeback of their life.
A wealthy woman puts her life on the line when she sets herself up as bait to catch her husband’s killer.
The logline for my own soon-to-be-released paranormal/thriller “Doorman’s Creek” is”
A young teen and his friends discover a cave…and an entity that puts them in the path of a serial killer they must track down before he murders another family member.
A logline is your ad, your hook to cause a reader to pick up your book and purchase it. Offer enough of the essence of your plot to intrigue them, build their curiosity level to such an extent they ‘need’ to find out what happens.
LAUTHOR'S BIO: ea Schizas is founder and co-founder of The MuseItUp Club (http://museitupclub.tripod.com ) and Apollo¹s Lyre (http://www.apollos-lyre.com ), both named among Writer¹s Digest Best 101 Web Sites for Writers since 2004 and which have received several Preditors and Editors awards. Ms. Schizas is the author of the young adult fantasy novel "The Rock of Realm," and the upcoming paranormal/thriller "Doorman¹s Creek." She is also the editor and co-author of "The Muse On Writing," a writer¹s reference book, and the fantasy novel "Aleatory¹s Junction."
For more information on Lea Schizas, please check out her site:
http://leaschizaseditor.tripod.com/
