The Book on FICTION WRITING | Advice for New Writers

Writing Loglines

Ahh, loglines. They're teensy-weensy, but most people hate writing 'em.

Well, if you can't write a logline, you probably won't get very far with your story. Either because you can't sell it to a publisher or agent, or because you can't get into competitions like the Wattys.

So, let's talk about loglines - a little passion of mine.

What is a logline?

One or two sentences which summarise, and sell, the story.

They can also be called hooks or elevator pitches (although technically an elevator pitch is its own thing, but you could use a logline for this purpose). Basically, they take all the most important selling points of the book - namely the protagonist and how they interact with the central conflict of the narrative - and boil it down into a very tiny little reduction sauce that you can then use to try and sell people on the idea of the plot.

What goes into a great logline?

A great logline generally contains a jumble of these key elements:

1) The main character
2) What the main character wants
3) The story's inciting incident
4) What's in the way of the main character getting this want
5) The central conflict of the premise
6) The stakes
7) Some sense of dramatic irony

You wouldn't necessarily have all seven. Generally you would have three or four - the character, their goal or inciting incident, and their key obstacle/stakes/wider conflict. Dramatic irony juxtaposes the goal with the obstacle. See below for more on irony.

Should my MC's name be in the logline?

There's mixed advice here. You could argue that a character name humanises the protagonist and gives the reader something to remember, like seeing a face. But, you could also argue that a character's trope/description is more compelling/informative than their name.

It's fairly widely accepted that it doesn't matter, so long as the logline is compelling. If you're new to loglines, you might focus on using your MC's trope or gimmick rather than name as that provides the reader with information and potentially sets up the irony of the conflict.

Example of each [note how the first is snappier, but the second isn't really that much longer]:

1) A struggling writer loses the use of his hands in a freak typewriter accident. He must learn to write again using only his feet.
2) Brian, a struggling writer, loses the use of his hands in a freak typewriter accident. He must learn to write again using only his feet.

How long is a logline?

Up to two sentences.

You will see some experts recommend using only one. This is tricky if the plot has a lot of layers.

Some experts suggest capping a logline at only 30 words.