No kidding. 

I recently used the logline I’d created in Cindy’s workshop to draft a query and realized it took me half the time to write the letter than it normally would.  Was that query perfect?  Absolutely not, but I was able to spend more time editing and less time trying to figure out what to say.  All because I had the logline.

Same thing happened with the synopsis.  At that point, I knew I had to ask Cindy to be a guest blogger with us.

So here she is.  Welcome, Cindy!

 I’m going to be talking loglines.  What they’re not.  What they are. Why you need one.

The thing I want to clear up first is what they’re not.  I hear the term tag line used interchangeably with logline all the time.  Loglines are not tag lines.  They are two different marketing tools.  A logline tells you what the story is about.  A tag line goes on the movie poster.  If you heard the line – don’t go in the water – would you know what that movie is about?  Would you have any idea who the protagonist is?  What they want?  What is getting in their way?  What’s at stake?

So what is a logline then?  If someone asked you what your story is about would you know the answer?  Really know the answer?  The logline isn’t plot, twists, sub plot, dialogue.  It’s your concept.  At the most basic level, it’s the spine of your story.  It’s what holds everything together.  Okay, now what is your story about?

The general consensus is that the logline should be twenty-five words or less.  If you go over by a few words that’s fine.  But the twenty-five word limit forces you to be as precise as possible.  Trim the excess words and get right to the point.  There are various schools of thought on what the logline should include.  All of them agree on three things.  The logline should tell us WHO the story is about, WHAT he wants (Goal), and WHY he can’t have it (Conflict).  A good logline will have the GMC .  I like to start my loglines with the inciting incident or character motivation.  Why does the protagonist need to go through this story?  What prompted him to take action?

There are no names in loglines.  Unless it’s about someone famous and that’s the hook.  It should be generic.  An adjective to describe the noun.  Of course there are always editors or agents who don’t mind a logline with names.  But in general I would leave them out.

To stop a murder, a sexy librarian must deliver a rare first edition from the library to the man holding her sister hostage, but the library burns down.

That tells me more then:  To stop a murder, Lexa Tome must deliver a rare first edition from the library to the man holding her sister hostage, but the library burns down.

I actually recommend coming up with the logline first, before writing the story.  Think about how hard it is to write a ten page synopsis after you finish writing the book.  You want to put in all the best parts.  So, it’s even harder to trim down everything to twenty-five words that conveys your story.  Having the logline first helps you stay on track.  Think of it as your thesis statement before writing an essay.  I refer back to my loglines to make sure I haven’t veered off too far in another direction.

So, why do you need a logline?  Besides keeping you focused there’s the marketing angle.  Sometimes all you have time for is that logline if an agent or editor asks.  I put the logline for my book at the beginning of my query.  Because it’s only twenty-five words it fits well on the back of a business card too.  Great for networking opportunities and those agent/editor appointments. 

Give it a try.  Boil that story down to twenty-five words or less.

Thank you, Cindy. 

Does anyone want to be brave and share their logline?  Cindy will be with us if you want to run one by her.

Here’s mine from the online workshop:  When a child molester is murdered, his cousin, a former victim, goes undercover to clear herself of murder and discovers a black market baby ring.

And it’s twenty-five words!

Bio:  Cindy Carroll joined RWA in 1992 and started out writing novels but turned to scripts when an idea for one of her favorite television shows wouldn’t leave her alone. That first attempt, and her second teleplay for the same show, garnered her honorable mention in the Writer’s Digest 76th Annual Writing Competition in the screenplay category.  She graduated from Hal Croasmun’s screenwriting ProSeries intensive in June of 2008.  Her interview with David Rambo, writer/producer for CSI appeared in the summer special edition of The Rewrit, the newsletter for Scriptscene, Romance Writers of America’s screenwriting chapter.  Currently working on the rewrite of her second feature, Cindy is also developing two new television pilots.