Screenwriting : Loglines are tricky but fun to write by Siddhant Choudhary

Loglines can be tricky, Siddhant Choudhary. "Yet, whenever I tried to add them, it risked giving away too much." A logline is a pitching tool, so you want to give things away (I've missed opportunities with industry pros because my loglines were vague/I didn't want to give away things in the loglines). That being said, a logline shouldn't be too long, so you can't give away everything in the logline.

I came up with a logline template that might help you and other writers:

“After/when ______ (the inciting incident/the event that sets the plot in motion), a _______ (the main flaw that the main character has to overcome in the script or an adjective that describes the main character’s personality) _______ (the main character’s position/job/career) tries to/attempts to/fights to/struggles to/strives to/sets out to/fights/battles/engages in/competes/etc. _______ (goal of story and try to add the obstacles here) to/so/in order to ________ (stakes).”

The inciting incident can also be at the end of the logline: “A _______ (the main flaw that the main character has to overcome in the script or an adjective that describes the main character’s personality) _______ (the main character’s position/job/career) tries to/attempts to/fights to/struggles to/strives to/sets out to/fights/battles/engages in/competes/etc. _______ (goal of story and try to add the obstacles here) to/so/in order to ________ (stakes) after/when ______ (the inciting incident/the event that sets the plot in motion).”

Loglines are one or two sentences. A one-sentence logline sounds better, and it takes less time for a producer, director, etc. to read it. You can add the antagonist in the logline.

Avoid using “must” in loglines. “Must” sounds like the main character is forced to do the goal of the story instead of doing it willingly, and “must” doesn’t sound active. Audrey Knox (a TV literary manager) also said this during a logline review webinar on Stage 32 (www.stage32.com/webinars/The-Write-Now-Challenge-The-Logline-Review-with...). Sometimes "must" is needed in a logline though, like when the main character is forced by another character to do the story goal.

Names in loglines are usually for biopics, well-known stories, and franchises (like “Mission: Impossible”).

Not all stories will follow this logline template. Biopics, documentaries, and Experimental scripts might not follow this template. The pilot logline and episode loglines for a TV show might not follow this template, but the overall series logline could.

Also, Christopher Lockhart has a great webinar on loglines. It’s called “How To Make Your Logline Attractive to A-List Actors, Producers, Directors, Managers, Agents, Financiers and Development Execs” (www.stage32.com/webinars/How-To-Make-Your-Logline-Attractive-to-A-List-A...).

Hey Siddhant Choudhary. One of the most popular screenwriting webinars we've programmed in the last 13 years is on loglines. It's taught by my good friend, Chris Lockhart, who is a story editor at WME. Chris has been there 30 years and has read over 60,000 scripts, which he keeps all of the coverage for in a massive database. Just a fascinating guy and a wealth of knowledge. He's been called The Logline Whisperer.

Here's the webinar if you're interested:

https://www.stage32.com/education?p=8944932978995

Loglines are not a mini synopsis—so it's totally OK to leave plot points out. Synopsis are the spot to dig into more of the plot. In a logline, diction and syntax are everything. The difference between "who cunningly shuffles away from disaster" and "who cleverly averts the pitfalls of certain death" set the tone and says a lot about your main character.

I'll add, that it's also not a bad idea to ask a PR/Marketing person to review the logline before locking it in.

Or, be willing to adapt it a bit in post-production. The logline I want to use in a pr/marketing campaign vs what was sent in the pitch deck are rarely the same exact logline in the end.

II agree. They are there own little art form and devilsh to get right. And even then, you're never sure. But I think boiling it down to the essential conflict, with descriptive language is often what works for me. Rather "When a cop disocvers xyz..." for example, it's "When an insomniac cop discovers. xyz..." if that makes sense. But that's just what works for me in finding the first draft of it.

I also use Ai to help me get a thought into a logline and then I take it from there Siddhant Choudhary

I watched the Chris Lockhart webinar - It was really good - everything you have ever been told about Loglines all in one place is very helpful - there was one piece of advice - that blew my mind - I'm trying it out on a Rom-Com I'm working on now - write the logline before you write the script... - feels like madness but weirdly it's been very refreshing and helped me focus on the Protagonist in a way I sometimes struggle too (too many ideas and getting too excited with set pieces etc etc). Also means when you get to the end - your logline works - well thats the plan - I'm a long way from the end... pass the biscuits...

You have to see it as part of the bigger picture. There's this gap people have to jump between knowing you have a script available to actually reading it. The logline is part of that journey from one ledge to the other - title > logline > pitch > synopsis > first ten pages > full read.

Curating that journey, much like writing a story, can be an indulgence rather than a chore.

Glad you found the Lockhart webinar helpful, Steve Garratt. I've had the pleasure of speaking with Chris all over the world from South Africa to Trinidad to NY to all points in between and nobody knows it better, IMO.

Well said, CJ Walley