You’ve spent countless hours locked in front of your computer, writing a great story. You’ve battled writer’s block, developed interesting characters with whom readers can connect, created a plot full of twists and emotional moments, and given unique voices to your characters through dialogue.
You have a great script ready to send to producers. So now, how do you get people to read it? For that, you need a hook. This is where the logline comes in. In this article, we’ll show you how to write a good logline by answering five key questions about your story.
What is a logline?
A logline is an extremely miniature version of a script's story, aiming to capture its premise and central conflict in one or two sentences. In a world with such subjective tastes, it’s essential for someone to know what they’re getting into before committing to the huge task of going through its 100+ pages.
How to write a good logline?
Here at ScreenReaders, we're happy to share with you our ultimate trick to write loglines. And it's really easy too! To write a good logline, you just need to answer these five questions.
The five questions to write a good logline
Who is your protagonist?
Don’t answer with the character’s name, but with an adjective that describes your protagonist's main trait and, if relevant, their profession or role (cop or mother, for example).
What event changes the protagonist's status quo and forces them to embark on their adventure? In other words, what is the inciting incident that launches the protagonist into the second act?
What is their main goal in the story? Answer with what your protagonist wants to achieve in the story. Make it something specific and tangible.
What obstacles stand in their way? The antagonistic forces that prevent them from reaching their goal.
What happens if the protagonist fails? The stakes, or what’s at risk.
Once you’ve answered these questions, writing the logline will simply be a matter of connecting the answers. Let’s look at some examples:
FINDING NEMO
Who is your protagonist? An anxious and overprotective clownfish.
What event changes the protagonist's status quo and forces them to embark on their adventure? His son is kidnapped by humans.
What is his main goal in the story? To find his son and bring him back home.
What obstacles stand in his way? The vast and dangerous ocean.
What happens if the protagonist fails? Marlin would lose Nemo forever.
LOGLINE
When his son is kidnapped by humans, an anxious and overprotective clownfish must cross the vast and dangerous ocean to bring him back home before losing him forever.
COCO
Who is your protagonist? A music-loving boy.
What event changes the protagonist's status quo and forces them to embark on their adventure?: He is accidentally sent to the Land of the Dead.
What is his main goal in the story?: To find his great-great-grandfather, a legendary singer, so he can help him return home and persuade his family to let him become a musician.
What obstacles stand in his way? Miguel is from a family that has banned music.
What happens if the protagonist fails? He will stay trapped in the Land of the Dead forever.
LOGLINE
When he is accidentally sent to the Land of the Dead, a music-loving boy searches for his singer great-great-grandfather to help him return home and persuade his family to let him become a musician, all before he is trapped in the Land of the Dead forever.
WILD ROBOT
Who is your protagonist? A robot programmed to serve humans.
What event changes the protagonist's status quo and forces them to embark on their adventure? He adopts a baby goose after crashing on a deserted island.
What is his main goal in the story? To form relationships with the island’s wildlife.
What obstacles stand in his way? The rejection of the island's wildlife.
What happens if the protagonist fails? The baby goose will die.
LOGLINE
A robot programmed to serve humans crashes on a deserted island. After adopting a baby goose, the robot must overcome the rejection of the island's wildlife and learn to form relationships with them to keep the baby alive.
Conclusion
As you can see, developing a logline that encapsulates the heart of your script isn’t too difficult once you know how to do it. Now it’s your turn. Think of a movie you like, or your most recent script, and use our ultimate trick to practice writing the logline!
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How to tell if your script is going on the right track?
A great way for aspiring screenwriters to gauge if they're going on the right track is to participate in screenwriting competitions. This way, they can see whether their script places and, if they win, they might even get a prize!
We host our own screenwriting competition, SPARK, where we offer a cash prize for the winner. Want to know more? Click here.
Happy writing!