Log Line Examples Dull logline A woman plots

Log Line Examples • Dull logline: A woman plots to murder her sister. • Intriguing logline: A woman obsessed by jealousy plots to murder her sister, who married the man she loves.

Log Line Examples • Dull logline: Two lovers plan to flee from their feuding families who forbid them to marry. • Intriguing logline: Two young lovers living in a ghetto defy their feuding families' ban on marrying and plan an escape that propels them toward tragedy. • Young lovers defying their feuding families is not unique. But, putting the lovers in a ghetto setting and adding the element of tragedy to their escape plan gives the story an interesting twist. It's Romeo and Juliet in a ghetto, a setting that helps add conflict to the story.

Log Line Examples • Dull logline: A woman confronts her past when her illegitimate daughter shows up after twenty years. • Intriguing logline: A minister's wife confronts her longburied past when her illegitimate daughter shows up after twenty years. • An illegitimate daughter showing up after twenty years is not an unusual plot. But, the fact that the main character is a minister's wife implies conflict, morality vs. immorality, and deception. Defining the woman's past as "long-buried" peaks interest.

Log Line Examples • These logline examples all have a hook, something that can stimulate serious interest. They make a statement about the central problem that will be resolved by the character(s), and they define a concept that gives the story its power to entertain.

Log Line Practice Exercise • Keep in mind that a well-constructed logline answers three key questions: • 1. Who is the main character and what does he/she want? • 2. Who (villain) or what is standing in the way of the main character? • 3. What makes this story unique?

Log Line Practice Exercise • Here is an example of the way in which a logline can be derived from those three questions: • Logline: Two brothers fight on opposite sides in the Civil War and come face to face on a battlefield. Ask yourself whether this logline answers the following questions: • 1. Who is the main character and what does he/she want? In this logline, one or both brothers could be main characters. Both brothers are fighting a war they believe in for different reasons, and each wants to win. • 2. Who (villain) or what is standing in the way of the main character(s)? The Civil War itself is the obstacle the brothers must overcome because they have chosen opposite sides. • 3. What makes this story unique? The twist comes when the two brothers face each other on a battlefield. An enormous conflict is implied. Would one brother kill the other for a cause he believes in?