The Logline

By Don Vasicek

The logline must show what your movie is about. You have about a minimum of five or six words and a maximum of three, five to six word sentences to show it in the logline. The shorter, the better.

If you are serious about writing, selling and getting your screenplays produced, then, you must think in terms of writing lean and mean. Lean and mean is the same thing, as the shorter, the better. This attitude will help you write to industry standards and help you hone your craft as a screeenwriter.

A key here, is to use active verbs. Use them in your screenplay, use them in your synopses, use them in your treatments and use them in your loglines. The use of active verbs will help you streamline your writing. It will force you to write better descriptions/narratives and better dialogue.

With the logline, think in terms of writing it with a beginninng, a middle and an ending. Think of it the same way as movie trailers you see on television or in the theater. Think of writing the logline the same way that you read them in television and movie guides.

Start your logline out with the main character. You should follow that with the description of the plot and end it with a hook that seduces people in wanting to read your screenplay.

An example that has been very successful for me with a screenplay I wrote, CATCHING THE FALL, is as follows: A common Joe races the clock to restore his son back to normal after the boy goes brain dead. Here, you can see who the main character is: A common Joe. The plot is: races (the key active verb) the clock to restore his son back to normal. And the ending hook is: after the boy goes brain dead.

So, fix yourself up some potatoes and gravy and get to work on your logline. Next time Ill discuss writing page one of your screenplay.

Thank you for stopping by. See you next time. Until then, if you have questions, comments and/or suggestions, please e-mail me at *_dvasicek@earthlink.net_* or go to my site, www.selfhelpguides.com/display.php3?guest=1822020719 to see a free preview of my book, "How To Write, Sell, And Get Your Screenplays Produced."