Loglines as Revision Tools

Here’s a handy tip that you may find useful when thinking about starting revisions.  See if you can create a logline that encapsulates your story.  If you can, it should hang together and you have the skeleton on which to assemble your draft. If you can’t, that may indicate that something is missing in the plot or character development that you need to tackle first in the revision process.

These 4 things MUST be in a logline:

  1. Incident
  2. Character(s)
  3. Objective
  4. Stakes

Try using this logline formula and in 25 words or less to convey the essence; WHY are we reading further?  Make us want to read it.

FORMULA:

When a __[MC]__ does __[objective]___.  __[stakes] ensues and ___[struggle/resolution]___.

EXAMPLE:

When a giant shark terrorizes the beach, a marine biologist, a fisherman, and the local sheriff must join forces to defeat the beast.

What’s Yours?

Published by Robin Henry

Independent Scholar and Book Coach specializing in Historical Fiction and Literary Fan Fiction.

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