By now you know the importance of a good logline - but do you know how to write one?

Your logline is the first (and sometimes only) thing an executive is going to read of your work, so it needs to grab his or her attention, tell them something, make them curious to read more, and make it clear that there is a real story there.

Often, writers confuse the logline with a tagline. These are not the same thing! A tagline is what goes on the poster, is said in the commercial, etc. The logline is what’s going to get it read in the first place. A tagline is 6-7 words that are quick and clever and makes one curious about the story, but don’t really say much about it. It’s often related to the hook of your story or the marketing angle, but not the plot.

The logline, on the other hand, needs to be 25 words or less (preferably less) and contain no more than 2 commas. It doesn’t need to tell us your main character’s name, but it can. What it needs to do, is tell us the genre and the conflict, and sell us on what makes your script different without using any of those words. It needs to contain action words, not just passive, descriptive words. It should tell us a tiny bit of the set up or starting point and then what the main commercial story point is that happens. Not easy to do in 25 words is it?

For instance, which sounds better? “A newlywed couple thinks they have found the key to a happy marriage but their friends aren’t convinced.” Or: “When a newlywed couple thinks they find the key to a happy marriage, their friends attempt to prove them wrong by igniting an all out gender battle.” Which sounds sexier? Which tells you that there’s going to be some FUN and some CONFLICT in the script? You gotta jazz it up! Now in comparison, the tagline for this same movie might be something like, “Being happily married never hurt so much” or “With friends like these, who needs marriage?” See the difference?

There are other types of loglines that have been used to sell projects. One of the most famous was the one for “Alien,” which was – “It’s Jaws in Space.” In those 4 words, the writer has set up the project’s location, genre and tone, and you can feel the tension that’s going to be included. You know you’re going to have a hero who tries to defeat the creature. Now, unless you have something super-high-commercial like that, I wouldn’t suggest a first time writer try to sell their script in 4 words. Execs are going to need more from you, but if you can write something like that, chances are, you will get read.  However, those types of loglines usually only work with horror or action movies or if you are switching up the gender or race of another movie that was already made, like “Guess Who” which was just “Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner” but with the races reversed. And the logline is “A race reversal of Who’s Coming to Dinner.” Done. We get it.

Now, go take a look at your logline and make sure it POPS with fun, conflict, commerciality and charm. Make sure it’s the best it can be, because a good logline goes a long way!