Log Lines are Hard to Write, It's True!

 What's a log line, you ask?

It's the DNA of a story, what the movie or show is all about and why it needs to be watched. It sounds so goooooood. It raises interest, maybe a question of "how does that work?" and makes the reader try to guess how that plot will go down.

Ninja's in Space, you say? I'm imagining that right now.

Opera singer in love with a Rodeo Cowboy? I have an idea what that looks like and there's plenty of room for conflict in their different lifestyles. I'm imagining she's refined and lovely and he's gruff and inappropriate and oh, my gosh, that's gonna be fun to watch!

So in writing your story's log line, let's do this: Extract the most interesting, scintillating thing about your protagonist that will pique our interest. Like court marshalled Green Beret or agoraphobic greeting card writer or lonely matchmaker or ego-centric ad executive. 

Or a prickly engineer in an underground silo appointed as sheriff:

See what I mean? If your description can suggest conflict of interest, that's a little gold nugget like rock singer with stage fright or space captain with fear of heights or anything to go against what defines them as a person. Crack smoking social worker, father hated by his children...

So now you have your MC description, try to pick out the inciting incident in your story. It happens in Act I and changes the MC's life and makes them have to go on a journey of self discovery or even a physical journey to right a wrong. Something happens to give the MC pause to ponder if they should try to fix this problem. 

So when this thing happens to the MC and they have to take action what is that action? Do they have to travel somewhere difficult to get to? Infiltrate a group that's impossible to find? Smooth things over in an impossible situation? 

If they don't take action, things are going to be so much worse than they are right now, after the inciting incident. Nothing will ever be the same as before the incident so tell us if the MC doesn't answer the call to action, what terrible thing is going to happen. Will Earth blow up? Will she always be estranged from her family and lead a lonely life? Will he never know the father who saved his life? What?

Now say: When ___________(inciting incident happens), ________(your fascinating protagonist) must ______________ (do something against their nature to fix the problem) or ________________ (something terrible will happen)

The log line is the gist of the story. Just tell us ACT I unless you want to add some of the conflict encountered in ACT III. Sometimes we can guess the conflict ourselves like in this log line:

eg) When she's laid off from her job and left destitute, a crack smoking social worker must get clean with the help of a curmudgeonly client to prove herself hirable or risk sliding further into addiction and homelessness.

One last thing: You can play around with the structure as long as these components are all in there in one sentence. Yes, they sometimes say 2 sentences or less but if you can pack it into 1 sentence, you win best writer of the year.

Keep your wording tight, compelling, and tell us exactly why we need to see this movie.

Best of luck to you!