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Want to know how to create a logline that sells? As you know, encapsulating your screenplay’s concept in a solid logline is essential before you start writing. Here are our top four screenwriting tips on how to create a great logline which succinctly sums up the core conflict and engages the reader.

1. Irony
What’s the most ironic situation your character could find themselves in, given their personality? In Private Benjamin, the most unlikely place you’d find a fussy, pampered woman like Judy is the army. In The King’s Speech, it’s ironic that the King, whose royal position involves public speaking, can’t talk without stammering.

Irony strengthens a logline immeasurably because it strengthens the core conflict by making it that much more surprising, intriguing and dramatic.

2. Pressure
By this we mean pressure on your character to act in a certain way and / or make a certain decision. If your character is just doing something in your logline because they want to, maybe try forcing them to do it instead. In Collateral, Max is forced to drive Vincent around town all night on his killing spree, rather than doing it because he wants the money. In Sideways, Miles is forced into a different kind of wine tour than he expected by Jack, rather than both of them agreeing to try and get laid.

Forcing your protagonist to act a certain way enhances the logline because it raises the stakes and the conflict. It’s always good to eliminate all possible escape routes for your protagonist, box them in a corner and then try and then try and get them out of it.

3. Ordinary Protagonist / Extraordinary World
Is your script set somewhere extraordinary, or involve extraordinary circumstances? If so, make sure it’s implicit in the logline where we are and what’s extraordinary about the world.

Then, make sure your protagonist is as ordinary as possible. Combine the two and, hey presto, you have a stronger logline!

Here’s some examples:

Wanted—loser office worker >> professional assassin
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind—shy office worker >> memory catcher

4. Extraordinary Protagonist / Ordinary World
So, you have an extraordinary protagonist, where’s the best place to set your story? That’s right, in the most ordinary place possible compared to their world.

Coming to America—African prince >> New York
Enchanted—cartoon princess >> New York

Send us your logline and we’ll do an evaluation of your script’s core conflict, potentially saving countless rewrites before you start writing the screenplay. All for the price of a coffee and a muffin!

Go to http://www.scriptreaderpro.com/script-coverage-services/
and select Logline Evaluation on the PayPal drop down menu.

As you know, it’s important to form a great logline before setting out on writing a screenplay. If you have a vague and / or uninspiring logline, your script will likely be vague and uninspiring too.

But how do you know when you have a great logline? And what’s the best way to create a compelling one?

The logline should encompass what your story’s about, the main conflict, preferably with irony, what’s at stake, the setting / world, protagonist and antagonist. Sounds a lot, right? But actually it’s not as hard as it sounds. A logline can be divided into two halves:

1. An interesting protagonist in an interesting setting / world, faced with a crisis.

2. The decision they make about this crisis.

For the first part, ask yourself, who is my hero? Whether it’s Travis Bickle or Erin Brockovich every story needs a protagonist who drives the story. What’s interesting about the world of my story? And what’s the major crisis (force of antagonism) that spins my protagonist’s life out of control? This point refers to the screenplay’s Call to Action around 12 minutes in, and gives a logline it’s surprising “oh no!” factor.

For the second part, you need to ask yourself, “What decision does my protagonist make regarding this crisis? This is your script’s Act One turning point and signals the goal they hope to achieve by the climax.

It’s only once you know the answers to these questions that you can begin to craft a compelling logline.

Let’s take a look at some examples:

“An IRS auditor realizes he’s a character in a novel that’s still being written. Then, he has to stop the author from killing him off.” — Stranger Than Fiction.

The realization that he’s a character in a novel is the script’s Call to Action and, sure enough, occurs ten minutes into the film. The second part indicates the decision he makes regarding the crisis. Notice how big stakes are attached through putting his life at stake if he doesn’t stop the author (antagonist) from killing him off in the novel.

“When a gigantic great white shark begins to menace the small island community of Amity, a police chief, a marine scientist and grizzled fisherman set out to stop it”. — Jaws.

“A 40 year old man is exposed as a virgin, and takes up the challenge set by his work buddies to sleep with a woman.” — The 40 Year Old Virgin.

Again, in both of these examples we have a crisis facing a protagonist(s) and a decision—the Call to Action and Act One turning points in the film.

So, take your first act plot points and use them like this in creating a rocking logline. Good luck!

Generating an original, marketable, and exciting script idea can be tough to say the least. It is also one of the most important parts to the whole process of writing a screenplay as whatever you choose you’re going to have to commit months of your precious time to. The last thing you want is to start writing only to realize half way through that the idea itself isn’t good enough.

But how do you know you’ve hit upon a great idea for a screenplay? Here’s our top three indicators that your script idea rocks and is worth developing into a screenplay.

1. It’s Simple

The main conflict is clear. The simpler the better. The main protagonist and antagonist are easily identifiable. The protagonist has a clear goal and the antagonist has a clear goal, usually in direct opposition to the protagonist’s. For example, Indy wants the Ark, the Nazis want the Ark. And if Indy doesn’t stop them the world is doomed.

Is the idea simple enough to be distilled down to a one or two sentence log-line? If you can’t sum up what the conflict’s about in a couple of lines, chances are it’s too muddled and needs simplifying.

2. It’s Original

No idea is ever going to be completely original, but there has to be something about the conflict that marks it out as different in some way. Have you ever seen a film about three guys who revisit a vacation resort they frequented as teenagers only to get magically sent back to the 80’s after taking a dip in the hot tub? OK, so Hot Tub Time Machine isn’t the greatest film in the world, but it got sold and it got made; and the primary reason is the originality of the concept.

When coming up with ideas, ask yourself, “Is this an idea that’s never been done before?” “Have I taken a well worn genre and added a different spin on it?” “What’s fresh and exciting about this idea?”

Overall, the key to coming up with an original idea is avoiding cliché. If it’s been done before, or is very similar to another film, you’ll need to rethink the premise. Only spec scripts with fresh ideas behind them get purchased.

3. It has high stakes attached

OK, so you’ve got a clear and original conflict, but what’s at stake? The failure to create a goal for the hero that generates a gripping conflict with high stakes attached is one of the primary reasons we pass on a script.

As we’ve mentioned in previous posts, all good films have high stakes attached; usually because they are in some way about death. Either literal death, or figurative death as in the death of a relationship or the death of the protagonist’s inner self. Blake Snyder in his book Save the Cat urges writers to go for primal urges when thinking about creating a goal for your protagonist—sex, fear of death, love, survival etc.

This is vital because without a compelling conflict the reader will soon lose interest. Ask yourself “What’s the worst thing that could happen to my hero?” and you’ll be some way to creating a compelling concept with high stakes.

So, these three key indicators should all be present in your script idea / logline / concept if you want to write a winning script. If your idea is just “OK” but not amazing, the best thing you can do is keep refining it using these three indicators. Good luck!