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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.