Photo via Go Into the Story.
Loglines are tough. They can lie about about your story if you let them.
This is how you do Indiana Jones wrong:
- In World War II, an archaeology professor gets a call about a powerful artifact that changes his life forever.
This is Silver Linings Playbook done wrong:
- A violent mental patient delusionally pursues his ex-wife.
Bridesmaids:
- A mismatched group of women overcome their differences to give the bride her perfect special day.
There’s the hook playing way too hard to get, a very misleading genre, and then a completely inverted tone, not to mention no protagonist. The proper loglines for these movies make them stand out; they have it all—hook, genre, tone. Keep at your logline until it wins in all three categories.
Annie is a screenwriter, story consultant, and reader for major screenplay competitions.
