Write the Damn Thing!

DAY 4

Greetings humans,

We’re about 12.9% of the way through. Which frankly is more than I was expecting.

Hopefully, now you all have a very clear and defined theme for your stories. But if that’s not the case, don’t fret. As previously stated, a lot of writers find their theme while writing. The first rewrite can be used to reinforce said theme.

But we’re not concerned with rewrites now. Now we’re focused on pushing forward.

And to push forward we need to talk about…

Key aspect of screenwriting: LOGLINE

A Logline is a sentence that summarises your whole story. Or at least tries to. Some screenwriting gurus even argue that most storytelling issues can be traced back to the Logline. So it might be more important than you initially thought.

A good logline should have a character, the central issue of your story, and some sort of hook.

Let’s review some great loglines:

The Matrix: A hacker learns about the true nature of his reality and it’s enrolled in the war against its controllers.

Breaking Bad: A terminal diagnosis leads a cash-strapped father down the rabbit hole of illicit drug manufacture and its deadly consequences.

The Godfather: The aging patriarch of an organized crime dynasty transfers control of his empire to his hesitant son.

Reading these brief loglines one can easily tell the central conflict of the story, the main character, and some idea of what “the hook” of the story is. There is drama in each one of them. A character, a goal, and an opposition to said goal.

Day 4 task :

Write the Logline of your story. This is not an easy task. We recommend you write several of them. Write a long one and then take away all the fat until you’re left with only the essential bits of your story.

A great logline is invaluable. Now let’s get to it.

PSA:

Remember we have a facebook group to share all your thoughts, struggles, heartbreaks, and victories. Find it here.

See you all tomorrow.

Happy writing!

Quote of the day:

“Don’t get it right, get it written.” — Art Arthur, Oscar-winning screenwriter.

PS: You can find DAY 3 here.