Start with a Pitch

There is a LOT of writing advice out there. One tidbit I read was to write a logline before writing my story. A logline is a concise sentence (under forty words) that communicates the essence of your book.

While there are many logline formulas, they typically look something like this:

Logline = Main Character + Life-changing Incident + Main Goal + Major Obstacle

The logline for The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum might be:

When a young farm girl [Main character] is transported by a tornado to the magical Land of Oz [Life-changing Incident], she embarks on a quest to find her way back to Kansas [Main Goal], but with the help of her new friends, she must first overpower a wicked witch [Major Obstacle].

When I first stumbled upon this wisdom pearl, I had been writing my story for over a year. The advice clearly didn't apply to me.

Fast forward to a writer's conference I was attending. One of the benefits of these conferences is the opportunity to pitch your story to agents. I hadn't finished my novel, but I knew every scene and felt I'd written enough to pitch it.

I'd have four minutes with each agent. I didn’t worry about a logline. I had plenty of time to use plenty of words to describe my story.

To kick-off the conference, a panel of agents told us what they'd like to hear in our pitches. One asked that we keep it to ninety seconds. Ninety seconds?! What happened to four minutes?? Another agent said thirty seconds, so she’d have enough time to ask questions. Several agents nodded. I ran out of there before anyone could bring it down to ten seconds.

I had two days to figure out a thirty second pitch. Sounded like a logline.

Logline = Main Character + Life-changing Incident + Main Goal + Major Obstacle

With formula in hand, I got to work. And hit a snag. I had two main characters. Did I need two loglines? I shook my laptop and read “Reply hazy, try again.” On the second shake, it said “Very doubtful.” Okay, cram it all into one then.

The Major Obstacle piece seemed a bit vague. My character faced lots of obstacles. Should I just pick one? Laptop said “Better not tell you now,” which just raised more questions. I couldn’t understand why this was so difficult. The Internet was failing me.

Then I got an idea; An awful idea. I got a wonderful, awful idea. Maybe the problem was not with the internet, but with my story. Maybe my Major Obstacle wasn’t really keeping my characters from their Main Goal. Maybe I needed to stop shaking my laptop and think.

So, I did. I thought about my characters and their lives for two days virtually nonstop. ONE HOUR before my pitch, it hit me. I knew EXACTLY how to fix my story. I embellished the goal and added a significant obstacle that made the goal extremely difficult to achieve. And suddenly it was easy to describe in a logline.

All of the agents I pitched to wanted to read more when the novel was completed. I was ecstatic! And eager to get back to my novel.

I don’t know if I could have created a logline before I started writing. My story took me in directions I hadn’t anticipated. But I do know that my story is stronger now because I have all four of those components: compelling characters, an inciting incident that launches them into the story, a bold goal and a significant obstacle that keeps the goal just out of reach.

The logline is a tool – it’s not a book blurb. It’s like the skeleton of a T-Rex. On top of that skeleton, maybe some T-Rexes were a lovely shade of purple. Maybe some painted their nails (well, likely a Deinocheirus would have to do it for them.) Maybe some had a plume of feathers like a peacock (shhh – don’t argue with me.) The point is, the logline is a basic structure. All the awesome sauce you throw on top of it is what will make your story fantastically unique with fabulous plumage.

Create a logline before you start your story if you can. If you’ve already started writing, use it as a test to ensure you’ve got a solid foundation. Whichever approach you choose, don't forget the awesome sauce!