The Dreaded Log-line/Elevator Pitch

“Your dad is always going on and on about your novel! So…what’s it about?” –My dad’s best friend.

“Well, it’s Urban Fantasy…and there’s this girl named Aleera…there’s biblical elements….and uh, this man’s like descendants are like hellish creatures….it’s pretty cool, my sister and friends like it….and uh yeah…I’m doing a major rewrite right now though…this agent like told me to…so, that’s about it.” –Me…with the face of a tomato because I just sounded like a huge uneducated basket case who knows crap about the 100,000 word novel I wrote.

So I exaggerated a bit…I didn't sound that wonky. But it took me a minute to explain my novel. 

In situations like above, it would have been awesome if I had a short pitch that summarized my story while leaving him interested in reading my novel. But unfortunately, I didn't. And that’s where a well structured log-line can save you from such humiliation!

Now exactly what is a log-line???

A log-line is the very brief summary of a story in 1 sentence or 2, no more than 50 to 70 words…and 70 words is a stretch. And try not to go crazy with the run-ons. In most cases, it’s used as a selling instrument to sway a literary agent or editor to read a manuscript. An effective log-line must include the key premise, the protagonist, the antagonist, the objective, and the stakes involved if said goal isn't achieved. We basically need to know the whole nine…in a nutshell.

Fairly simple, right? Nuh uh, Not…At…ALL!

There are several forms out there that make it easier for writers to formulate a good log-line. These are the ones I referred to, I definitely did not make them up, but I can’t remember where I got them from! Some blog, website, "online" friend…God, my memory sucks. :-/ *Cringe* They’ve been saved in a word document since forever.

Descriptive Protagonist…Verb…Antagonist…Goal…Stakes

Main Character -> Provoking Event -> Antagonistic Force/Clash -> Objective -> Repercussions

However, even after using the form much revising ensues. Believe me, I know. It took weeks to write a pretty good log-line even after including all the necessary details. It either wasn't understandable, was way too long, didn't hook the reader, was confusing, the antagonist didn't appear insurmountable, the stakes weren't high, and there was unnecessary filler, and blah blah blah. So, there’s still a lot of tweaking happening even after you fill in that form. You never get them right on the first, second, or even the third try.

Now, even though I think I polished my log-line up pretty well. I’m not ready to post it here. I'm a punk, I know. I’m going to send it to my lovely critique partner (Ames!) first, and when she approves along with my siblings, and my cousin, then I'll share it with the internet world. ;-)

And in case you're wondering, I'm spiffing it up now because......
1. I'm tired of looking like an idiot when folks ask me about my book.
2. There's a contest coming up this fall that I want to enter....which I will discuss later.
3. Working on writing this brief log-line will sharpen my skills on being concise because honestly...I'm a bit long-winded. All you have to do is look at my blog posts to see that! ;-)

Two Fingaz -- Deuces!