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A logline or log line is a brief one-sentence synopsis of the entire story. It is your | A logline or log line is a brief one-sentence synopsis of the entire story. It is one of your answers if you ever happen to find yourself in an elevator with a publisher and they ask you what your story is about. | ||
Loglines have the unenviable task of presenting big ideas in a dense package including introducing a likable main character, a world worth exploring, and the main conflict which will drive the plot. | Loglines have the unenviable task of presenting big ideas in a dense package including introducing a likable main character, a world worth exploring, and the main conflict which will drive the plot. | ||
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A logline or log line is a brief one-sentence synopsis of the entire story. It is one of your answers if you ever happen to find yourself in an elevator with a publisher and they ask you what your story is about.
Loglines have the unenviable task of presenting big ideas in a dense package including introducing a likable main character, a world worth exploring, and the main conflict which will drive the plot.
A logline is not a tagline. An example of a tagline is "In space, no one can hear you scream". A tagline might sound cool but it does not say anything about the structure of the story. An effective logline indicates how well a story holds up when extraneous details are shaved away, as well as the skill of the writer to boil down the story to its key parts.
Techniques and Strategy
Find these elements in your story and weave them into a sentence:
1. Main character. Their personality and desire.
2. Inciting incident. Unique to your world and genre.
3. Main conflict. What is stopping your MC from achieving their desires.
A basic example:
1. A shy boy who has a crush.
2. Their crush becomes their new stepsibling.
3. Bruh.
"I'm too shy to talk to my crush but all of a sudden my parents adopted my crush as my new stepsibling and none them know my secret."
Examples from Visual Novels
Some examples from Spooktober VN Jam entries:
- Undo the Mustache Curse, Witch! (Spooktober 2023)
The princess has been mustachioed, and the royal ball is TOMORROW!
This establishes the setting as being royal or aristocratic, and by using the made-up word mustachioed it implies that it is a comedy VN.
- No Body To Go With (Spooktober 2023)
You are a sad, poorly drawn ghost. You want to go to the Spooky Ball, but you have nobody to go with!!!
Between the pun in the title and the "poorly drawn" in the logline, it informs the reader that it's a comedy VN that might contain puns and doesn't take itself too seriously.
- Kingdom Of The Ants (Spooktober 2022)
a visual poem of doom
Players may be interested in this if they enjoy poetry and horror.
- Spectral Phantasy (Spooktober 2022)
Trapped in a haunted house with a cute ghost boy?!
Being "trapped" evokes a sense of horror, but the word "cute" implies that it has romance elements. The actual game is mostly romance, but it does have scary parts.
