Yay! Wasn't that fun? We'll be doing another round on Tuesday, so stay tuned. (Obviously this Other Round is for folks who didn't make it in this time. Hinty-hint.)
Of small note: I had to delete a few comments yesterday because of a high level of snark. Downright nastiness, actually. This almost never happens, but when it does I want you to know that I'm on it. And that I'm thankful every time one of you points out snark that I've missed. It's impossible to run a real life and read Every Single Comment in my bulging inbox.
So, thank you.
And here's a REAL TREAT for you! The indomitable Holly Bodger has written THIS BLOG POST as a recap of the 5 elements in her "Logline Formula" and how she feels yesterday's entries met the mark. Go read it!
I'd like to add one thing to Holly's post. While she emphasizes that our loglines should make readers CARE about our stories (pretty important, yes?), I would also point out that our loglines are a litmus test, of sorts, for the strength of our plot. A plot that can be distilled into a strong 1- or 2-sentence logline that CAPTURES the reader is indicative of a strong story.
Also? Writing a strong logline BEFORE we've completed the novel (or even before we've started it) can help us to hone in on WHAT OUR STORY IS ABOUT, which I've mentioned before.
So it's not just a marketing tool. It's much more.
Anyway, keep working! Some of yesterday's entries have put my own, pathetic logline to shame. It's not quite *there* yet. Well, it's not even halfway there. But I'm working on it. Just ask Holly.
Happy Weekend!
Miss Snark's First Victim
I wondered what had happened to that very nasty comment on my entry. Heh. We love you Authoress for protecting us from the nasty-minded.
ReplyDeleteThanks for this opportunity! I was able to take what everyone said and improve on my logline. Now I'm working on the logline for my next novel - great idea!
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for doing this!
ReplyDeleteOne question- is there a consensus on whether or not to use the character's name in a logline? I've heard conflicting advice on this, and was wondering if you have a suggestion for those who plan on trying to submit to the contest. Thanks!
Disappointed to hear about the snark. But really looking forward to Tuesday! Just checking, entering this doesn't keep us from entering in December, right?
ReplyDeleteWill the Tuesday one also be in the morning, or will it be evening? I always miss the morning ones because of work.
ReplyDeleteJust curious!
Jess-- My take is that movie loglines (which this is modeled on) don't use names, whereas novels do. I'm sure that's open for debate.
ReplyDeleteMystery Robin--This is just a practice round, and we'll be having more. Participating does not mean you can't enter. In fact, the whole reason I'm doing this is to help us have the best entries possible!
Anon--It'll be in the evening next time. :)
Thanks so much. Hugely helpful. And fun!
ReplyDeleteJust changed my log line and agree it is much better for the input from all the comments. Thanks to you all, especially the Authoress for the opportunity!
ReplyDeleteThis was so super helpful! I wish we could have another round to see everyone's improved loglines, but I guess I'll just have to wait til December!
ReplyDeleteI've had an incredibly bizarre week and missed all the fun - I'm going back to read. I'm sorry to hear about the snarky comments. Sad.
ReplyDeleteYou could probably now have another contest for the most improved log line after all this help we've gotten! :-D
ReplyDeleteThis was so very helpful, on so many different levels for me. Not only the comments on my own post (which was tragic), but also the comments on others' posts. Now I'm going to start again from scratch and make my logline crazy-good. Thanks so much for doing this, Authoress. You do rock!
ReplyDeleteThanks for the logline crit session Authoress -- you rock and your blog is such a great resource. Even though I didn't participate this round, I learned a great deal by reading all the entries and comments. I've been working on my logline and it is difficult! Hope I make it in the next session, and best of luck to everyone else.
ReplyDeleteAny hint when the next session will open on Tuesday? I recently won a prize on a blog to talk to an agent for five minutes on whatever. And of course it's going to be Tuesday morning. Something tells me the next round will fill up quickly.
ReplyDelete