Loglines

[MarvaD]

Oh, I know the problem!  I haven't figured out what mysterious magical forces will oppose her.  I know there will be.  I know that said magical forces are already creating obstacles.  I know that she has an amulet which she'll use at a strategic moment.  I just haven't decided exactly who is the bad guy.  Yeah, I will figure it out.  I'm in the midst of researching mythological and/or historical figures, but haven't yet settled.  Do I really have to say exactly who the villain is?  Suffice it to say there's a really bad ass magical creature who's out to get my gal.  It doesn't really make too much difference, since the idea here is that the girl is saving the guy.  I have a plethora of magical entities from which to choose.

[Suzy_Q]

Sounds like a great book!  I can't wait to read it, when I find at at the bookstore 2 yrs hence.   

[MarvaD]

Thanks for the fantastic link.

Marva, I think maybe the problem with your logline is that it doesn't show what opposes the main character--going strictly by my reading. I'm not any good at them either.

Ok, finding her lover is her goal? But what or who is keeping her from doing that?

Here is a try for a logline for the novel I've been querying.

When a novice mercenary saves the princess she is guarding from an attack by an ambitious nobelman, she must struggle to restore the princes to her throne and save the honor of her own clan.

Hmmmm not very good. Harder than they make it look.

Is the novice mercenary female?  If so, maybe name the mercenary to keep who's doing what straight.

When Violet, a novice mercenary, saves her charge, Princess Daisy from an attack by an ambitious nobleman (who wants her dead?), Violet must...

Sorry, I'm lousy at it.  Sounds like a real swashbuckler...or is that only for pirates?

[jacinda]

Dude, it is *way* harder than they make it look!  Especially when you're writing SF and huge plot points are things that are described quickly in the book, but have no analogue in real life.  ARG!

Marva I just took the formulaic approach that they have elucidated on that screenplay page, feel free to tell me to frak off  :

A young witch-in-training discovers that her boyfriend has gone missing and she must go on a dangerous journey to find him, all the while being opposed by mysterious magical forces.


When a young witch-in-training discovers that her boyfriend has gone missing, she must struggle against mysterious magical forces to find him--before (insert nasty consequences here)!

I think using "mysterious magical forces" as your antagonist works fine.  It piques my interest enough to make me want to find out exactly *what* the mysterious magical forces.  I just think that the sentence needs to be a little more "active"...I don't necessarily agree with that page that every single logline should have the word "struggle" in it, but it does convey conflict well.

[MarvaD]

Dude, it is *way* harder than they make it look!  Especially when you're writing SF and huge plot points are things that are described quickly in the book, but have no analogue in real life.  ARG!

Marva I just took the formulaic approach that they have elucidated on that screenplay page, feel free to tell me to frak off  :

A young witch-in-training discovers that her boyfriend has gone missing and she must go on a dangerous journey to find him, all the while being opposed by mysterious magical forces.


When a young witch-in-training discovers that her boyfriend has gone missing, she must struggle against mysterious magical forces to find him--before (insert nasty consequences here)!

I think using "mysterious magical forces" as your antagonist works fine.  It piques my interest enough to make me want to find out exactly *what* the mysterious magical forces.  I just think that the sentence needs to be a little more "active"...I don't necessarily agree with that page that every single logline should have the word "struggle" in it, but it does convey conflict well.

Cool.  Thanks, Jacinda.  Now I only have to figure out what follows the before...   Vaguely speaking, boyfriend is in imminent danger of death and destruction, but that's kind of broad.  I haven't decided exactly how the danger manifests itself.  He could be hanging upside down over an erupting volcano, or being lured to his death on the rocks by siren calls, or being bewitched into marrying the evil queen.   Wait, no evil queen in the book so far.  Hmm.

[Kelly]

Back to the original question here - I don't think you need a log line to query or pitch. Like I said, I'd never heard of them until the one publisher asked for them. I checked their website and each book shown has a log line for  marketing purposes. Also, trying to write one before your book is finished is probably even more difficult.

[Suzy_Q]

A few years back I ran across this article online when I was trying to write a logline for a screenplay, which for that format is not optional at all.  Anyway, though the article is aimed at screenplays I see no reason why the same ideas could not apply to a novel as well.

http://twoadverbs.web.aplus.net/loglinearticle.htm

Karma, Kate.  I referred back to this post today to write a logline, and this article did the trick.