Seeing as Script Frenzy starts in a couple of days, I thought I'd repost this entry from my retired writing blog.

It seems that one sentence summaries of screenplays are a well know thing, and in the jargon they are called loglines. The logline, holds prevailing opinion, can be used as a litmus test to determine the structural integrity of the narrative. This seems reasonable to me, and further research indicates that I need to revise my logline substantially.

There seem to be various, but substantially similar, formulas for loglines. The most simple logline formulation includes only protagonist, protagonist's goal, and antagonistic force.

I also like this articulation of the logline formula from Joe Calabrese on the Absolute Write forums:

(A) must do (B) before (C) does (D) or (E) will happen.

ie. Luke Skywalker must destroy the Deathstar before it's completed or Darth Vader will destroy the Rebellion.

or

A sheriff must kill the shark before it kills again and ruins the town's summer business.

Predictably, I quickly gave-up on Script Frenzy. In the course of writing loglines, I realized that I still don't know how to put together a plot, and that I should return to my short story study. So, I have. I have learned something by doing the loglines, however; it was a valuable exercise.

I'm still working on the logline for the Ghost Builders, but since I'm basing it on the Orpheus and Eurydice myth I decided to write a logline for that:

After his wife dies during an attempted rape, a renowned musician must overcome the ruler of the underworld to bring his wife back to the land of the living.

It's a bit rough, but I think I'm getting the idea. I found this article on loglines to be very helpful.

It seems that one sentence summaries of screenplays are a well know thing, and in the jargon they are called loglines. The logline, holds prevailing opinion, can be used as a litmus test to determine the structural integrity of the narrative. This seems reasonable to me, and further research indicates that I need to revise my logline substantially.

There seem to be various, but substantially similar, formulas for loglines. The most simple logline formulation includes only protagonist, protagonist's goal, and antagonistic force.

I also like this articulation of the logline formula from Joe Calabrese on the Absolute Write forums:

(A) must do (B) before (C) does (D) or (E) will happen.

ie. Luke Skywalker must destroy the Deathstar before it's completed or Darth Vader will destroy the Rebellion.

or

A sheriff must kill the shark before it kills again and ruins the town's summer business.

That went better than planned. I set a goal of one page tonight, and wrote two and a half with little effort. I know my story is about a house under construction, an architect, and ghosts. I also know that my story will be based partially on the Orpheus and Eurydice myth. My working title is "The Ghost Builders". I glanced over a couple of sample screenplays, and have a screenwriting book I'll read before bed. I also wrote my one sentence summary:

A builder comes to believe that he can force a famed architect to reunite him with his dead wife.

Script Frenzy is a screenplay writing challenge. The idea is to write a one hundred page screenplay (or stage play or radio play or comic script) in thirty days. This year Script Frenzy happens in April, which it did not last year, and therefore took me by surprise. Up until an hour ago, I was uncertain whether I would participate.

Well, I'm in. I did nothing on April 1, so I only have twenty-nine days. Better make a rough schedule.