We looked at hooks last week, both concept hooks that pique our initial interest in a story and in-story hooks that keep us engaged from start to finish. Today we’re looking at how a few New York Times bestsellers hook us. I pulled these loglines from the February 2, 2020 NYTBS list, and then looked … Continue reading Hooks Big and Small–How the Masters Do It
Category: One-Line Synopsis
Logline Revisited: Are some components more significant than others?
I got a comment the other day, on the post about NYTBS one-line synopses, asking whether the significance of each logline component varies according to the sort of story it's describing. Also requested was a list of the components ordered by most significance. These are great questions, and my answers ended up being pretty long … Continue reading Logline Revisited: Are some components more significant than others?
Writing–and Improving–The One-Line Synopsis
Today we’re expanding a couple of last week’s concepts into synopses and then trying to improve them. First I wrote out my first-thought, all-seven-components synopses, with each component identified with {W}orld, {C}haracter, {I}nciting Incident, {G}oal, {A}ction, {P}roblem, and {S}takes, with {i}mplicit components and questionable {?} components indicated. And then I did a stream-of-conscious application of this week’s criteria for a … Continue reading Writing–and Improving–The One-Line Synopsis
The One-Line Synopsis: How the Best Sellers Do It (Or At Least the People Who Write the List)
I’ve lifted these synopses from the January 18, 2015 New York Times Best Seller Lists. In each one, I’ve identified any synopsis components with: {W}orld, {C}haracter, {I}nciting Incident, {G}oal, {A}ction, {P}roblem, and {S}takes. I've also indicated if the component is {i}mplicit...to my ears anyway. And, if I wasn't sure if a word or phrase indicated … Continue reading The One-Line Synopsis: How the Best Sellers Do It (Or At Least the People Who Write the List)
The One-Line Synopsis: What is it and how do you write one?
Time to expand the concept into a one-line synopsis. Some people call this tool the logline or the one-liner, and lots of people also call it the premise. I was one of the premise people until I started digging into the tool and saw that a lot of people also use premise synonymously with theme … Continue reading The One-Line Synopsis: What is it and how do you write one?
Writes With Tools 