03/31/2014 The Perfect Elevator Pitch (Also Called a Logline)
I came across this article from "The Write Practice" about creating a perfect logline or elevator pitch. The last place I saw an explanation this simple yet thorough was "Writing Fiction For Dummies
", (Affiliate Link). I wanted to archive this information for my later reference. The following is on excerpt from the article.****
The Nitty-Gritty
Final tips for creating an effective and intriguing logline:
- Start with your protagonist. Who or what leads the action of the story? In Star Wars, that’s obvious: Luke Skywalker. But what about an ensemble film like Pulp Fiction? IMDB has a great logline for Tarantino’s film: “The lives of two mob hit men, a boxer, a gangster’s wife, and a pair of diner bandits intertwine in four tales of violence and redemption.”
- With a logline, you really need to think about your verb. Steer clear of the infinitive “to be.” Look at the Lion King example above: tricked—flees—abandons. All verbs that get you thinking more about the how and the why within the main plot.
Simplified further: “A spirited farm boy joins rebel forces to save a princess from evil forces, and the galaxy from a planet-destroying starship.”
- Finally, that brings us to the basic “what happens” of the plot. What happens in Star Wars? “Luke Skywalker, a spirited farm boy, joins rebel forces to save Princess Leia from the evil Darth Vader, and the galaxy from the Empire’s planet-destroying Death Star.”
To read the FULL article (Click Here)****
This Longline or Elevator Pitch can be used in nearly any arena where you might have a product, service, idea, book, or story you want to convey to other people in 30 seconds or less.
"I'm Joe. I run Mama Mia's Pizza in downtown Brooklyn, NY. We serve fresh - old world style- pizza daily, just like Mama used to make."
This could become the way this imaginary Joe would explain his business to anyone he meets.
I subscribed to "The Write Practice" and you should too if you want other great tips. I've really enjoyed their articles so far.
Live Long And Prosper, Darrell
Resource:
For more information on writing fiction, this is my favorite book on the subject to date.
Writing Fiction For Dummies", (Affiliate Link).
A complete guide to writing and selling your novel
So you want to write a novel? Great! That’s a worthy goal, no matter what your reason. But don’t settle for just writing a novel. Aim high. Write a novel that you intend to sell to a publisher. Writing Fiction for Dummies is a complete guide designed to coach you every step along the path from beginning writer to royalty-earning author. Here are some things you’ll learn in Writing Fiction for Dummies:
Strategic Planning: Pinpoint where you are on the roadmap to publication; discover what every reader desperately wants from a story; home in on a marketable category; choose from among the four most common creative styles; and learn the self-management methods of professional writers.
Writing Powerful Fiction: Construct a story world that rings true; create believable, unpredictable characters; build a strong plot with all six layers of complexity of a modern novel; and infuse it all with a strong theme.
Self-Editing Your Novel: Psychoanalyze your characters to bring them fully to life; edit your story structure from the top down; fix broken scenes; and polish your action and dialogue.
Finding An Agent and Getting Published: Write a query letter, a synopsis, and a proposal; pitch your work to agents and editors without fear.
Writing Fiction For Dummies takes you from being a writer to being an author. It can happen—if you have the talent and persistence to do what you need to do.
******
Thank you for reading. I hope you enjoyed this. I'd love to make a community with this project. If you would like to add, comment on, critique, or otherwise participate... that would be great!
Please include any information about yourself, your blog/wesbite/amazon author page that you want to share with the community also.
* I may include "Affiliate Links" which means I earn a commission when you buy products I link to. To see my full about page and disclosures: Click Here
It's Author Fun By Darrell Wolfe
To Subscribe to the RSS: Click Here
For Non-Fiction writing by Darrell G. Wolfe: Click Here
