Watty's Bootcamp Presented by WritePosi

Logline Workshop

Some of the requirements to enter the Wattys this year are a bit different. If you've taken a peek at the form, you'll notice there is something called a logline that you'll need to write. In the publishing industry, you'll often hear loglines referred to as pitches. If you're ever planning to query, this is already a great exercise to prepare you! 

WHAT IS A LOGLINE?

A logline is your story boiled down into one or two sentences. It might sound impossible, but trust us, it's not! Your logline should cover three things:

1. Who your protagonist is

2. What their goal is

3. What the conflict is

First, figure these out.

WATTYS FORMAT

Wattpad has a specific format to follow, so we're going to help you break it down a bit further!

1[Character name], a 2[character description], has to 3[action] in order to 4[result]

So how do we show the reader everything they need to know using this format? 

1. Character name -- easy enough

2. Character description - this describes your character and what their goal is, without telling what the result of that goal will be. They want to do x (goal), in order to achieve y (result).

3. Action - what do they do with their goal?

4. Result - The conflict and stakes leading them to the goal

There's some examples below, so hopefully they'll inspire you!

SOME EXAMPLES:

Siggi, a woman who has always wanted to be a vampire learns her  family only wanted her for the magic in her blood, has to betray them and learn her magic in order to stop a war from ending an entire nation.

From this we know the protagonist is Siggi, her goal is to become a vampire and stop her family, and the conflict is her family wants her blood and war.

Beth and Clark, a girl who learns she has magic and a magical boy with a ruined up reputation, has to team up against a common enemy and resist each other, in order to stop stop vampire-like fallen angels from destroying their town.

From this pitch we learn the protagonists are Beth and Clark. Her goal is to learn about her magic, and his is to fix his reputation. Their common goal is to stop their town from being destroyed. There is also the conflict that she learns about magic and that he must fix his reputation.

Morganna, a seventeen-year old witch whose coven has been repressing her magic, has to get her magic back, in order to save her coven from evil werewolves.

In this logline, the protagonist is Morganna, a seventeen year old witch whose lost her magic. The conflict is her family has taken her magic and are being hunted by evil werewolves. Despite this, her goal is to restore her magic to save her coven.

THE BASICS

Essentially, a logline covers the central point of your story. Who, what, and why. This is the bare minimum of what makes your story a story. If you're were standing on an elevator and someone asked you about your book, this is the quick answer you'd give them before they get off on the next floor.

YOUR TURN!

Here at WritePosi, we want to help you. It's our main goal. We want to make a positive impact on the writing community here on Wattpad. If you have any questions around loglines, please leave a comment on this chapter and let us know! We'll try our best to help.

We will also be doing logline critiques in the comments. Simply put your logline in the comments, and we'll critique it! Please critique a few other loglines as well so that everyone can get feedback. Critiques should help the writer, so please try your best!

We hope this helped you, and once again, if you have questions, please ask!