How To Write A Logline

Summary of "Save the Cat" by Blake Snyder

📚 Save The Cat is a best-selling book on storytelling.

🕒 Save time by reading my comprehensive summary.

✍️ You'll discover techniques for crafting a compelling story.

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My summary is broken into four posts:

Part 1: 3 storytelling tricks that will level-up your writing

Part 2: How to write a logline

Part 3: The 15 beats of a story

Part 4: How to outline a story

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Here is Part 2:

When someone asks you, “what’s your story about?” you should have an answer.

You need a logline.

Logline - One or two sentences explaining what a story is about.

Blake Snyder recommends knowing the your story’s logline before even starting the actual writing.

It gives you a guide to follow, and also lets you test out “pitching” your story to family, friends, and strangers.

Your story’s concept alone should be able to garner interest.

If you end up changing things while you’re writing, you can always change your logline.

Here’s how to write a logline:

The logline tells the hero’s story:

1. Who he is

2. Who he’s up against

3. What’s at stake

The logline with the most conflict, the most sharply defined hero and bad guy, and the clearest, most primal goal is the winner.

You should include:

1. An adjective to describe the hero

2. An adjective to describe the opposition forces

3. A compelling goal we identify with as humans

Here are some examples:

• A young wizard discovers his magical heritage and battles the dark wizard who killed his parents. (Harry Potter)

• A risk-adverse professor races against time to solve a murder mystery intertwined with ancient conspiracies and secret societies. (The Da Vinci Code)

• In a dystopian society, a reluctant everyman dares to question the totalitarian government's absolute power. (1984)

The Hero:

A logline should include some version of “It’s about a guy who…”

The “who” is our way in.

We have to create audience stand-ins that resonate with readers AND serve the needs and goal of our story.

Create heroes who:

1. Offer the most conflict in that situation

2. Have the longest way to go emotionally

Make sure they’re someone:

• We can identify with

• We can learn from

• We have compelling reason to follow

• We believe deserves to win

• Has stakes that are primal and ring true for us

Primal Motivations:

The motivation for the hero should be a basic one.

What does X want?

If it’s a promotion at work, then it should be related to winning the hand of X’s beloved or saving up enough money to get X’s daughter an opertation.

And if it’s a match-up with an enemy, it better lead to a life-or-death showdown, not just a friendly spitball fight.

Make the hero want something simple.

Primal urges get our attention, such as:

• Survival

• Hunger

• Sex

• Protection of loved ones

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Continue reading the other parts my Save The Cat summary:

Part 1: 3 storytelling tricks that will level-up your writing

Part 2: How to write a logline

Part 3: The 15 beats of a story

Part 4: How to outline a story

Summaries are available only to C.S.M. Fiction paid subscribers. Thank you for your support.