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Do you write the logline before the story?

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GaleGirl View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote GaleGirl Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Topic: Do you write the logline before the story?
    Posted: 19 Jan 2022 at 8:18pm
I have done this competition a few years now and always saved the dreaded logline for last.

Then, this fall, I attended a writing workshop where a successful screenwriter said to ALWAYS write the logline before you write the story and make the effort to tie every bit of your effort back to the logline to avoid drift. 

So, I tried it this time...but I am not as confident about the Pol Sat genre as I was about others I've been assigned. But I think it did help limiting drift and allowed me to finish a draft much earlier.

What do you all think?
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote jennifer.quail Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 19 Jan 2022 at 9:01pm
Very rarely but sometimes yes. (And frequently, the log line isn't at all what scriptwriters use because that's almost never something you will need for fiction outside this contest.) It depends on how particular prompts strike me. 
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote cford Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 19 Jan 2022 at 9:46pm
Usually I write it half way through. When I'm stuck on a particular aspect or need a brain break. Usually by then I know where I'm wanting to go so can do the log line. Sometimes it does help get me back on track or at the very least divert my brain for a few minutes before I go back to the story.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote crez Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 19 Jan 2022 at 9:58pm
I wrote mine first this time, but now I need to change it because the plot didn't cooperate.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote amlewi08 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 19 Jan 2022 at 11:18pm
I think my log line or my title are always the thing I come up with last.  But that may just have to do with my writing style.

In my experience, no matter how much I plot, I pants my way into something entirely different, so starting with a log line just never works.

I'm a pantser with plotter tendencies.  Youtube claims I'm a methodological pantser.

Who knows, the point is my log line is almost always last.


Edited by amlewi08 - 19 Jan 2022 at 11:18pm
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Aggie Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 20 Jan 2022 at 5:53am
I understand the wisdom of writing it first, but I'm terrible at loglines so last it is
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote UK5AM Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 20 Jan 2022 at 6:07am
This time, my title came first and story/plot followed. I wrote my logline before I did editing and restructuring, but I had a good idea of the premise.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (1) Thanks(1)   Quote GaleGirl Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 20 Jan 2022 at 7:32am
Originally posted by amlewi08 amlewi08 wrote:


I'm a pantser with plotter tendencies.  Youtube claims I'm a methodological pantser.

Who knows, the point is my log line is almost always last.

Ha, ha, Andy. A methodological pantser? Big smile My natural inclination is to pants, so I am trying to shore up the flanks. 

What prompts did you get this time?
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote dikaoras Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 20 Jan 2022 at 11:31am
Oh no, now I'm overthinking this part too D: I wrote mine when it came randomly to me while writing my draft - that's usually how I work with titles too (still waiting for that piece of inspo though) - but now I'm worried I didn't put enough thought into my logline. Is it a big deal? 

(Intuitive pantser here!)
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote temclaughlin Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 20 Jan 2022 at 11:33am
I write my logline last, but if I'm honest, that's usually because I forget it's a thing to write until I'm reviewing my story for submission.
Check out my stories on my website!

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