What’s the Hook?
Writing a Logline that Sells
September 21 - 22, 2021
8 p.m. - 10 p.m. Eastern (5 p.m. to 7 p.m. Pacific)
One of the most important steps in writing a great script is to write a great logline—a one- or two-sentence summary of your screenplay that has enough emotion and conflict to hook a potential buyer.
For instance:
When a killer shark unleashes chaos on a beach community, it's up to a local sheriff, a marine biologist, and an old seafarer to hunt the beast down.
It may look easy—how hard can it be to write a sentence or two? But crafting a logline with the right hook takes a lot of finesse. And it’s the best thing you can do for yourself, before you formally begin to write your story.
No matter how frustrating and even maddening the process can be, committing to this one step will keep things from being even more frustrating and maddening down the road.
Once you have your logline, you’ll have a steady and unerring guide through the whole process of writing your script. And you’ll also have the key to selling your script once it’s done.
Over the two-night “What’s the Hook?” workshop, you’ll create a strong logline, turning your idea into a road map that you can follow straight through to success.
Here’s how the course will unfold:
You’ll be in the excellent hands of Jeff Arch, who wrote the blockbuster Sleepless in Seattle and currently is writing the adaptation of his acclaimed novel Attachments.
Plus, David Kirkpatrick, the former president of Paramount Pictures and the former production chief of Walt Disney Studios will be weighing in—and since he’s read more than 80,000 scripts in his life, he knows a thing or two about successful loglines. Joining David on Wednesday night, September 22, will be our newest faculty member, Sabrina Parra, Director of Development of Di Novi Pictures.
You’ll learn what constitutes a solid workable logline, with lots of back-and-forth discussion and feedback to write a logline that has a memorable hook.
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What’s the purpose of a logline? How is it used?
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What’s the difference between a logline and a synopsis or summary?
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What do you include in your logline, and what do you leave out?
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How do you describe the central conflict of your story in a few words?
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What creates a strong hook—a central idea that will stick in the minds of agents, managers, and studio execs?
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Are there rules to follow in writing loglines? And if so, when can you break the rules?
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How do you know when your logline works?
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Are loglines used for books as well as screenplays?
Faculty
Registration fee: $95 for four hours of instruction.
Use this discount code "Jaws" and sign up for just $75
EVENING CLASS
September 21 - 22
8 to 10 p.m. Eastern (5 p.m. to 7 p.m. Pacific)
Please note: Our classes are designed specifically for live participation, so your attendance is important. If you need to miss a class for any reason, you’ll receive a passcode-protected link to watch the recordings after the course is over.
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