Creating the one line sentence for your novel.

Southpaw · Feb 10, 2011

My question is how do you craft it and kept it exciting?
For those of you who have created one for your novel, do you mind sharing? I think it will help to see some.

Eleni · Feb 10, 2011

Southpaw said:
My question is how do you craft it and kept it exciting?
For those of you who have created one for your novel, do you mind sharing? I think it will help to see some.

Even though the article is for screenplays, you can apply this to your novel. Some examples on how to make it exciting are given as well.

http://www.scriptologist.com/Magazine/Tips/Logline/logline.html

MikeGrant · Feb 10, 2011

One line sentence? Do you mean like a tagline kinda thing?

RJK · Feb 10, 2011

Healthy young travelers visit the famous Niagara Falls and vanish into the mist.

Mystery1 · Feb 10, 2011

WIP - A reporter furthers his budding career as a crime scene photographer by filming new construction being set ablaze by his older brother, who has a dark secret of his own.

Sharon

Linda Adams · Feb 10, 2011

These are probably going to change, but:

Suspended spy-mage investigating aunt's frightening death uncovers an evil that could corrupt her magic--and her family line.

Amidst palm trees and politics, a cursed assassin teams with a treasonous spy to stop a secret society from opening a portal to release monsters--monsters no one else sees.

Filigree · Feb 10, 2011

This one will certainly change, but it's a start:

An outcast shape-shifter struggles to control the murderous symbiont trapped within her blood, while stealing its magic to stop her world's conquerors.

Filigree

SBibb · Feb 10, 2011

Filigree said:
This one will certainly change, but it's a start:

An outcast shape-shifter struggles to control the murderous symbiont trapped within her blood, while stealing its magic to stop her world's conquerors.

Filigree

Sounds intrigueing.

I'm having trouble getting a paragraph down based on my story, let alone a sentence. This is something I'm trying to work on as well.

With Rye · Feb 10, 2011

I'm concerned about this myself. If I can't distill the story into a punchy interesting sentence summary, does that mean it's too vague and uninteresting at its core? What should I do?? :0

dangerousbill · Feb 10, 2011

1. Through a quirk of fate, college student Barry Croft finds himself sharing an apartment with his mother's oldest friend, RoseAnn Perez, an aggressively sexual woman nineteen years his senior.

2. While working off his community service at an inner city clinic, petty criminal Tim Hardy meets Anne Bunsen, who claims she is cursed with the ability to cure people with hopeless illnesses.

bettielee · Feb 10, 2011

I finally have a one sentence explanation... for the first time after writing 6 others... and no, I shan't tell you, because I don't want to jinx maself. And I don't want it to get away. And I don't want everyone to say... "but that's shite!" - it shall be revealed when the time is right....

sorry... skip this post...read on...

Jamesaritchie · Feb 10, 2011

I don't even try.

blacbird · Feb 10, 2011

If I were to create a one-line sentence for my novel, it would be:

Death by hanging.

joeyc · Feb 10, 2011

This is what it's going to come to, or what I'm shooting for (and I'm going to need to do some epic rewrites):

You can't predict crazy.

Nick Blaze · Feb 10, 2011

Amidst a ferocious war, Bartolomieu Hyatt sides with the Devil to uncover the mysteries of the afterlife, in hopes to foil the Devil's plans once and for all by gaining his trust.

jallenecs · Feb 11, 2011

I don't do good, punchy loglines. But in my Snowflake for my current WIP, my Step One looks something like....

"A young trailer park manager must find a bank robber whilst dealing with all the madness to be found with his supernatural tenants."

Filigree · Feb 11, 2011

I found some intermittent online contests for loglines (one-sentence pitches), and I had to create one for my novel. Try 'Miss Snark's First Victim' blog, to start.

The consensus on several sites was that if you can't create a logline for your novel, your novel might be unfocused. And since I did all those brainstorming sessions on my first logline, I can see how writing the next books will be easier if I start with a short summary. YMMV.

Filigree

Carlene · Feb 11, 2011

"Mind Echoes" is the story of a house call veterinarian who communicates with animals telepathically to help a police detective solve crimes."

Carlene

owlion · Feb 11, 2011

I've agonised over these for query letters many a time...

WIP: "Four children, each of who must face the real horror of their school."

Xelebes · Feb 11, 2011

Families nip the heels of history in clandestine clamour and rail reality with surreal escapades.

yoghurtelf · Feb 11, 2011

This is my first attempt at a one-sentence summary, which I have been encouraged to try and write out and use as the backbone of my synopsis.

A rocker chick determined never to love again meets her muso kindred spirit, and must choose between risking her heart in the future and staying safely hidden in the past.

sanssouci · Feb 11, 2011

This is mine. It's clunky but I'm working on it...

"A vegan college student's devotion to animals is put to the test when her campus is ravaged by wolves and she discovers her crush is a werewolf."

yoghurtelf · Feb 12, 2011

Your story sounds very cute sanssouci

I like your take on the whole werewolf thing - what would a vegan do?

tko · Feb 12, 2011

you did it

Wasn't sure you had in you, congratulations.

yoghurtelf said:
This is my first attempt at a one-sentence summary, which I have been encouraged to try and write out and use as the backbone of my synopsis.

A rocker chick determined never to love again meets her muso kindred spirit, and must choose between risking her heart in the future and staying safely hidden in the past.

tko · Feb 12, 2011

Dark Clouds

[FONT=&quot]A lonely computer programmer is sent to Asia to track down a mysterious virus, and ends up discovering a new life.[/FONT]

Creating the one line sentence for your novel.

The squirrel apocalypse is coming!

Sheriff Bullwinkle the Poet says:

Make-believe

Soldier, Storyteller

Mildly Disturbing

Take Care, Take Care, Take Care

Retired Illuminatus

I'm a sparkly fairy princess!

Jun-Ikkyu

Searching for Wonderland

Mildly Disturbing

New kid, be gentle!

Absorbing inspiration from the moon

Delerium ex Ennui

yoghurt elf say wheeee!

yoghurt elf say wheeee!

just thanks fore everything

just thanks fore everything