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Q&A How to distill a plot into a logline?

If you can't boil down your novel into a logline (or "elevator pitch," which is how I learned it), then you may actually have a problem with your novel. You've provided the structure of your answe...

posted 10y ago by Lauren Ipsum‭  ·  last activity 5y ago by System‭

Answer
#4: Attribution notice removed by user avatar System‭ · 2019-12-13T12:00:22Z (almost 5 years ago)
Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/a/10923
License name: CC BY-SA 3.0
License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/
#3: Attribution notice added by user avatar System‭ · 2019-12-08T03:30:57Z (almost 5 years ago)
Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/a/10923
License name: CC BY-SA 3.0
License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/
#2: Initial revision by (deleted user) · 2019-12-08T03:30:57Z (almost 5 years ago)
If you _can't_ boil down your novel into a logline (or "elevator pitch," which is how I learned it), then you may actually have a problem with your novel.

You've provided the structure of your answer in your own question. An elevator pitch must have:

- the protagonist
- the goal of the protagonist
- the antagonist
- the stakes of failure

So pick those out of your book.

Quick example: _Lord of the Rings_:

- Protagonists: Nine Walkers
- Their Goals: Get the One Ring to Mordor under Sauron's nose
- The Antagonist: Sauron and his cronies (Saruman and orcs)
- The Stakes: the end of Middle-Earth, the dominion of Sauron

Once you have them, then the main job is to reword the sentence until it's a hook.

_Nine people from disparate cultures must join together to destroy the magical artifact which will allow the ultimate evil to rule the realm._ Meh.

_A mighty wizard leads a reluctant band of men, hobbits, a dwarf, and an elf on a terrifying quest to destroy the One Ring before an ancient evil god becomes manifest and destroys all Middle-Earth._ Now we're getting somewhere.

#1: Imported from external source by user avatar System‭ · 2014-05-12T14:31:16Z (over 10 years ago)
Original score: 12