Logging and Writing

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Not exclusive to screenplays, many writers create loglines to succinctly answer the question, “What’s your screenplay about?” or “Tell me a little bit about your book.”

Similar to an “elevator pitch,” a logline is a one or two sentence description of the story you want to convey to your audience or readers. For example, here’s the logline for the movie, Titanic:

A young man and woman from different social classes fall in love aboard an ill-fated voyage at sea.

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Hint #10 — Logging is a BIG deal in my undisclosed sabbatical location. In fact, it’s celebrated here!

I’m currently working on the logline for my next book, The Business of Being. Subject to change, here’s what I’ve got so far:

This book isn’t about being in business; it’s about the business of being. Spotlighting the intersection of corporate core values and personal virtues, The Business of Being helps you thrive in business and life.

If your life were a book, what would the logline be?

Reminder, the caveat of the Looking for Laurie game stipulates: “The first person to type the accurate city and state of my sabbatical location into the comments section of the Mar 28 post will receive a personalized copy of Note to Self: A Seven-Step Path to Gratitude and Growth for themselves or as a gift to someone else.”

© lauriebuchanan.com

83 thoughts on “Logging and Writing”

  2. A country boy in search of security and freedom questions everything, tests boundaries, and finds a way to deliver security and freedom to all, but it is so far outside of accepted assumptions it appears impossible to most.

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  5. An old soul enters a young female being, exploring the world of new music (Beatles!), new ways of thinking (hippies, the love generation), the fear of nuclear war and climate change, and the excitement of computerized technology. But during her explorations, she discovers what is most important: love and kindness, friendship and family, and exposing these miracles through her writing.

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  7. Hmmm! Thanks for the curious question, Laurie. My Green Brain is going to think about my logline and my 72 years of blessings!

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  8. Just finished a sleep study where I was told I do snore! And really did not sleep had to sit in a hard chair and meditate.
    Longline: from sleep deprived state: would contain words wisdom, kindness, spiritual journey. And listening guru.
    Now on to my breathing study at a different hospital. I got my husband a lovely motel room with view of space needle. Walking distance to Seattle Asian Art Museum, and a ticket! Need to add thoughtful to the list of words

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  10. The loglines for my life might be, “Country girl has a jarring early experience which awakens a justice seeker within her. She experiences the highs and lows of social change movements in the 1970’s and ’80’s (women’s equality, poverty, food scarcity, etc.). Undaunted, she embraces a career focused on guiding people and their organizations through uncertainty and change.”

    It likely needs a few more edits but captures the essence of my heroine’s journey.

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  12. This is the story of a young woman who dreams of a life filled with love, but finds that nothing comes easily and change is the only constant. It is a story of life, challenges, learning, survival, smiles, and tears.

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  14. British Columbia artist and photographer Terrill Welch’s quick sure painting strokes, and photographic images capture forest, sandstone, sea and sky. They remind us that there is only one moment – this one.

    This is still true for me even though I have adjusted it very little since 2010. 🙂

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  15. I am not writing a new book (yet), Laurie, so I don’t have a logline. But I am trying to focus on one good day at a time. Teaching, traveling, preparing to be a grandma again, and preparing for a move to Pittsburgh in August are uppermost on my mind.

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  16. As a follow up to my own memoir about finding myself and learning to forgive, I continue to explore the territory of simply being and climbing the mountain called mindful.

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  23. I’d like to share two possible loglines for by bio-memoir (also subject to change) and would love to have opinions from all as to which you feel is more compelling:

    1. A daughter searches through a century of letters and diaries to discover the family madness, loneliness, and historical forces that threaten her parents’ marriage, fuel the mother’s rage against her daughter’s independence during the sexual revolution, and ravage their life-long neighborhood, destroying the hopes of both blacks and whites.

    2. My parents stake their financial and marital future on West Side Chicago property, but their happiness unravels under the strains of mental illness, long separations, and their community’s transformation into a riot-ravaged landscape when racist mortgage policies sabotage the hopes of both black and white families.

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  26. Shellshocked and knocked down, he rises up and overcomes every possible obstacle thrown at him. His next goal regaining full custody of the one that melted his heart from day one! His daughter! I would also remind script writers that I want Liam Neeson to play me!

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  29. It wouldn’t be made into a movie, to be sure, but here it is: An above average guy bemusedly wanders through life doing the best he can, tries to be a positive influence to those he meets, and hopes to leave the world a little bit better off when he’s done.

    Chris

    *Love your logline, Laurie. It’s a keeper.*

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  30. Yesrising… the global movement of love, possibility and inclusiveness. And, for the book coming out shortly: The Grace of Redefining Love – expanding life to include everything. 🙂

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  31. Neglected and overlooked, a young girl finds her own way in the world, growing from newfound friendships and love, learning to love herself along the way.

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  33. Feeling like she was born in the wrong era, a woman tries to pass on her faith, traditions, values, and simple homesteading ways to her children in a world full of instant gratification and technology.

    Wow…that was hard to come up with lol!! Great post and awesome picture. Tina

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  34. A special mission to transport Russian Jews from Sochi, Russia to Haifa, Israel on a WWII ship means an adventure of a lifetime for Sharon. Does she dare pass up this dangerous assignment? In spite of her fear of water, she thinks this might be the opportunity she’s been waiting for to serve God. She remembered reading, “You cannot discover new oceans until you are willing to lose sight of your safe shore.”

    p.s.: I dived into that ocean in 1995.

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