How do you write a logline?
- A one-sentence pitch: 25-50 words.
- Names protagonist, conflict, stakes.
- Template: "When [X], [protagonist] must [Y] before [Z]."
- Used in elevator pitches, query openers, conference intros.
- Most working novelists revise their logline 10-20 times.
A logline is a one-sentence pitch for your book that names the protagonist, the conflict, and the stakes — typically 25-50 words. The template that works for most loglines: "When [inciting incident], [protagonist with one defining trait] must [goal] before [stakes]." Used for elevator pitches, query openers, and conference introductions.
Chapter i·Why it matters
A working logline is the most-used pitch artifact in a writing career. Conferences, parties, agents, podcasters — they all ask "what’s your book about?" A 25-50 word logline that lands is the difference between "interesting" and "tell me more." Writers who haven’t written their logline default to rambling explanations that lose listeners.
Chapter ii·What to include
- 25-50 words total.
- Inciting incident named.
- Protagonist with one defining trait.
- Concrete goal.
- Specific stakes.
- A "test out loud" round: does it land in 15 seconds?
Chapter iii·Example
A debut thriller logline: "When a small-town detective discovers her mentor planted evidence in her father’s murder case, she must reopen the 25-year-old investigation before the mentor — now the county sheriff — buries the truth for good." 41 words. Names protagonist, inciting incident, goal, antagonist, stakes.
Chapter iv·Related questions
In WriteLoom
Somewhere to actually put the words
WriteLoom’s Plan studio holds your logline, premise, and comp set together — three pitches from one source.
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