Writing your logline is an imperative step to writing your “back of the book” and other marketing copy that will inspire audiences to buy your work. Here are the steps necessary to create an exciting logline!

Step One: The Goal
Write down your main character’s Goal. Do NOT make this theoretical. It must be a tangible goal. “To get the girl.” “To find the treasure.” “To walk on the moon.”

Step Two: The Motivation
Write down your character’s motivation for achieving this goal. “To save his mother from losing her home.” “To prove to his father that he’s worth something.” “So he can apply for a job with the university.”

Step Three: External Obstacles
Write down your main character’s major three external obstacles. These MUST be tangible obstacles, not emotional obstacles. “Her angry ex-boyfriend and his shotgun.” “A speeding train.” “A little old lady with a 12 foot alligator for a pet.”

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I developed this four-pronged system years ago and have taught it to actors, writers, fashion designers, dancers, interior designers and musicians.  If you’re trying to generate income from your creativity, you have to consider each of these four areas with equal time and discipline:

Development of the craft: You have to put yourself in situations where you are growing your craft. Whether you are working for free or in a class, put yourself in situations where you can develop your artistry. This can include reading, rehearsing, practicing, exercising and meditating. Consider the mental and emotional components of development; not just your technique.

Marketing: Everything you use to present yourself must be impressive. This happens through a process of evolution; continually crystallizing your message and presenting it more and more professionally. Your marketing materials might include a photo (or headshot), web site, resume, postcards, brochures, and even products like books and videos. They are materials that sell you to those who have never heard of you before.  They are your first impression. Anything less than an exceptional representation of your core values is just going to confuse people. These items should reflect your true spirit within two seconds time.

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Here’s the reality: your first words are a loaded gun that is going to shoot one of two people in the face: your reader or YOU!

What do you with your first sentence? With your first paragraph? With your first page? With your first 5 pages?  With your first chapter?  If you have not been strategic and put tremendous thought into each of these, you are kicking yourself in your special place!  Is that a saying?  Look, people are inundated with writing. The internet is beyond full of it. Readers take about two seconds to determine if they’re interested and then they either give you two more seconds to impress them further, or they move onto something else.  When it comes to the words you choose, you have to be so intentional!  If you’re writing fiction, you had better start in the middle of a “holy shit” moment of conflict.  If you’re writing non-fiction you had better knock my head off with a fact that I never would have believed had you not shown me the light!

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A one dimensional character is one who does not have an arc throughout the story.  They are the same at the end as they are at the beginning.  Many characters in a typical novel or screenplay are one dimensional.  They fill small roles and are minor components that reflect the changes the main characters go through.  Every “main” character should have more dimension–more of an arc.  If your characters are coming off as one dimensional to your readers, that means they are predictable–they repeat the same behavior throughout.  Very few people ever do this in reality.  Ask me what my wife would do in any given situation and I’ll always have an opinion, but somehow it rarely turns out to be a correct predictor of her behavior; life is just more complex than that.  If you have not prepared thorough backstory for a character, they often turn out one dimensional in your mind and therefore comes across that way on the page.  I have yet to meet an “evil” person.  A “bitch” who believes she is truly a bitch. I have yet to meet a person who is only full of “love”.  I meet many people who are well intended, but who become overwhelmed by different aspects of life and then act out in ways that others label.

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There was a time when “network”, “text”, and “google” were just nouns, not verbs. “Boot” was something you wore on your feet, not an action verb for starting up your computer. The rapid pace of technology is not only advancing the way in which we live and work, but it’s also changing our language. Apparently, the guardians of proper English who used to reject unacceptable words from entering dictionaries and being acceptable in daily use have thrown up their hands and screamed, “Uncle!” The steady onslaught of new terminology was apparently too much to bear.

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Most of my work has gone through 15 to 20 drafts before I send it to an agent. It also gets proofread 3 to 5 times, 2 of which I typically pay for.  If there are roadblocks that get in the way of the story, you’re shooting yourself in the foot, so you have to neutralize that simple stuff.

As far as spelling, grammar and punctuation, what you have to realize is that the proofreading process is not foolproof.  When you’re talking about 75,000 to 100,000 words or more in a manuscript, 100% accuracy is nearly impossible.  Also consider that when a proofreader makes a single change, it affects the entire piece.  Change a “character name” to a “she” in one place and it might cause a domino effect throughout the next several paragraphs. Consistency in fantasy or sci-fi can be tricky, too: is it the bluestone of Avalon, or the Blue Stone of Avalon? This is not a perfect science, but if you want to be taken seriously, have everyone you know look your work over and pay a couple of professionals, too! Anything less and you’ll be tossed into the trash. It’s just the reality. Accept it and meet those standards!

This is an article I wrote last year.  Since the topic of “how to hire a writer” has been coming up frequently, I’m REPOSTING!

HOW TO HIRE A GHOST WRITER

When it comes to hiring a ghost writer, you need to be incredibly strategic about who you choose to pen your piece. Writers, like everyone, see the world from their own unique perspective, and their voice is going to come through loud and clear in your work. So how do you go about selecting the perfect ghost writer to string together the words that will attract your customers, speak your mind, communicate your knowledge, tighten a relationship, or spark a romance? Here is a list of 10 questions that should be asked and answered when interviewing ghost writer candidates.

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