The Log line is a brief one-to-two line summation of a story.   Imagine it as the one-sentence blurb a movie listing would receive in a newspaper's television listings, aka, the TV-Guide Entry.  A well-written log line may communicate plot, significant characters, theme, and genre of the screenplay.

Usage

The Log line is used as way to convey your entire storyline in one to two sentences.

Format

To create a Log line start with answering the following questions:

Who is the story about?

Without using a name (I.e. girl, man, etc) describe what kind of person this is. It could be what he/she does for a living or a personality description but let people know that this is the protagonist. This is the hero who is taking the journey.  Also, all good protagonists have flaws so it would be a good idea to throw that in there as well.

What is this person setting out to accomplish?

This is where you set up the Protagonist's goal and what is to be presumably reached by the end of the story.

Who or what stands in this person's way?

The Antagonist and why he, she or it are the worst of the worst?

In some instances, you might need a setup to come before you Log line.  This is perfectly acceptable.  A setup might go something like "In nineteenth century South Dakota ..." Or "Under the sea during the Punic Wars, ..."

Examples

* Aliens try to invade earth on Independence Day. (Independence Day)

* An attorney, because of a birthday wish, can't tell any lies for 24 hours. (Liar, Liar)

* A Soviet submarine captain uses Russia's ultimate underwater weapon as a means to defect to the west. (The Hunt for Red October )

* A private detective must team up with an ex-football star to catch the killer of a topless dancer. (The Last Boy Scout)

*(Ref: http://www.inktip.com/tips-loglines.php)

Advice

A common piece of advice is to write ten or more log lines and then, to find out which one is best, read them to as many friends and family as will tolerate you and then go with the one that is the collective favorite.    That can be a great way to decide which story to spend the next N weeks working on!