Writing

The single sentence summary is also sometimes called a tag line or log line. It is your novel boiled down to a single sentence of 25 words or less. Part 4 of a four-part clinic on writing taglines.

Welcome back to this month’s story clinic and our discussion of single sentence summaries. If you missed the first two lessons, not to worry. Each lesson is self-contained. You don’t need to read all of them. But if you’d like to read them, previous lessons are still available. Introduction: What …

The single sentence summary is a sentence of 25 words or less that describes the central character, what that character wants (goal), and why the character can’t have it (obstacle). It is sometimes called a tagline or a log line.

The single sentence summary is that one sentence that describes the crux of your story. An easy to remember, easy to speak line that describes the character, the goal, and the obstacle. It helps you determine who is interested in more information and who is not without boring everyone (yourself …

“So you’re writing a novel. What’s it about?” “Well, it’s about…. There’s this fellow and…. Actually, you see, I’m still trying to figure that out myself.” How many times have you had an encounter like this? Ever wished there was an easy answer you could memorize and have handy at …