I
just listened to a pretty right-on lecture about fiction writing by Jenna Blum
(The Author at Work: The Art of Writing Fiction), so I’ll share an
activity based on something she recommends. I think this can help all creative
writers, any age. It’s about writing “log lines.”
For
those who dabble in screenwriting, this is probably a known term, but it was
new to me. A log line is a one-sentence distillation of a story, and can be a
very useful means of getting to the bones of a body of creative writing.
Whereas “theme” can usually be expressed in one word or phrase (“making new
friends” or “recovery” or “loss”) a good log line includes the protagonist and
his/her goal or central conflict. Note that endings (spoilers!) are not
included in log lines.
Here’s
how this activity might work:
1.
Find
a bestsellers list, such as the New York Times “Children’s Best Sellers,”
and read all the descriptions for the books there. Some in last week’s NYT—
• “A filthy bird is
persuaded to bathe.” (Mo Willems’ The Pigeon Needs a Bath!)
• “A teenager uncovers
the mysteries of a village surrounded by a beast-filled forest.” (David
Baldacci’s The Finisher.)
• “A girl saves books
from Nazi burning.” (Markus Zusak’s The Book Thief.)
2.
Think about a book or short story you like and know well, and then create a log
line for it.
• For Alice in
Wonderland that might be: A girl tumbles into an alternate universe and
meets many strange characters in her quest to get home.
• For Laurie Halse Anderson’s
Speak: After a traumatic experience at a summer party, a teenage girl
tries to endure her next year of high school while keeping a secret.
3.
Now, think about something you’ve written or want to write, and create a log
line for it. I’ve done this for two of my books here.
• In letters to her
best friend back home, a thirteen-year-old girl describes her progress at
accomplishing a list of things she has been dared to do while on a
Mediterranean cruise (Four Things My Geeky-Jock-of-a-Best-Friend Must Do in
Europe).
• A ten-year-old girl
describes her angsts and adventures in a journal she starts to keep after her
memory-impaired grandmother moves in with her family (Lucy’s Completely Cool
and Totally True E-Journal).
Some
writers might find that brainstorming log lines is a good way to get a handle
on a story idea before starting to write. Other writers might find it a useful
exercise to guide the revision process, particularly after some free writing.
(See Jacqueline Jules’ “Transforming a Free Write” for more ideas along thoselines.)
If
used in the classroom, this exercise should help meet the requirements of the
following Common Core standards:
CCSS.ELA—LITERACY.RL.1.2
thru 11-12.2
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