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TURNING THE PAGES

TURNING THE PAGES
By Manash Jyoti Barua

GENRE: Romance, Drama
LOGLINE:

Torn between past and the present, a 28-year-old philosophy professor, must make a choice to overcome his state of clinging to the past which could change his course of life forever.


SYNOPSIS:

Turning the pages is a character driven drama told in a linear format where We follow the journey of a young boy, Sumit Wade, as he tries to navigate the world and experiences he have with various encounters on the way. Set between Istanbul and Mumbai, it explores the journey of a 28-year-old from his college life to work life and how perspective of life, love and death changes as he encounters various people and situations.

Maurice Vaughan

I think you need to work on your logline's structure and add more detail to the logline, Manash Jyoti Barua. Here’s a logline template that might help:

After ______ (the inciting incident/the event that sets the plot in motion), a _______ (an adjective and the protagonist's position/role) tries to _______ (goal of story) so ________ (stakes).”

Loglines are one or two sentences (a one-sentence logline sounds better and it takes less time for a producer, director, etc. to read it). You can add the antagonist in the logline. The inciting incident can also be at the end of the logline.

Avoid using names in a logline (unless it's a Biopic or a famous story -- like a fairy tale). Use an adjective and the protagonist's position/role instead of a name.

Avoid using “must” in loglines because “must” sounds like the protagonist is forced to do whatever the goal of the story is (instead of the protagonist doing it willingly), and “must” doesn’t sound active. Audrey Knox (a TV literary manager) also said this during a logline review webinar on Stage 32 (https://www.stage32.com/webinars/The-Write-Now-Challenge-The-Logline-Rev...). Instead of using “must,” use “attempts to,” “fights to,” “struggles to,” “strives to,” “sets out to,” “fights,” “battles,” “engages in,” “participates,” “competes,” etc.

Example #1:

After a group of dog criminals arrives in a small town, an impulsive dog sheriff defends a dog treat factory so they won’t steal food that’s meant for hungry dog families.”

Example #2:

A dysfunctional couple works together to survive against bears after they crash on an abandoned road miles from help.”

NOTE: Not all stories will follow this logline template. Biopics, documentaries, and Experimental scripts might not follow this template. The overall logline for a TV show might not follow this template, but the logline for an episode in the show could.

Nate Rymer

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