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Finding the Core of Your Story
What’s your story about?
It’s the most frightening question in the world if all you have is a blank stare. But what if you had an attention-grabbing answer that left your audience wanting more? It’s not only possible, it’s simple if you have the right tools.
Story consultant Jordan Smith has helped countless storytellers strengthen and pitch their stories. His tool of choice is the logline, a technique for selling screenplays that is little known outside of Hollywood. Jordan has adapted this powerful tool and made it accessible to all storytellers.
Not only is a logline useful for answering that frightening question, it’s also handy for keeping your story on track. If you don’t know the core of your story, you run the risk of meandering it into places where it doesn’t belong. With these techniques, you can solve story problems early before they cause you trouble.
Inside this book, you’ll find:
The Quick-Start Logline Chapter to get you going right away
Exercises to build your logline skills one step at a time
- The four fundamental logline rules
- Useful chapters to dig deeper and handle special cases
- More examples than you can shake a stick at
- And more!
Whether you write novels, movies, comic books, songs, or even operas, this book is for you. Every storyteller should be able to say in one sentence what his story is about. Finding the Core of Your Story will help you learn to do just that.
It’s the most frightening question in the world if all you have is a blank stare. But what if you had an attention-grabbing answer that left your audience wanting more? It’s not only possible, it’s simple if you have the right tools.
Story consultant Jordan Smith has helped countless storytellers strengthen and pitch their stories. His tool of choice is the logline, a technique for selling screenplays that is little known outside of Hollywood. Jordan has adapted this powerful tool and made it accessible to all storytellers.
Not only is a logline useful for answering that frightening question, it’s also handy for keeping your story on track. If you don’t know the core of your story, you run the risk of meandering it into places where it doesn’t belong. With these techniques, you can solve story problems early before they cause you trouble.
Inside this book, you’ll find:
The Quick-Start Logline Chapter to get you going right away
Exercises to build your logline skills one step at a time
- The four fundamental logline rules
- Useful chapters to dig deeper and handle special cases
- More examples than you can shake a stick at
- And more!
Whether you write novels, movies, comic books, songs, or even operas, this book is for you. Every storyteller should be able to say in one sentence what his story is about. Finding the Core of Your Story will help you learn to do just that.
108 pages, Paperback
First published June 1, 2012
38 people are currently reading
454 people want to read
About the author
Jordan Smith
5 books20 followersJordan Smith is a storyteller who generally works in the realm of film, though he often branches out into other forms of narrative fiction. He's always picking stories apart to see what makes them tick. He is the author of
Finding the Core of Your Story
and
A Purple and Gold Afghan and other stories
, and the producer/director of the
Month of the Novel
web series. Jordan blogs about all manner of story-related things at FixMyStory.com and tweets regularly as @Malfhok.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 30 reviews
February 2, 2016
Loved this!!!! It's a great quick read, and it's so helpful. I really liked how all the examples worked (and his humor was great). It was so helpful for me. I was struggling to create a tempting logline and blurb, and after reading this, I came up with a great logline (if I do say so myself)! Wonderful book, and I'll definitely be referring to it in the future!
April 27, 2013
Aside from actually writing 100,000 words of a story, one of the most difficult things in fiction is boiling that huge story down to a pithy sentence or two - what the movie industry calls a logline. What Jordan Smith has done in this fast little book is offer a series of formulae to ease that process. As an outliner, creating a premise sentence (basically a logline) is always a foundational part of process, so I'm totally on-board with what Smith is encouraging here. He's broken the art of the logline down into a bit-by-by exploration that takes all of the intimidation and confusion out of the process. Definitely worth the read.
March 2, 2017
This was a very nice, informative book on writing loglines. It pretty much covered everything so I really wasn't left with any questions.
July 2, 2013
Age Appropriate For: All Ages
Best for Ages: 10 and up
I don’t think I have enjoyed a book on the writing craft as much as this one in a long time. I picked this up one Sunday afternoon, feeling in the mood to learn something. I came away with a skill that I didn’t even know I needed, but I am so glad I have.
Almost every book I have picked up on creative writing has been… uncreative. Not so with this book. Jordan has an engaging style of writing that made me wish he had a whole series of books on different aspects of writing. You feel like you are sitting in a small class with a personable professor who injects just the right amount of humor into his lessons.
The subject of the book itself was very timely. Writing loglines, one sentence summaries, of your story is something every author us supposed to do, but it can be very hard. Jordan made it easy. He used lots of examples that showed me how to write it. By the end of the book, I wrote three loglines that I was very proud of.
I highly recommend this book for all writers.
December 21, 2015
Helpful and fun! I read it in one morning because I got so deeply into it. It's not too long, so every time I need to write a logline, I think I'll reread this book for inspiration.
March 4, 2024
This book not only references Blake Snyder's Save the Cat, but also expand its concept of logline writing. There's not a lot of books about writing loglines, so this book makes a nice addition to the collection.
July 12, 2012
Finding the Core of Your Story, to borrow the Smashwords short summery, is about how every storyteller should be able to say in one sentence what his story is about. This book will help you learn to do just that with a writing tool called a logline. These handy single-sentence descriptions of stories originated in Hollywood, but filmmaker Jordan Smith will show you how to write one for any story.
And he does just that. Jordan has written an easy-to-read, easy-to-follow book that outlines what a good logline is and how to write one for yourself. Examples are plentiful and you are given a wide variety of loglines to learn from. Never again should you have to fear the dreaded question “What’s your story about?” Because with help from Jordan Smith’s book, you’ll have a ready reply in the form of a logline.
Don’t know what a logline is? Don’t worry! That’s one of the first things Jordan covers and if you want a hint, he also covers it in the extended description of the book on Smashwords: it’s a very short description of the core of your story. It gets to the heart of what your story actually is and conveys that information in as little space as possible. Ultimately, it’s a tool you use to get busy people interested in your story.
Doesn’t that sound useful? Being able to sum up your story in one sentence instead of bumbling on for a few minutes will not only save you time with your listener, but they’re probably going to be more interested as well. Interested listeners is something you want, right? Right. Loglines are an extremely useful thing, I myself have only just begun exploring them. Though the practice started in Hollywood, you don’t have to be a filmmaker to use a logline. You just need a story that you want to tell.
And he does just that. Jordan has written an easy-to-read, easy-to-follow book that outlines what a good logline is and how to write one for yourself. Examples are plentiful and you are given a wide variety of loglines to learn from. Never again should you have to fear the dreaded question “What’s your story about?” Because with help from Jordan Smith’s book, you’ll have a ready reply in the form of a logline.
Don’t know what a logline is? Don’t worry! That’s one of the first things Jordan covers and if you want a hint, he also covers it in the extended description of the book on Smashwords: it’s a very short description of the core of your story. It gets to the heart of what your story actually is and conveys that information in as little space as possible. Ultimately, it’s a tool you use to get busy people interested in your story.
Doesn’t that sound useful? Being able to sum up your story in one sentence instead of bumbling on for a few minutes will not only save you time with your listener, but they’re probably going to be more interested as well. Interested listeners is something you want, right? Right. Loglines are an extremely useful thing, I myself have only just begun exploring them. Though the practice started in Hollywood, you don’t have to be a filmmaker to use a logline. You just need a story that you want to tell.
July 30, 2012
I won this book on a blog giveaway, but the preceding views/opinions are my own.
Jordan Smith has a clear-cut style. He knows how to give advice and his advice is solid. In this short book, you learn how to create a standard and precise log line for your script, novel, or any other format of writing.
What is a log line? A log line is a one-sentence description of a story. Jordan's book will teach you the rest. Though I've participated in Script Frenzy for two years to take advantage of the film and scripting education it lends, I would have never learned as much about log lines as I did in this book.
There were some things that irked me, and more than likely ONLY me. It is such a short book, however the author kept asking the reader to 'hang in there' and keep reading. I was already sold after reading the introduction, I'm assuming that he knows what he are talking about, so the pitching in chapter 2,3,4 ect isn't necessary.
Also, I felt that a log line wouldn't work for me when I'm fiddling with a first draft of a Lit Fic novel. But that is the fault of the format, not of this author. :-)
All in all, a must have for any writer's arsenal; especially if you plan on sharing your novel/script/ect with the world. I think this skill can also be useful to non-fiction writers, as they need to create tag lines for their article/essay that inform the reader of the topic. If you're creative enough, you'll easily figure out how to translate the instructions in this book to the non-fiction format.
Jordan Smith has a clear-cut style. He knows how to give advice and his advice is solid. In this short book, you learn how to create a standard and precise log line for your script, novel, or any other format of writing.
What is a log line? A log line is a one-sentence description of a story. Jordan's book will teach you the rest. Though I've participated in Script Frenzy for two years to take advantage of the film and scripting education it lends, I would have never learned as much about log lines as I did in this book.
There were some things that irked me, and more than likely ONLY me. It is such a short book, however the author kept asking the reader to 'hang in there' and keep reading. I was already sold after reading the introduction, I'm assuming that he knows what he are talking about, so the pitching in chapter 2,3,4 ect isn't necessary.
Also, I felt that a log line wouldn't work for me when I'm fiddling with a first draft of a Lit Fic novel. But that is the fault of the format, not of this author. :-)
All in all, a must have for any writer's arsenal; especially if you plan on sharing your novel/script/ect with the world. I think this skill can also be useful to non-fiction writers, as they need to create tag lines for their article/essay that inform the reader of the topic. If you're creative enough, you'll easily figure out how to translate the instructions in this book to the non-fiction format.
December 17, 2012
Title: Finding the Core of Your Story
Genre: Non-fiction
Logline: After finding a lack of books on loglines, a snarky author must brave the self-publishing world to publish his insightful book on the subject.
Main Character (also the author): Jordan Smith
Logline: A snarky author writes a delightful and insightful book about loglines, braving the self-publishing world in his attempt to help screenwriters and authors.
This book was amazing! I read the first edition when it came out and loved it. The first edition helped me a lot. The second edition goes above and beyond. I feel like I can be more confident when writing my loglines. My favorite chapter is the one about writing a logline for the characters. I will be doing that.
Jordan did a great job at keeping my interest and teaching me a lot in the process. He had some really great examples from movies almost everyone knows.
Genre: Non-fiction
Logline: After finding a lack of books on loglines, a snarky author must brave the self-publishing world to publish his insightful book on the subject.
Main Character (also the author): Jordan Smith
Logline: A snarky author writes a delightful and insightful book about loglines, braving the self-publishing world in his attempt to help screenwriters and authors.
This book was amazing! I read the first edition when it came out and loved it. The first edition helped me a lot. The second edition goes above and beyond. I feel like I can be more confident when writing my loglines. My favorite chapter is the one about writing a logline for the characters. I will be doing that.
Jordan did a great job at keeping my interest and teaching me a lot in the process. He had some really great examples from movies almost everyone knows.
May 28, 2014
Jordan Smith's Finding the Core of Your Story is an excellent road map to doing exactly what the title implies... or in other words, Log-lining.
With a off the cuff manner and sense of humor, Jordan never "talks down" to the reader, never "makes like an expert" but instead feels like a trusted friend giving tried and true advice. His easy tone of voice and the simple, clear directions he gives make it easy to get your head wrapped around the somewhat tricky, traumatic, and totally confusing act of log-lining, (at least for those who've not done it before!)
I would highly recommend Finding the Core of Your Story to anyone who's trying to figure out how to present their novel, screenplay, series or short story to the world, in a way that actually makes sense to the audience.
Blurbs, back copy, pitches, elevator pitches, they all come down to the log-line, and with that in hand everything else gets a whole lot less overwhelming.
Try it! I pretty sure you'll like it.
With a off the cuff manner and sense of humor, Jordan never "talks down" to the reader, never "makes like an expert" but instead feels like a trusted friend giving tried and true advice. His easy tone of voice and the simple, clear directions he gives make it easy to get your head wrapped around the somewhat tricky, traumatic, and totally confusing act of log-lining, (at least for those who've not done it before!)
I would highly recommend Finding the Core of Your Story to anyone who's trying to figure out how to present their novel, screenplay, series or short story to the world, in a way that actually makes sense to the audience.
Blurbs, back copy, pitches, elevator pitches, they all come down to the log-line, and with that in hand everything else gets a whole lot less overwhelming.
Try it! I pretty sure you'll like it.
April 27, 2013
Jordan Smith did a great job being witty, entertaining and getting to the point. Great book for any creater of books, stories, movies, etc. Quick read and very useful. Goes into how to use Loglines before, during and after you write/create something. Uses examples that are useful.
December 23, 2013
A keeper for my virtual book shelf.
Condensing and communicating a complex topic is hard, very hard. This book does a fine job of explaining how to try and approach the problem in a systematic way.
It's a fun and rewarding read.
Condensing and communicating a complex topic is hard, very hard. This book does a fine job of explaining how to try and approach the problem in a systematic way.
It's a fun and rewarding read.
October 17, 2017
This is a book about logline, and logline only. And that's what makes this book good, because it exhaust the subject insteat of dilluting information on several topis. In other words, this book is a book that knows what it wants to be, and does a great job.
October 13, 2018
Really helpful
Wow! I was reading save the cat and was searching for a book to learn about logline’s. What can I say this book helped me understand the process more than I could imagine. Highly recommended.
Wow! I was reading save the cat and was searching for a book to learn about logline’s. What can I say this book helped me understand the process more than I could imagine. Highly recommended.
November 6, 2017
This is what I was looking for when I read Blake Snyder's Save the Cat.
November 30, 2018
Short, useful, direct book on writing a one-liner elevator pitch for your story and how to use that to strengthen your plot. Docked one star because I think it could have used a lot more examples.
December 15, 2012
Assuming you’re an author (as in, you write , especially if you write stories), and someone asks you what you’ve been writing, or what your story is about, what would you say? Jordan Smith ( over at http://fixmystory.com/ ) set out to answer that question in this book. He shows you how to boil down the idea behind your story to a single sentence, called a logline. An incredibly useful tool at about every stage of authoring–from thinking up an idea, to writing the story, to telling others about it in a succinct, civilized, and non-rambly manner.
I read this neat little book in a matter of hours, highlighting something from almost every chapter for later reference. It was enjoyable and easy to read, while teaching me a lot about story. The device you will learn about in this book (called a logline) is an extremely versatile tool in every stage of writing; whether you’re writing serial fiction, a novel, a short story…if you’re writing a story, planning one out, or wrote one of the above in the past, you need this book. It will help you define your story better in the planning, writing, revising, and marketing stages.
Here are some things I appreciated as I read:
Readable format and writing style
Fun and personable “voice” and a generous helping of humor
Lots of helpful information presented in a succinct, digestible and memorable way
Lots and lots of examples of loglines (many of which from familiar movies) help get the point across clearly
Helpful exercises at the end of the chapter help you apply what you’ve learned
Bottom line(s): This book does its job well, giving a very sound load of information about loglines in a way that doesn’t leave your head spinning. If you are a storyteller of any kind, you would very likely benefit greatly from this book. I know that I have, and will continue to reap the benefits of what I’ve learned from it.
I read this neat little book in a matter of hours, highlighting something from almost every chapter for later reference. It was enjoyable and easy to read, while teaching me a lot about story. The device you will learn about in this book (called a logline) is an extremely versatile tool in every stage of writing; whether you’re writing serial fiction, a novel, a short story…if you’re writing a story, planning one out, or wrote one of the above in the past, you need this book. It will help you define your story better in the planning, writing, revising, and marketing stages.
Here are some things I appreciated as I read:
Readable format and writing style
Fun and personable “voice” and a generous helping of humor
Lots of helpful information presented in a succinct, digestible and memorable way
Lots and lots of examples of loglines (many of which from familiar movies) help get the point across clearly
Helpful exercises at the end of the chapter help you apply what you’ve learned
Bottom line(s): This book does its job well, giving a very sound load of information about loglines in a way that doesn’t leave your head spinning. If you are a storyteller of any kind, you would very likely benefit greatly from this book. I know that I have, and will continue to reap the benefits of what I’ve learned from it.
March 7, 2013
This. Was. Good. To be honest, I wasn't entirely sure what to expect. The blurb got me excited, but reading that it was only by a story consultant? Gave me my doubts. Most the writing books I've read have been from authors or literary agents.
Those doubts were unnecessary.
This book was excellent. It was different than all the others I've read (trust me, I've read quite a fair few). The writing style was witty, amusing, and just made non-fiction fun. I like fun. I'm sure most people do. Besides, I find it easier to learn something when I'm enjoying myself. Then it's not a lesson.
Finding The Core of Your Story is pretty much a how-to book on creating a one sentence pitch for your story. Writers everywhere are living in constant fear of being asked what their story is about. I know I am. People ask. I have to say that I don't know how to explain it, which merely makes me look and feel like an idiot. Shouldn't a writer know what they're writing? Jordan Smith is a genius. I've read about creating that one sentence pitch to explain the story to you and to others everywhere, but I hadn't been able how to figure out how to accomplish it. Jordan Smith found that way.
Those doubts were unnecessary.
This book was excellent. It was different than all the others I've read (trust me, I've read quite a fair few). The writing style was witty, amusing, and just made non-fiction fun. I like fun. I'm sure most people do. Besides, I find it easier to learn something when I'm enjoying myself. Then it's not a lesson.
Finding The Core of Your Story is pretty much a how-to book on creating a one sentence pitch for your story. Writers everywhere are living in constant fear of being asked what their story is about. I know I am. People ask. I have to say that I don't know how to explain it, which merely makes me look and feel like an idiot. Shouldn't a writer know what they're writing? Jordan Smith is a genius. I've read about creating that one sentence pitch to explain the story to you and to others everywhere, but I hadn't been able how to figure out how to accomplish it. Jordan Smith found that way.
September 11, 2013
One of the hardest things to do as a writer is condense the awesomeness that took me thousands of words to get out into one line. Most of us writers suffer from this in some part or another. What does your story really boil down to? That is such a hard question to answer.
Jordan's book does a great job of making you stop thinking about the tiny details and look at the entire overall piece of the work. Yeah, it's hard. But the book does give you some great tips for doing it.
I think loglines are freaking hard to write, it doesn't matter how long you've been writing. This is an essential book for those just starting out and might not even understand the concept of breaking your book down into one single thought.
I'm a pantser kinda girl so even with this great tool, my loglines are always something that I sit and struggle with. I want the wording to be absolutely perfect- you know, getting caught up in the little details again? Eh, it's what I do. :)
It's a good read for those that have a hard time with breaking your epic masterpiece down into a single thought.
Jordan's book does a great job of making you stop thinking about the tiny details and look at the entire overall piece of the work. Yeah, it's hard. But the book does give you some great tips for doing it.
I think loglines are freaking hard to write, it doesn't matter how long you've been writing. This is an essential book for those just starting out and might not even understand the concept of breaking your book down into one single thought.
I'm a pantser kinda girl so even with this great tool, my loglines are always something that I sit and struggle with. I want the wording to be absolutely perfect- you know, getting caught up in the little details again? Eh, it's what I do. :)
It's a good read for those that have a hard time with breaking your epic masterpiece down into a single thought.
December 12, 2012
I am not sure what I was expecting from this book, but certainly not what I got! As an aspiring author with 2 books in progress, it is really easy to get bogged down in minute details and the inflections/tone of each scene or chapter.
This book helped me to take a step back and look at the big picture. What is my book about, really? What is the main storyline? How do I explain the main storyline in 1-3 sentences (preferably just 1)?
I was able to pinpoint not only the weaknesses in the story as a whole, but in each major character's motivations and actions. This is not just a book about writing log lines or book blurbs, it is a brainstorming wizard with the purpose of helping you find the core of your story (whether it be novel, screen play, or short story).
It may not be as fabulous for everyone as it was for me, but it is definitely worth checking out – it just may be the push you need to take your story where it needs to go. It definitely was for me.
This book helped me to take a step back and look at the big picture. What is my book about, really? What is the main storyline? How do I explain the main storyline in 1-3 sentences (preferably just 1)?
I was able to pinpoint not only the weaknesses in the story as a whole, but in each major character's motivations and actions. This is not just a book about writing log lines or book blurbs, it is a brainstorming wizard with the purpose of helping you find the core of your story (whether it be novel, screen play, or short story).
It may not be as fabulous for everyone as it was for me, but it is definitely worth checking out – it just may be the push you need to take your story where it needs to go. It definitely was for me.
December 13, 2012
I read the earlier edition of this book and was very much pleased with it, so I hadn't considered that a second edition could be a whole lot better! The author has added important information that explores new angles that weren't covered in the first edition, like loglining a series, and how that's different than doing a single book.
It's lost none of the humor and helpfulness of the first edition, with a personable tone that made me laugh out loud multiple times, and easy-to-understand explanations of the principles, with examples, exercises, and more!
The new subtitle makes clear what has always been true for this book: it's not just for screenwriters. Any storyteller of any medium can benefit tremendously from distilling their tale into a single, manageable sentence, and this book will walk you through every step you need to do just that. Definitely a must-read for storytellers!
It's lost none of the humor and helpfulness of the first edition, with a personable tone that made me laugh out loud multiple times, and easy-to-understand explanations of the principles, with examples, exercises, and more!
The new subtitle makes clear what has always been true for this book: it's not just for screenwriters. Any storyteller of any medium can benefit tremendously from distilling their tale into a single, manageable sentence, and this book will walk you through every step you need to do just that. Definitely a must-read for storytellers!
February 11, 2013
Very good advice on writing loglines to clarify and explain your story. The only thing that prevents me from giving it five stars is that many of the examples are repetitive; I would have appreciated reading sample loglines from more movies or novels instead of seeing a small selection of them repeated often. I must reiterate that it's useful advice, though.
December 3, 2014
I so hope this will help me come up with my own logline. I really have to sit down and do the exercises as recommended and come with my one sentence elevator pitch.
So far this book seems to have the best guidance (compared to all the others I read on the subject)
Recommended.
And was able to borrow for free on my Amazon Prime. That was nice.
So far this book seems to have the best guidance (compared to all the others I read on the subject)
Recommended.
And was able to borrow for free on my Amazon Prime. That was nice.
February 14, 2017
This is amazing. I can see that having a logline will help me send my story in the right direction. And now I think I can actually write the logline. Highly recommend to all writers.
Full review on my blog: http://annasbrie.blogspot.com/2016/02...
And yes, I did read it in one afternoon.
Full review on my blog: http://annasbrie.blogspot.com/2016/02...
And yes, I did read it in one afternoon.
December 22, 2012
Jordan is funny and he makes reading about loglines entertaining. Loglines are a fascinating concept and a useful skill to hone. Maybe in another book he will explain how to use loglines in a non-fiction context.
May 10, 2013
It's remarkable to write a book focused purely on the best ways to put together loglines. It's a skill every storyteller should master and after reading this book, you have no more excuse not to be able to :-)
November 14, 2019
I purchased the audiobook and loved it!
Being new to loglines, I found this book really fascinating and easy to follow! I loved all of the contemporary films mentioned in this book!
It made this book really enjoyable!
I'll definitely be re-listening to this book!!!
Being new to loglines, I found this book really fascinating and easy to follow! I loved all of the contemporary films mentioned in this book!
It made this book really enjoyable!
I'll definitely be re-listening to this book!!!
June 11, 2013
Very cool little book. An informative quick read (took me just a few hours). A must read for every author and person that has a story to tell. Geared towards fiction.
November 7, 2014
A quick but worthwhile read. It includes exercises to help the reader learn how to write a logline (the story in a sentence).
January 29, 2019
This is kind of a tough one for me to rate and review. On the one hand, the content is really useful and I think will be helpful to me. But on the other hand, it's not a lot of content. It's quite a short book, and to be honest it feels a little padded as is. So I feel like the price is pretty steep for the amount of book you're getting.
This is a book on loglines, short, single sentence summaries of a story, which, as the author points out, are useful for a lot more than just pitching. The examples and advice on how to boil a story down to a logline were quite helpful.
At the moment the kindle version is available for the Prime Lending program, so kindle owners can read it and take notes without having to pay $7 for it.
This is a book on loglines, short, single sentence summaries of a story, which, as the author points out, are useful for a lot more than just pitching. The examples and advice on how to boil a story down to a logline were quite helpful.
At the moment the kindle version is available for the Prime Lending program, so kindle owners can read it and take notes without having to pay $7 for it.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 30 reviews