When the world’s greatest loglining guru finds 37 resources to write the best logline, he must exercise humility and post a link on his treasured web site.

Hi Karel,

Technical:
* This particular logliner talking about the guru logliner has used up 27 words ( incl the number 37). Shouldn’t he/she be limited to 25 words ( or 140? characters) or can one fudge over the line?
* The comma is not necessary – really requires a conjunction which is an extra word ( so, and, then etc ) – also in a log line I assume there is no time to pause.

Comments:
* This guru appears the world’s greatest logliner by self pronouncement/delusion only – he struggles with ‘humility’ which means he is chuffed by finding 37 resources ( may be overkill for a log line ) – which really means he is a very good googler or researcher to me – why would anyone require 37 resources to deliver 25 words or less – loglines should flow from constraint in adapting the story to the confines of the formula for commercially orientated logline purposes ( as below) not from a plethora of information and/or story ideas – surely these 37 resources might elucidate his story further down the line – also the reference to a part of the story to do with ‘the posting to website’ is superfluous in this.

* There is a protagonist,
* He has a flaw ( is this his own official world title – world’s greatest?, must exercise ‘humility’ ( this implies smugness), he unprofessionally deems that he requires massive research to write a simple logline.
* Has a genuine goal ‘to write THEE best logline’ – note that his goal is one of a world championship performance or else it would indicate the goal is ‘to write HIS best logline’.
* The antagonist could be himself and his own ‘smugness’ as well as the ‘confines’ that restrain a best practice logline to a 25 word exercise in simplicity and commercially orientated adaptation.
* The inciting incident is that he ‘finds 37 resources’ – that is one weird statement – he can’t be much of a logliner if this is the inciting incident which leads me to believe that he is ‘one helluva deluded man’.

So assuming that he really has a world title to his name ( and pronounced by his flock and the world as THEE official guru) I would log line it like this ( in 25 words):

When the world’s greatest logliner is overburdened with ideas to write his best ever logline he must apply begrudging restraint to keep it commercially enticing. ( a drama)

But really because he is one deluded man and really has the title of world’s biggest wanker ( officially by the logliner) who writes with satirical undertones and overtones. I’d logline it like this:

When a deluded world’s greatest logliner finds too many resources his misplaced smugness clouds his ability to restrain his logline to simplicity and commercial enticement.

This is a comedy or tragedy of course – all in the one – his delusion may be temporary and when he is persuaded to come down from the mountain and stop counting his beads he may regain his former ‘abilities lost’.

Anyway they’re my meanderings and I’m sticking to them ………….

Kind Regards
Pat