Examples: "A confident but average-looking little girl" or "A blind swordsman" or "An overanxious accountant"

Brief means a maximum of a few words. Don't make it too long (a sentence is too long).

In your brief character description, you want to include only what gives context to your story's premise or the character's conflict. If we don't need to know the psychological makeup of your character at this point, then don't include it in your logline. In the "Little Miss Sunshine" example above, "average-looking" was included to describe the character because it relates to the premise of entering a beauty pageant. By also stating that she's confident, it makes sense that she would drag her family across the country just to enter a beauty pageant despite being "average-looking." If not for the premise of "Little Miss Sunshine," (let's say the story is instead about a bank heist), we would not include what the character looks like as it is would be unnecessary.

Also, make sure to enter a brief character description instead of your character's name. Using your character's name in your logline can cause the reader to have false assumptions about your character's age, race, personality, etc. If the reader simply doesn't like the character's name because it reminds them of an ex-spouse or someone they don't like, then at least the reader can find that out in the synopsis. But in your logline, you should be able to tell the reader who the script is about without needing to tell them his/her name.

Examples: "to enter a beauty pageant" or "win a date with his boss" or "wants to discover the identity of the neighborhood's serial killer."

What does your character want or need? What are they after? Does this tie into the main narrative storyline in your script? It is best to include the most obvious and critical need or goal so the reader can immediately "get it." Your character may have a more glaring psychological or spiritual need that is revealed in your script's Act II, but sometimes it is best to leave it out if it makes your logline confusing for someone who doesn't know anything about your script yet.

Keep it simple. Often, a character's need or goal is simply to deliver a package or to meet someone across the country. The reader can't get into your character's head based on one logline, so don't include any complex internal needs. If your character's stakes seem fairly low (e.g. no one is going to be killed in your story), and you're concerned it makes your premise sound boring, then use more dynamic words to spice it up (example: instead of "has to eat dinner with her dreaded in-laws" use "must survive Thanksgiving dinner with her nasty, rowdy in-laws"). Think of other character-driven films that you have seen and ask yourself what the main character of those films wanted that set the story in motion.

Examples: "drags her dysfunctional family on a cross-country road trip" or "her family is extremely dysfunctional" or "he's an alcoholic and can't forget the memory of his wife's death."

Again, be clear and keep it simple. We don't need to know every potential antagonist. Because film is visual, be careful about only referencing a vague internal conflict instead of a clear external conflict or a clear internal problem that we can understand or relate to. See if there are any external conflicts that serve as obstacles to your character's goal/need. Think about where your character is headed after Act I: What keeps derailing the character's progress? Is there a common thread, such as a consistent villain or a character's inner demons? Regardless, keep it as clear as possible to someone who has no clue as to who your character is and thus has no context. If you were to list the most consistent opposition to the character that causes them to struggle, what is that?

Example of a tagline: "In space, no one can hear you scream." After reading that tagline, you still don't really know what the story could be about - other than it's some kind or thriller/horror set in space. Unlike a tagline, a proper logline should give the reader more than just a vague "feeling" or tone. Thus, instead of the tagline "In space, no one can hear your scream," the logline could be "When a spaceship crewmember discovers that a vicious alien has boarded their ship, she must access her inner heroine and prevent the destruction of not only the crew but the future of mankind." Taglines are best used by studios on movie posters or trailers, rather than in conjunction with a logline. You can choose to add a tagline, but it should come after your logline and not replace it. However, keep in mind that taglines can sometimes be counterproductive - they can be cheesy or mislead the reader - so we recommend you just avoid using them altogether in your listing on InkTip.

Example of unsubstantiated boasts: "This will amaze audiences worldwide" or "People will fall in love with my story." This type of conjecture can turn off a reader as no one in the industry can accurately guess how successful a movie will be. Thus, don't include these statements when you pitch your script - it shows either naivety or arrogance. Confidence in your script means not needing to make lofty predictions.

Examples: "After being trapped in a building by hostage-taking terrorists" or "When a woman discovers her long lost twin is still alive" or "When a mild-mannered dentist is framed for murder."

The inciting incident is what sets your story in motion. What happens near the beginning of the story and how does that affect the character? Often, you can begin your inciting incident with the words "When" or "After." In the "Die Hard" example above, "After being trapped in a building" is the inciting incident because without that initial action, we'd have no story.

What happens if you leave out the inciting incident? Without it, we might have no context as to why your character is doing what they are doing in your script. For example, instead of just writing "A cop must stop a bad guy" write "When a bad guy plants bombs in a major city, a cop must stop him before the city's annual parade occurs." Otherwise, we don't know or care why a cop must stop a random bad guy - the cop got called to the mission for a reason, after all, and that reason is the inciting incident (a bad guy plants bombs in a major city).

So think about what happens in your Act I so the reader of your logline understands why your character is doing what they're doing the rest of the script. If you're stuck, look at movie trailers (the full trailers, not the teasers) - they're often edited so that a ten-year-old can understand not only what the character must do, but why they're doing it...in other words, the character is responding to the inciting incident.

Examples: "A witty but conflicted New York City cop" or "A mild-mannered dentist" or "A tenacious wedding planner.

Brief means a maximum of a few words. You want to include only what gives context to your story's premise or the character's conflict. If we don't need to know the psychological makeup of your character at this point, then don't include it in your logline. In the "Die Hard" example above, "witty but conflicted New York City cop" tells us that this isn't just any cop, but a street-wise cop with a sense of humor who's seen it all working the streets of New York City. By including that he's conflicted, it causes the reader to ask, "Oh, that's interesting...why is he conflicted?" We don't need to detail in the logline why he's conflicted.

Also, make sure to enter a brief character description instead of your character's name. Using your character's name in your logline can cause the reader to have false assumptions about your character's age, race, personality, etc. If the reader simply doesn't like the character's name because it reminds them of an ex-spouse or someone they don't like, then at least the reader can find that out in the synopsis. But in your logline, you should be able to tell the reader who the script is about without needing to tell them his/her name.

Examples: "must outrun, outwit and hunt the bad guys down one-by-one" or "wants to win the school's music competition but faces much more talented competitors" or "launches an investigation to find the killer."

What does your character want? What are they going to do now that the inciting incident has occured? This is the difference between a tagline and a logline. When I see a tagline used for a logline, it's missing what the story's about, what the main character is after and what stands in the way of meeting that goal. So here is where you'll tell us what your character is after. Are they preparing to ask someone out on a date? Are they solving a mystery? Are they trying to escape a serial killer or win a music competition?

Besides the character's goal, if you can also include your obstacle without making your logline too lengthy, that's even better. Sometimes the obstacle may be implied and so you may not need it. An example of this would be if your inciting incident already creates the main obstacle in your story or if your character's shortcoming (brief character description) serves as an obstacle.

At the very least, make sure you note the main goal of the character's actions.

Example of a tagline: "In space, no one can hear you scream." After reading that tagline, you still don't really know what the story could be about - other than it's some kind or thriller/horror set in space. Unlike a tagline, a proper logline should give the reader more than just a vague "feeling" or tone. Thus, instead of the tagline "In space, no one can hear your scream," the logline could be "When a spaceship crewmember discovers that a vicious alien has boarded their ship, she must access her inner heroine and prevent the destruction of not only the crew but the future of mankind." Taglines are best used by studios on movie posters or trailers, rather than in conjunction with a logline. You can choose to add a tagline, but it should come after your logline and not replace it. However, keep in mind that taglines can sometimes be counterproductive - they can be cheesy or mislead the reader - so we recommend you just avoid using them altogether in your listing on InkTip.

Example of unsubstantiated boasts: "This will amaze audiences worldwide" or "People will fall in love with my story." This type of conjecture can turn off a reader as no one in the industry can accurately guess how successful a movie will be. Thus, don't include these statements when you pitch your script - it shows either naivety or arrogance. Confidence in your script means not needing to make lofty predictions.