Hatrack River Writers Workshop: What's your story about? -challenge-

This is topic What's your story about? -challenge- in forum Writing Challenges at Hatrack River Writers Workshop.

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Posted by axeminister (Member # 8991) on :

This is a log line / premise challenge.

In the past few months we've covered the synopsis and the query. Let's zoom all the way down to the elevator pitch.

When you tell someone you've written a novel/short story, they usually ask what it's about. Your answer should be one concise sentence. It should be a sentence you've worked on and memorized. You should be able to recite it on a moment's notice and you should sound excited about it with each telling.

This challenge will help you create that sentence. (if you haven't already.)

This challenge will run for one full week.

Multiple entries are encouraged.

Please vote (starting next MONDAY at 0:01 EST) for your top three favorite loglines, the ones that would most make you want to read that person's story.

Scoring will be 5 pts for first, 4 pts for second, 3 pts for third.

Voting is mandatory.
Crits are optional.

Cited below are two examples. (Taken verbatim from "Write Good or Die" editor: Scott Nicholson)

-A young female FBI trainee must barter personal information with an imprisoned psychopathic genius in order to catch a serial killer who is capturing and killing young women for their skins.

-A treasure-hunting archeologist races over the globe to find the legendary Lost Ark of the Covenant before Hitler’s minions can acquire and use it to supernaturally power the Nazi army.

So, choose your favorite self-written story (or stories) and make us want to read on!

Axe

update:

I've decided to sweeten the deal for the winner.

You sir/ma'am have in me, a guaranteed reader for up to 50 pages of your MS and I will critique it to the best of my ability.

Now, I'm an amateur, so take it for what it's worth, but sometimes just knowing someone will be reading your work and soon allows you to look at it from a different perspective.

Get those 50 pages ready, for when you win, I'll expect them in my e-mail shortly thereafter!

[This message has been edited by axeminister (edited March 01, 2011).]

Posted by History (Member # 9213) on :

May we contribute more than one entry?

[This message has been edited by History (edited February 28, 2011).]

Posted by Meredith (Member # 8368) on :

Thanks for doing this, Axeminster.

Now I'll have to work on mine.

Posted by LDWriter2 (Member # 9148) on :

Sounds interesting, some good lines I think .

but it Sunday the last day or Saturday?

It may take me that long to think of one. I wasn't going to do another story contest but this I might do.

Posted by axeminister (Member # 8991) on :

History,

PLEASE do more than one...

The purpose of this contest is to help you/me/us come up with great logline(s) for our stories.

I want you to have them ready if someone asks, be it peer or who knows - editor.

One of the things I learned from my script writing days is you must be ready for this question also... "What else you got?"

Axe

Posted by axeminister (Member # 8991) on :

LDWriter,

The last day was Saturday, but I realize that only gives one weekend day...

I'll switch it to add the other weekend day and the voting will begin next MONDAY instead.

Just in case someone wants to squeak one more entry in next Sunday.

Axe

Posted by Utahute72 (Member # 9057) on :

Wow Axe, reading the MS and $4000 to the winner, you really are generous.

Posted by axeminister (Member # 8991) on :

Doh!

I actually re-read my original post to see if I put that in there.

Posted by RoxyL (Member # 9096) on :

So, I haven't decided if I'm entering this fine conest yet, but I thought I'd pass on a couple resources I've found.

The first is a great log line/pitch worksheet. The link and the next few posts after it are very helpful.

http://edittorrent.blogspot.com/2009/04/log-line-pitches-or-how-to-tweet-your.html

The next source for inspirational log lines is actually Netflix. Their tiny summaries for movies are really just logs lines. I've been browsing them deciding which I like or dislike and why.

HTH

Posted by snapper (Member # 7299) on :

That is a very nice prize offering.

Posted by axeminister (Member # 8991) on :

Hey Roxy,

Even if you don't submit an entry, you're thinking about writing, and that's the goal. Keeping your head in the game.

Axe

Posted by Utahute72 (Member # 9057) on :

I propose a voting change. Instead of ranking them the traditional one, two or three. How about you just score each one as a yes or no. Meaning yes you would read the intro letter, no you wouldn't. The winner would then be the most yes votes. The rationale is this. We are determining if this pitch works, that seems the best criteria for whether or not it does.

Posted by axeminister (Member # 8991) on :

Utahute,

While not completely up to me, I'm not sure if we'd have time for a consensus vote, so I'll give you my take on the idea.

A no is a rejection.
We get enough of those when being serious, I'd hate to start throwing them around when we're not.

If someone doesn't vote for you, they liked someones idea more than yours, but perhaps they didn't dislike yours.

Even when we crit each other it's done in a fashion to help the writer improve, or explain what didn't work for each of us and why it didn't get a top 3 vote.

Saying no to someone's idea seems a lot more negative than simply not getting your vote.

What do you all think?

Axe

Posted by Unwritten (Member # 7960) on :

I agree that it's too late to change it. Besides, I'd be giving a yes to almost all of them--it might make judging impossibly close. The one or two who don't get many yes votes probably would feel very, very rejected.

Posted by philocinemas (Member # 8108) on :

I agree that it is too late to change this and that tallying yes's and no's would be too complicated, but I'm not offended by no's - it is more helpful to know when and why something doesn't work.

All of these stories could be fantastic or really suck - we are voting on the quality of the pitch and not of the writing or of the story itself.

Posted by genevive42 (Member # 8714) on :

I agree that it's too late to change. I think the crits (even though they're optional) will clarify what's strong or weak about the line and be the most help.

Posted by Utahute72 (Member # 9057) on :

OK, it was just a thought that came to me as I was scanning the entries. I was just thinking that with 30 entries it will take a lot longer to weed it down to 1 through 3 than make an inital stab at what interested you. To me that's good information because if no one is really interested in the pitch maybe it's time to take a different tack. But I understand it's rather late in the game for a change.

Posted by kevenwall (Member # 9433) on :

Just a side bar...will it become clear how to vote tomorrow morning? This is the first "writing challenge" I've been a part of...

Posted by Brendan (Member # 6044) on :

Just a suggestion. If we do do crits, could we create a separate thread called "What's your story about? -challenge crits-". That way the voting is easier to follow.

Posted by axeminister (Member # 8991) on :

Utahute,
No prob. If I'd known there would be so many entries, I would have suggested we vote for our top 5 and go from there.
However, keep in mind you are always welcome to comment.
If you vote for top 3, maybe type out who # 4 was. Or just say which other entries you enjoyed.

Brendan,
The job of tallying the votes falls to me. It's gonna be fun.
I did count wrong on the last two I ran and Genevive had to correct me, so I should say the job of tallying the votes falls to me - then her.

Kevenwall,
Voting begins at 12:01 Monday morning EST.
I won't be up at that time, so how to vote is simple. Go to the ENTRIES thread and submit a reply. Simply type in your top three favorites.
(You can look back at other contests for our style)
You may crit, or not. Elaborate on what you liked and why you voted, or not. It's up to you!

Axe

Posted by pdblake (Member # 9218) on :

I've got completely lost on how we're voting here and whether we are givng crits or not, so I've removed my entry and vote.

Also, I'm not really comfortable with the multiple entry thing (just noticed reading the entries thread again). I've entered one and some people have put in three or more. Would you pitch three in a row in an elevator to an agent you just met?

Maybe next time.

[This message has been edited by pdblake (edited March 08, 2011).]

Posted by axeminister (Member # 8991) on :

pdblake,

The purpose of the contest isn't the voting or the winning/losing, it's if you've played the game.

It's just an exercise for you to get your novel/story down to a sentence in case anyone asks what it's about.

Multiple entries means that person has multiple stories - this is good.

Who knows what someone may ask you when the time comes. I mentioned in a different post that in movie script world "what else you got?" is a question you have to be ready for. You can't get your face time with a producer, say one sentence, have him/her not like it, then leave. You have to be ready to pitch your alien story immediately after your boy meets girl story.

Just food for thought.

Axe

Posted by LDWriter2 (Member # 9148) on :

Obviously I didn't enter, I just couldn't remember to sit down and get an idea typed out even though I thought it out once.

Anyway, I wish I could have voted because I think there were some very good sentences.

Even though it would need to be a very long "elevator ride" for some of them....

Posted by axeminister (Member # 8991) on :

LD,

I'm still curious what your favorites are. Why don't you vote in here and let us know what it is you liked about them.
Remember, we're all here to improve, so comments are always helpful.

Axe

Posted by LDWriter2 (Member # 9148) on :

axeminister I can do that but it could take me a day or two. There's seems to be a lot of them and I think a couple were added since the last time I read some. I need to get to some writing tonight and tomorrow I need to send out some stories. Way behind on that.

Posted by Tiergan (Member # 7852) on :

Well I got my reward the other day, 50 page critique.

Thank you so much, Axeminister, very well done. I really appreciate it, and glad you enjoyed the story.