on writing success - log lines

I've read before that the log line of your novel should be the first paragraph in
a query (QueryShark says to avoid them).  Some call it a hook, and mean it to
catch the agent's attention, not explain the entire story in one sentence.  Other
times I've read it's best to have in your pocket in case you need to give a verbal
pitch.  Either way, it's important to come up with one for your project.

All log lines should have:

An adjective about the hero.
An adjective about the bad guy.
A goal we can relate to.
A Killer title

Questions to help you into writing the log line:

1. What genre is the book?
2. Who is the main character?
3. What makes her unique?
4. What is the inciting incident?
5. What is your main character’s goal?
6. What is the major conflict your character will face?
7. What is the consequence if the main character fails?

Some famous log lines:

Seventeen year old Bella Swan falls in love with vampire Edward Cullen only
to find out he might want to kill her more than love her.
- TWILIGHT by Stephenie Meyer

Eleven year old famous wizard, Harry Potter, is sent to wizarding school to learn
magic, but ends up solving a mystery over life and death all with the most evil of
wizards, Lord Voldemort, trying to kill him.
- HARRY POTTER AND THE SORCERER'S STONE by JK Rowling.

Sixteen year old Clary Fray discovers, after her mother's kidnapping, that she
belongs to a world of Shadow Hunters, a nephilum force protecting humans
from downworlders (vampires, werewolves, and faeries).
- CITY OF BONES by Cassandra Clare

An angel, Bethany, is sent to Earth on a mission, but falling in love wasn't part of
the plan.  - HALO by Alexandra Adornetto (Source)

Get brainstorming!

Semi-arbitrary illustration by Ema Trapsa

on writing success - a successful query letter

Dear Ms. Kriss:

As you represent strong authors in the adult urban fantasy genre such as Vicki Pettersson
and Lilith Saintcrow, and your agency’s website also states an interest in Young Adult fiction,
I thought you might be interested in seeing my contemporary fantasy novel for older YA
readers, THE IRON WITCH.

Freak. That’s what they called seventeen-year-old Dona Underwood in high school after a
horrific fey attack that killed her father when she was just a child. Her injuries and subsequent rehabilitation resulted in magically enhanced strength, thanks to the iron tattoos branding
her hands and arms.

Now, after ten years of wishing for a normal life, she finally has to accept her role in the
centuries-old war against the darkest outcasts of Faerie. Aided by a gorgeous half-fey dropout
and a depressed biker-chick vampire, Dona must race to save her best friend’s life – even if it
means betraying one of the world’s greatest secrets and confronting the very thing that
destroyed her family.

Although I am from London in the United Kingdom, I think my writing will find a more
natural market in the United States. THE IRON WITCH is set in the imaginary city of
Ironbridge in Western Massachusetts, and I hope it will appeal to readers of Melissa Marr
and Holly Black. The novel is complete at 65,500 words and I have just begun work on
nother book set in the same world.

As per the current submission guidelines, I have pasted the first ten pages and a detailed
synopsis below, and would be delighted to send the full manuscript at your request.
Thank you very much for your time and consideration.

Sincerely,

Karen Mahoney

Via Writer's Digest