Screenwriting : First 20 Pages Of A Time Travel Script by Peter Ford

Hi Peter. Do you have a logline you can share? I'm happy to take a look at the first 20 pages.

Hi Eoin, thanks for replying. The longline is - Time and tide wait for no man, but they might for a teenage boy...

Hi Peter Ford - that's probably more of a tagline for a poster than a logline for the script. Do you have a link to the script, or is it posted in your profile? If not, you can drop me a message here to share

Eoin, thanks for that, I'll see if I can expand the logline a bit more. What format is best for screenplays, Final Cut? Any suggestions? I use Pages on my Mac, and can easily change formats to suit.

I meant Final Draft! I am getting my video mixed up with my screenwriting!

Hi Peter.

I'm using Final Draft 14 for my screenwriting, however, they're alternatives such as WritersDuet which is free to use.

Kind Regards,

Michael

HI there, Peter! This isn't about your first 20 pages necessarily, but if I may: this reads as a lovely tagline, but not quite a logline.

Loglines that much more specifically spell out what the piece is actually about, and the super tricky thing is that you have to do that in as engaging a way as possible within two sentences max. I know that that might sound like a tall order, but the great thing about an impactful logline is that if/when it works, it both A) certainly grabs the audience's attention, and B) helps you the writer get ultra specific with your piece.

Aaron Sorkin has a GREAT formula for building a logline that I love:

[protagonist] + [inciting incident] + [protagonist’s goal] + [central conflict]

(It's not necessary that you include those four components in that precise order, it's just important that those four components exist somewhere in the logline.)

For example:

"A young F.B.I. cadet must confide in an incarcerated and manipulative killer to receive his help on catching another serial killer who skins his victims."

"A group of seven former college friends gathers for a weekend reunion at a South Carolina winter house after the funeral of one of their friends."

"When his son is swept out to sea, an anxious clownfish embarks on a perilous journey across a treacherous ocean to bring him back."

I hope that this is helpful!

Angela, many thanks! I understand this a lot better now! how about this...... In a universe of good and evil, a boy meets a girl. The girl dies. Devastated boy blames himself and sets off to save girl by finding a magic time-bending amulet left by his father somewhere in history.

Hi Peter. If by format, you mean what's the easiest way to share, print to PDF from whatever screenwriting software you are using.

Okay, I have the screenplay (first 20 pages) as a pdf, how do I send it to you? can't see anyway of uploading files?