Hey, writers. I love the Seven Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen Covey. Today, let’s talk about the second Habit: Begin with the End in Mind.

For this habit I’ll cover the logline.

Hit the jump, writers, and let’s discuss.

Whenever I’m working on a project, I like to plan the upcoming steps then work through them. As my friend, Peanut Butter used to say to me, “Alvin, you’re always working on something.”

He was mocking me of course, but I agreed with him.

I use the Seven Habits in my day to day life, but I also use them in my writing. Case in point, when I think of “Begin with the end in mind” I immediately think of something I call the Single Sentence Summary.

It’s sometimes called a logline but I don’t believe they’re the same thing.

For instance, the Single Sentence Summary is never intended for the public. With that level of secrecy, multiple things can be simplified. For instance, if the original SSS was that “John fights the Monster then there’s the big reveal.”

It can instead be, “John fights the gargoyle then finds out he is pregnant.” Okay wait. That came out weird.

O.o

Haha.

Anyway.

The point still stands. Sometimes my friends will ask me what I’m working on and the answer will be like “Guy X does something to Guy Y.”

A vague statement like that might satisfy some of their curiosity but it doesn’t help me as a writer.

Some Assembly Required

So how do we write an SSS? There are multiple formulas. Here’s one that I have used before.

“When ___________ , Main Character must ___________ and then ___________.”

Let’s take a look at Terminator 2: Judgement Day.

When AN EVIL ROBOT ARRIVES FROM THE FUTURE, John Connor must FREE HIS MOTHER FROM AN INSANE ASYLUM or HE AND HIS FAMILY WILL BE MURDERED.

I remember reading about loglines before and I’m thinking it now: Creating a good Single Sentence Summary can be quite difficult. Once I finished this one, I realized I needed to add the Human-Machine War to make my logline work.

The Right Tool for the Job

If it can be that difficult, why spend so much time on it?

Well, the Single Sentence Summary helps us “Begin with the End in Mind.”

It reminds us who our main characters are and after an edit or two, it reminds us to flesh out important things, like the Human-Machine War.

The interesting thing is that it also reminds us what NOT to do.

For instance, in other Terminator movies there are flying vehicles as well as a robot as tall as a building.

In Terminator 2? Those things aren’t really in the movie.

And, writers, I think that’s the right choice.

Pangaea

So I love world building. I have designed animals, robots, monsters, ecosystems, constellations, and futuristic buildings. Eventually, they’ll make it into a story somewhere, but they’re not all going to make it into the same story. (Although that sounds like a fun challenge now. Hm…)

The SSS can serve as a guiding light. If it takes a year to write your novel, then I assure you there will be multiple opportunities to take a wrong turn.

A part of writing is enjoying the happy accidents and the small surprises, and I’m all for those, my beef is getting lost in the woods and wasting time to get out.

The Single Sentence Summary can prevent us from wandering into those woods in the first place.

If you’ve never done one, then I recommend you

Draft up a Single Sentence Summary and write a story with it.

Let me know if it does or doesn’t work for you. Sound off in the comments!

Aloha,
Alvin

Remember, there are Seven Habits of Highly Effective People in total:

Habit #1. Be Proactive. Do Thank You Letters as well as Query Letters.
Habit #2. Begin with the End in Mind. Create a logline for your stories.
Habit #3. Put First Things First.
Habit #4. Think Win-Win.
Habit #5. Seek First to Understand, then to be Understood.
Habit #6. Synergize.
Habit #7. Sharpen the Saw.