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2. The “what happens” line:
A middle-class gardener is given three days
to come up with two million dollars to
save his kidnapped wife.
Now you’ve got a logline and an elevator pitch in
your back pocket. If someone asks you for a brief on your
novel as you walk to the elevator (or anywhere else), you
give the logline. If the person wants to know more, you
give him the elevator speech.
Have a logline and an elevator speech for your cur-
rent novel and also your novel in progress.
Don’t have a novel in progress?
Start one.
When I fi nish a novel, I ship the manuscript off
to my editor, and while he’s reading it, I begin
a new one. I write half a dozen chapters and a
brief synopsis—just enough to get my publishers
hooked—then, as soon as I get the first check,
I throw away the synopsis and let the book
lead where it will. (My publishers have never
complained about this.)
—Stuart Woods
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