I do. I try to visit my local library's magazine section at least once a week. I just dip in and out of articles to feed the brain on different topics. A question regarding story concepts: Is it a no-no to use story concepts when writing a logline? For example: Version 1: (focus on narrative) A star-ship captain and her crew must win a race in space to payoff a ransom for her son. Version 2: (focus on tone and genre, even though there might be narrative discrepancies of what one intended to write) Death Race with the Millennium Falcon racing through wormholes and exotic planets.

Hi Scott, I strongly believe in the phrase "If I don't feel it, no one else will." I start with my own strongest - positive and negative - feelings concerning romantic love, the loss of love, friendships and loyalty, sibling rivalries, family issues etc. From that basis - the inner circle - I create a character and his biography. After that I get a feeling about the right genre and add something to it, sometimes the latest political or socialpolitical stuff or a time travel hook.

John, I don't think there's a rule about how to craft a logline. My basic philosophy is this: "Sell it, don't tell it." That is don't get bogged down in an overlong iteration of the story's narrative elements, rather focus on a clear, concise version which emphasizes the story's central conceit. What's that one major element which will hook a reader's attention? That's why I liked the six word exercise: Can you convey the essence of your story in six words? With my movie K-9, it was: Headstrong cop. New partner. Police dog. In terms of your examples, both may be of value. I would lead with the first one, but have the second one in my back pocket, so that at the end of the pitch, I could toss that off to give the producer, exec, rep, etc something they could have in mind to frame the story to others. For K-9: "It's 48 Hrs. with Rin Tin Tin." Which is to say we benefit when coming up with several different ways to summarize a story: Logline, Synopsis, Treatment, Beat Sheet. Even variations on loglines. After all that, the short answer to your question: Not a no-no, however in my view, you tell the story first, THEN give them the 'meta' take (using movie references) at the end to fully set the hook.

Dennis, a writer's emotional connection to a story is a really big deal, and one reason for that is what you've articulated: "If I don't feel it, no one else will." It's your emotional resonance to the material which can help lift the writing off the page and become 'alive' in the imagination of the reader. I think you'll be interested in Part 4 (Thursday) of this week's series as some Black List writers I interviewed come from their story concepting process from a personal emotionally-centered place.