When I made the one-shot, I utilized one of the best writing tips I learned from screenwriters:

📌 Start with a logline.

Before diving into your story, make a logline first.

A logline is a one- or two-sentence summary that captures the essence of your story. It tells you (and others) what your story is about in the simplest, quickest way possible.

Making one for yourself helps you focus on the core of your story without getting lost in the sauce— plus, it’s great for pitching and promotion later.

A typical logline tells the reader:

For my one-shot story, I kept toying with ideas until I settled on the logline of:

"A middle-aged man tries to live normally after learning a ghost is haunting his hemorrhoids."

Once I had that, the rest became easier to build.

I knew I wanted to add some emotional depth (a Plot B), so I kept brainstorming until I found something that's in the manga now.

Since the logline gave me the core of the story, figuring out the rest—the meat—was way smoother.

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📌 Add Irony to Your Logline

A quote mentioned in my previous post:

"The number one thing a good logline must have, the single most important element is: irony….Irony gets my attention. It’s what we who struggle with loglines like to call the hook, because that’s what it does. It hooks your interest." -Blake Snyder

A catchy logline often has irony—a contradiction that instantly makes the premise intriguing. 

It makes people do a double-take and ask "wait, what?" That curiosity is what draws them in.

💡 Examples:

• "To get his land back, a grumpy ogre is forced to go on a hero’s quest to save a princess." (Shrek)
• "A family of superheroes try to live a quiet suburban life until they're forced back to save the world." (The Incredibles)

Situational irony is where the characters’ circumstances are the opposite of what you’d expect. 

💡 Examples:

• "A young lion prince, believing he caused his father’s death, runs away— while the real murderer takes his place as king." (Lion King)
• "A young woman from high society falls in love with a poor artist aboard the Titanic, unaware that the ship is doomed to sink." (Titanic)

Dramatic irony adds tension and emotional weight to stories, as the audience knows what's going to happen but the characters are unaware of the drama ahead.

In my story, the ghost isn’t haunting a house or a cursed object like a typical ghost would.

It’s haunting… a guy’s asshole.

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📌 Don't Hold Back

Write down every idea, no matter how dumb it seems. Sometimes the stupidest thought sparks the best idea.

And don’t be afraid to toss things out and swap pieces in. Writing is like solving a puzzle.

A writer said this in one of his Youtube videos:

One of the biggest signs of an amateur writer is clinging too hard to a single idea. They try to force the wrong puzzle piece to fit, no matter how much they reshape it.

Pros know to step back, experiment, and ask for feedback. They swap out pieces, test different angles, and keep adjusting until they find the one that actually works.

If something isn't working, it’s not a failure to change it—it’s part of the process.

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I hope the logline tip can help your writing journey, as it did with mine!