March 31, 2010 | By: Tracy

LOST -- The Query

No secret, I'm a huge fan of LOST. It doesn't matter how frustrated I've been at the overall lack of Sawyer this season (I require regular doses of pectoral muscles in my television shows), I still tune in each & every week waiting for answers I know aren't really coming. It drives me insane ... and I love it!

Now, I know the television & movie industry works far different than print publishing -- but I imagine writers for series & screenplays still have to pitch their ideas to agents & producers same as we do. And since I'm still having a bit of difficulty nailing the specifics that need to be in my query pitch my mind got to wandering. 

What the heck would a query letter for LOST have looked like?

For the sake of having an actual end to the query, I only did Season 1. And I can't see how this sucker wouldn't wind up in the slush pile rejects.

*************

Dear Agent,

Oceanic Flight 815 is hundreds of miles off course when it crashes somewhere over the South Pacific. The survivors, left stranded on a tropic island, have one goal. Survive until the rescue boats arrives to save them all, all 46 ... 45 ... 44 ... 

Though beautiful to the eye, the island refuses to be kind to its new inhabitants. Kate, a criminal on the run, is forced to care for the federal agent who was taking her back to the States to be tried for the murder of her abusive step-dad. Kate also finds herself falling deeper into the affections of two men. Jack, the intensely loyal spine surgeon trying to cope with the death of his alcoholic father. And Sawyer, a con-man who works hard to hide the fact he's still the little boy who cowered under the bed while his father killed his mom and then took his own life. 

Kate, Jake and Sawyer are only part of the survivor stories, for they all have pasts to share ... if the island will let them. 

Several days after the crash, there is still no sign of rescue. If only the tropical island wasn't inhabited by polar bears, a monster that appears to be made entirely of black smoke, the mysterious continual appearance of the numbers 4-8-15-16-23-42, and a cornucopia of other strange and unexplainable occurrences, the experience might not be so unpleasant. But one by one their numbers begin to dwindle and the survivors will have to learn to live together ... or die alone.

LOST is a paranormal/ epic-fantasy/ mystery/ thriller/ romance set in a tropical dystopia and complete at 1,000,000 words. 

Thank you for your time.

Sincerely,
Writers of LOST

5 witty remarks:

Jessica Bell said...

paranormal/ epic-fantasy/ mystery/ thriller/ romance = LOLOLOLOL!

JE said...

I've never watched the show, but based on the query, I'm wondering if I should be? Nice!

~JD

Unknown said...

Haha! That's the only season I watched, so I was able to follow the query. Good job!

Btw, have you ever seen Taylor Kitsch? He looks like a younger Sawyer. He also plays the same kind of character.

ModernDayDrifter said...

This is great! I'm not a follower of Lost, but I could definitely see a writer pitch this to someone to get a show. LOL

Tracy said...

Thanks y'all. Now if only I could find a way to write a slightly less cheesy version of my own query I'd be rolling along.

Mary - who is this Taylor Kitsch you speak of? Looks like a young version of my Josh Halloway?? I must Google him right now!

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