As an addendum to my post the other day on outlines and cover letters, there’s this (from romance novelist Linda Conrad via Terri-Lynne DeFino): a handy-dandy basic two-sentence “elevator pitch” generator:
(TITLE) is a (GENRE) about (Heroine/Hero), a (backstory/identity) who, after (inner conflict) wants (goal). But when (turning point) happens, he/she has to (external goal), which seems impossible because (external conflict).
Looked at in skeletal form, it resembles nothing so much as MadLibs For Authors, but it works.
The exact URL for the generator (with much more on pitches in general) is here: http://voicesftheart.blogspot.com/2011/04/your-pitch.html
Your google-fu is strong. (And the sample pitches on that site are useful, too.)