The three essential ingredients
Every logline needs these three. Leave one out, and whatever the sentence contains, it isn’t a logline yet.
Character. Not just a name or a job title. Give us their function in the story and one trait of their sociology or psychology: a languid sheriff, a self-centred weather man, an exiled dream thief.
Major event. The inciting incident, the call to adventure, the moment the story actually begins. Skip this, and a reader has no idea why this story is happening now rather than on any other day.
Action or goal. What the character tries to achieve for most of the story, in response to the major event.
Four optional ingredients
These sharpen a logline, but each only earns its place when it’s genuinely doing work. All four are things the Logline Generator will ask you about, and none of them are required.
World. Worth stating only when the setting itself changes what’s possible in the story: “in a world where…”. Skip it for anything set in the world as we already know it.
Theme, or the character’s flaw. The trait your character needs to overcome. This is where a logline hints at the arc, not just the plot.
Mid-point reversal (MPR). A turn about halfway through serious enough to change the character’s tactics, sometimes their whole goal. Read more on the mid-point.
Stakes, obstacle, or antagonist. What’s lost if the character fails, who or what stands in their way, or a deadline forcing their hand. Often already implied by a strong major event and goal, in which case, leave it out.