The three essential ingredients

Required

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

Only if they earn it

These sharpen a logline, but each only earns its place when it’s genuinely doing work. The Logline Generator asks about all four; none are required.

World

Worth stating only when the setting itself changes what’s possible: “in a world where…”. Skip it for 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

A turn about halfway through serious enough to change the character’s tactics, sometimes their whole goal. More on the mid-point

Stakes, obstacle or antagonist

What’s lost on failure, who stands in the way, or a deadline forcing their hand. Often already implied by a strong event and goal; then leave it out.