- WHY
- Every story needs a hero, not so much because of the character or the arc/journey. For most narrative stories, the audience needs to understand WHO this is all happening to, and how they respond. So before we can talk about a plot, we need a POV. Even in many video games, you have a central character, and/or POV.
- HOW
- Keep it simple, and don’t use the character’s name unless they are generally known (E.g. Batman, Jesus, The Rock etc.). Typically you would include the character’s function, as well as an important character trait. Some writers pick a few basic attributes using the 3 aspects of Lajos Egri’s Bone Structure: physiognomy (physicality), sociology (role in society) and psychology (behaviour, temperament).
- ONE
- Stories can have any number of characters, but a single protagonist is most common, and recommended for beginning writers. Managing multiple heroes requires skill and experience. It is also notoriously tough to write loglines for more than one hero. So if your story has multiple protagonists, pick one and write the logline from their single POV.
- WHY
DON’T FORGET
Whatever you write now doesn’t have to be perfect.
You can play around with it later, and edit the logline generator’s outcome.
These notes complement the Logline Generator, developed in partnership with Story Architect.
Our thanks also go to Peter Boot, who coded the very first Logline Generator.
When drafting your logline using the Logline Generator, click the relevant section for more info on each.