When a lonely, middle-aged Aussie long-distance truckie finds love online with a city girl, he must overcome his fear of losing what he loves most to win her heart.

“he must overcome his fear of losing what he loves most” — which is what? His independence, his privacy? If so, it’s a valid internal conflict, but there has to be outward manifestation of it, an objective goal. Eventually, he must choose between his flaw — or taking a risk for the grand prize of life: love.

Like the protagonist Ryan Bingham in “Up in the Air”. His job keeps him flying all the time, enables his preference for relationships with benefits but no commitments. Finally, he risk all for love. Okay, that choice ends with a shocking reveal and failure. It takes an A-list actor like George Clooney to pull off that kind of ending.

But the plot point remains: Clooney’s character finally risked all, put all his emotional chips in the pot for love and relationship.

What is the greatest risk your protagonist must take? What are the chips he must finally push into the pot, not knowing what card he will be dealt next?

In “Up in the Air”, the love story is the “B” story, a complicating counterpoint to the “A” story.

Ryan Bingham’s objective goal is to make the million-mile club. In order to achieve that goal, he MUST stay in the air rather than be stuck at the home office firing people remotely in front of a computer terminal. (And he achieves his “A” story objective goal, but because of his failure in the “B” story, it’s a hollow victory.)

So what’s your character’s “A” story and what is the “A” story objective goal? The love-relationship plot line isn’t usually the “A” story. Although it can be; the most congenial genre for that configuration is romantic comedy.

If the “A” story in your plot is about love, then what’s the counterpoint “B” story that relates to — and complicates — the “A” story?

Okay, but again, to clarify: “What does he loves most” that he has to be willing to sacrifice for the sake of love? Whatever it is may figure in the logline as it’s central to his dramatic dilemma.

Louise Weihart:

I’m afraid at the moment, I have more questions that answers. For one thing, I don’t see the truck as an antagonist. Rather, it’s a device that enables/facilitates his dramatic flaw, just as the jet enables/facilitates Bingham’s dramatic flaw. (In “Up in the Air”, Bingham’s antagonist is Natalie Keener with her scheme to fire employees remotely, eliminating Bingham’s frequent flyer lifestyle.)

So that raises the question: who is the antagonist? A rival for her affections? Someone at work with a grand scheme that threatens the guy’s freedom of the road? (And what is the nature of his freedom of the road: short haul or long haul? Does he transport cross country or just around a city?)

Another question: As the love story in your script is the primary narrative, “A” story, instead of the secondary narrative, “B” story (as in “Up in the Air”), would it make sense in terms of balancing out the relationship story that she has to make an equivalent sacrifice? If so, what might she have to give up for him?

fwiw.