A logline comes in two forms: character driven or plot driven. They are referred to as either character driven or plot driven story. What is a logline? A logline is a one to two-sentence summary of your story, which tells us who is your main character/protagonist, his/her goal, the inciting incident which begins your story, and the antagonistic force opposing our hero. It is sort of like a mission statement or a road map, which helps you plan and guide you to your goal. A “character driven” logline is one where the protagonist/hero causes the story to begin/unfold and all conflicts come from his/her actions while a “plot driven” logline is one where the antagonist or an event (such as school shooting, 9/11 or natural disaster) causes the story to begin, and the conflict stems from the antagonistic force which brought upon the protagonist.
In a character driven logline and story, the protagonist/main character's action is what creates the plot. For example: A thief robs a bank and causes the police to come after the thief, now the thief must find a way to escape capture. Another example: a miner turned prospector searching for mineral riches discovers oil and will do anything to maintain his greed even if that means pretending, lying and/or killing those who try to take it from him (There Will Be Blood). In these two stories, the characters are what drive the story. It is their actions that create the problem that must be solved. The character can either be the hero or villain; it just depends on the story and theme you want to tell. Most tragic hero stories are character driven. The logline of a character driven story usually begins with a description of the character, inciting incident (action) and the opposing force blocking the path to his goal (character + inciting incident (action) + opposing force). For a character driven logline, you don't necessary need to include the goal of the protagonist.
Character driven stories are difficult to write and often difficult to market because the plot and story must come from the characters themselves. They're not that popular and usually don't generate box office. But character driven stories are easier to create change/transformation (character arc) in the characters. You just have to figure out your character’s desire (What does he/she want?); this can be either internal or external or both. This leads to his action, this action then creates the inciting incident, which then causes reactions from opposing forces/characters. Now you have a plot. Most comedies, crimes, suspense and thrillers are character driven stories.
Here are some examples of “character driven” loglines from popular Hollywood movies. A veteran narcotics detective teams up with a rookie cop on his first day of training where the lines between cops and criminals are blurred (Training Day). Two best friends: a jaded waitress and dumb housewife kill a would-be rapist and become outlaws on the run (Thelma & Louise) from ruthless cops. A pair of womanizers crash a wedding to meet and bed women, but when one of them falls for the bridesmaid the two find themselves in hot water (The Wedding Crashers). A suburban wife, the child star of a popular show, disappears and her husband becomes the attention of a media frenzy when the world suspects he killed her (Gone Girl). A depressed office worker, looking for a way to change his life, crosses paths with a devil-may-care fighter and forms an underground fight club that evolves into something much, much more (Fight Club). In all these above loglines, no plots draw the characters into the story; but it's the characters themselves that create the plot.
Character Driven Elements Breakdown: "THELMA & LOUISE".
Character(s) = Two best friends: a waitress and housewife
Inciting Incident = Kill a would be rapist
Antagonistic Force = Cops - all men (This being a movie about feminism)
In a plot driven story, the protagonist is drawn into an event/incident where he must find a way solve the problem that created this event. For example: When global warming threatens to flood the earth, an engineer must build a giant ship to save humanity and the animals before it is too late. Another example: When a demon attacks his village, a young prince destroys the demon and receives a curse, to lift this curse he sets out on a quest to the west where he becomes embroiled in a war between the forest gods and humans, which created the curse that he received. In these two stories, you can see how the plots draw the protagonist to become involved. A plot driven logline usually begins with a description of the inciting incident, the character and his goal, then the opposing force blocking his path (inciting incident + character & goal + opposing force). Often times, it is the antagonist and his action that creates the inciting incident - hint: TLOR).
The upside about plot driven story is that it is popular and marketable. Plot driven stories are what Hollywood executives and producers called “a high concept”. I t gets even better if your plot comes from the antagonist like in The Lord of the Rings, Aliens, The Terminator, Star Wars and many more. And it gets even much better if the plot involves a prophecy whether the prophecy is about the birth of a savior/liberator or the death of villain/tyrant taking over the world. The Matrix is a great example of a prophecy about a savior. In TLOR, the antagonist is Sauron and it is he who drives the story. The plot begins with Sauron creating the rings of power to rule all of middle earth. He is bringing war and destruction upon the world. Sauron – the embodiment of an authoritarian government/dictator, is the genesis of all conflicts. Now, the people of middle earth must fight for their freedom, and the protagonists (Frodo, Gandalf, Aragon etc) are drawn into the plot. Their goal is to destroy Sauron. Thus, you have conflicts when two opposing forces go head-to-head. Here you see how the heroes are not the cause of the plot. This is why it’s called a plot driven story.
Here are some “plot driven” logline examples from popular Hollywood movies. After being exiled for the death of his father, a young lion returns to take back his kingdom from an evil uncle when he realizes his destiny to be king (The Lion King). When the King turns his swamp into a fairy tale creature refugee camp, an ogre must do the king’s bidding – rescue a princess from a fire breathing dragon to get his swamp back (Shrek). After a banker is sentenced to life in prison for the murder of his wife, he befriends a inmate and learns to find his way back to freedom (The Shawshank Redemption). When the creator of a virtual reality world called the Oasis dies, he releases a video in which he challenges all Oasis users to find his Easter Egg, which will give the finder his fortune. A player known as “player one” finds the first clue and starts a race for the egg (Ready Player One).
Plot Driven Logline Elements Breakdown: "SHREK"
Inciting Incident = When the king of Duloc turns his swamp into a refugee camp
Character/Protagonist = An ogre, Shrek.
Goal = To get his swamp back
Antagonistic Force = A Fire Breathing Dragon and King Farquaad.
The next time you plan to write a script for a movie, think of your plot and character. Is it a character driven story or plot driven story? What or who creates the plot? What or who drives the story? Once you have this figured out, it will be easier to construct your logline. Now, go and write your logline. A well written logline will guide you to the completion of your script.
In a character driven logline and story, the protagonist/main character's action is what creates the plot. For example: A thief robs a bank and causes the police to come after the thief, now the thief must find a way to escape capture. Another example: a miner turned prospector searching for mineral riches discovers oil and will do anything to maintain his greed even if that means pretending, lying and/or killing those who try to take it from him (There Will Be Blood). In these two stories, the characters are what drive the story. It is their actions that create the problem that must be solved. The character can either be the hero or villain; it just depends on the story and theme you want to tell. Most tragic hero stories are character driven. The logline of a character driven story usually begins with a description of the character, inciting incident (action) and the opposing force blocking the path to his goal (character + inciting incident (action) + opposing force). For a character driven logline, you don't necessary need to include the goal of the protagonist.
Character driven stories are difficult to write and often difficult to market because the plot and story must come from the characters themselves. They're not that popular and usually don't generate box office. But character driven stories are easier to create change/transformation (character arc) in the characters. You just have to figure out your character’s desire (What does he/she want?); this can be either internal or external or both. This leads to his action, this action then creates the inciting incident, which then causes reactions from opposing forces/characters. Now you have a plot. Most comedies, crimes, suspense and thrillers are character driven stories.
Here are some examples of “character driven” loglines from popular Hollywood movies. A veteran narcotics detective teams up with a rookie cop on his first day of training where the lines between cops and criminals are blurred (Training Day). Two best friends: a jaded waitress and dumb housewife kill a would-be rapist and become outlaws on the run (Thelma & Louise) from ruthless cops. A pair of womanizers crash a wedding to meet and bed women, but when one of them falls for the bridesmaid the two find themselves in hot water (The Wedding Crashers). A suburban wife, the child star of a popular show, disappears and her husband becomes the attention of a media frenzy when the world suspects he killed her (Gone Girl). A depressed office worker, looking for a way to change his life, crosses paths with a devil-may-care fighter and forms an underground fight club that evolves into something much, much more (Fight Club). In all these above loglines, no plots draw the characters into the story; but it's the characters themselves that create the plot.
Character Driven Elements Breakdown: "THELMA & LOUISE".
Character(s) = Two best friends: a waitress and housewife
Inciting Incident = Kill a would be rapist
Antagonistic Force = Cops - all men (This being a movie about feminism)
In a plot driven story, the protagonist is drawn into an event/incident where he must find a way solve the problem that created this event. For example: When global warming threatens to flood the earth, an engineer must build a giant ship to save humanity and the animals before it is too late. Another example: When a demon attacks his village, a young prince destroys the demon and receives a curse, to lift this curse he sets out on a quest to the west where he becomes embroiled in a war between the forest gods and humans, which created the curse that he received. In these two stories, you can see how the plots draw the protagonist to become involved. A plot driven logline usually begins with a description of the inciting incident, the character and his goal, then the opposing force blocking his path (inciting incident + character & goal + opposing force). Often times, it is the antagonist and his action that creates the inciting incident - hint: TLOR).
The upside about plot driven story is that it is popular and marketable. Plot driven stories are what Hollywood executives and producers called “a high concept”. I t gets even better if your plot comes from the antagonist like in The Lord of the Rings, Aliens, The Terminator, Star Wars and many more. And it gets even much better if the plot involves a prophecy whether the prophecy is about the birth of a savior/liberator or the death of villain/tyrant taking over the world. The Matrix is a great example of a prophecy about a savior. In TLOR, the antagonist is Sauron and it is he who drives the story. The plot begins with Sauron creating the rings of power to rule all of middle earth. He is bringing war and destruction upon the world. Sauron – the embodiment of an authoritarian government/dictator, is the genesis of all conflicts. Now, the people of middle earth must fight for their freedom, and the protagonists (Frodo, Gandalf, Aragon etc) are drawn into the plot. Their goal is to destroy Sauron. Thus, you have conflicts when two opposing forces go head-to-head. Here you see how the heroes are not the cause of the plot. This is why it’s called a plot driven story.
Here are some “plot driven” logline examples from popular Hollywood movies. After being exiled for the death of his father, a young lion returns to take back his kingdom from an evil uncle when he realizes his destiny to be king (The Lion King). When the King turns his swamp into a fairy tale creature refugee camp, an ogre must do the king’s bidding – rescue a princess from a fire breathing dragon to get his swamp back (Shrek). After a banker is sentenced to life in prison for the murder of his wife, he befriends a inmate and learns to find his way back to freedom (The Shawshank Redemption). When the creator of a virtual reality world called the Oasis dies, he releases a video in which he challenges all Oasis users to find his Easter Egg, which will give the finder his fortune. A player known as “player one” finds the first clue and starts a race for the egg (Ready Player One).
Plot Driven Logline Elements Breakdown: "SHREK"
Inciting Incident = When the king of Duloc turns his swamp into a refugee camp
Character/Protagonist = An ogre, Shrek.
Goal = To get his swamp back
Antagonistic Force = A Fire Breathing Dragon and King Farquaad.
The next time you plan to write a script for a movie, think of your plot and character. Is it a character driven story or plot driven story? What or who creates the plot? What or who drives the story? Once you have this figured out, it will be easier to construct your logline. Now, go and write your logline. A well written logline will guide you to the completion of your script.