Four Ingredients for a Killer Logline

ByKerry Murphy

What’s a Logline and How Can It Help You Write a Great Story?

A logline is your story’s basic premise distilled into a single sentence. My formula for crafting a strong logline includes four essential elements: setting, character, goal, and conflict—but not necessarily in that order.

1. Setting

This refers to when and where your story takes place. It can be a time period, location, or even a major event that sets the stage for your plot.

Example: In a magical kingdom, a princess must unite her people against a dark force threatening their land. (Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas)

2. Character

This is who your story is about. You don’t need to include a name, but try to highlight what makes them interesting or unique.

Example: A young witch struggles to control her newfound powers while facing an ancient evil. (A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness)

3. Goal

What is your character trying to achieve? Their objective drives the plot forward.

Example: A talented space pilot embarks on a journey to save her planet from an alien threat. (Star Wars: A New Hope)

4. Conflict

This is the main obstacle standing in your character’s way. Without conflict, there is no story.

Example: A lone astronaut awakens on a ship deep in space, his crewmates dead, and his memories missing, knowing he must complete a last-chance mission to save Earth from disaster. (Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir)

Ready to Have Fun?

You can experiment by mixing elements from the lists below. Rearrange them to suit your story and have fun with the process!

Setting

  • In a futuristic city
  • On a distant planet ravaged by war
  • After a deadly plague devastates the world
  • At their best friend’s engagement party
  • On the eve of the Presidential elections

Character

  • A young witch
  • A cyber-detective
  • A rogue knight
  • A divorced parent of two
  • An introverted hacker

Goal

  • Must solve a high-profile murder case
  • Attempts to overthrow a tyrannical ruler
  • Searches for a legendary artifact
  • Meets the love of their life
  • Learns of an insidious coup

Conflict

  • Amidst a power struggle for control of the land
  • During an alien invasion that could destroy the world
  • While confronting a traitorous ally
  • While being hunted by a relentless assassin
  • As an ancient evil reawakens

Example: After a deadly plague devastates the world, an introverted hacker must solve a high-profile murder case while being hunted by a relentless assassin.

Examples from K-Dramas

Since I’m a bit of a K-drama addict, here are some K-drama loglines using the same structure of setting, character, goal, and conflict.

Gyeongseong Creature

Setting: In the Spring of 1945 in Gyeongseong, during Japanese rule over Korea
Characters: Two young adults
Goal: Fight for survival
Conflict: Against a strange creature born of greed

Divorce Attorney Shin

Setting: After a personal tragedy
Character: A pianist-turned-lawyer
Goal: Navigates the complex world of divorce
Conflict: Fighting for his clients to win by any means necessary

Yu Yu Hakusho

Setting: When a teenager dies while saving a young kid
Character: He
Goal: Is given a chance to be resurrected
Conflict: Provided he works for the Spirit World as an investigator of supernatural crimes with his newly given powers

The Worst of Evil

Setting: In the 1990s
Character: A police officer
Goal: Goes undercover to infiltrate a mega crime syndicate that distributes illegal drugs across South Korea, China, and Japan
Conflict: And discovers his wife, a narcotics officer, is also involved

Evilive

Setting: After an upright lawyer is unjustly wronged by his previous firm
Character: He (the upright lawyer)
Goal: Finds himself slipping into an underbelly of crime
Conflict: After taking on a notorious criminal as a client

Welcome to Samdairi

Setting: After suffering a fall from grace
Character: A photographer
Goal: Returns to her hometown
Conflict: And bumps into her childhood friend, rekindling an unfinished romance

My Demon

Setting: After meeting an icy heiress
Character: A pitiless demon who has lost his powers
Goal: Learns she may hold the key to his lost abilities
Conflict: And his heart

Final Thoughts

Creating a strong logline helps you figure out your story before you even start writing. Use the formula—Setting, Character, Goal, Conflict—and have fun playing around with all your amazing ideas.