Forming

A logline is a strong starting point, but a well-rounded story demands more. In Subtxt's Forming stage, you'll go beyond the surface, developing each Throughline to create a deeper, more complex narrative.

Moving Beyond the Logline

In film and TV, loglines are essential—they're quick, catchy, and serve as a snapshot of the plot, showcasing the core conflict, main characters, and stakes. Yet, loglines often only highlight one part of the story: the Objective Story (OS) Throughline, the broad conflict or primary goal driving the plot.

But a compelling story needs more than just the surface tension of a logline. True depth in storytelling comes from expanding beyond the OS Throughline to encompass a complete narrative structure, incorporating additional perspectives that bring out the heart and nuance in your characters and their relationships.

Loglines are usually OS-centric, showing a single line of focus when there’s a full narrative structure to explore.

Example Loglines and Their Limitations

Let’s consider some classic loglines that, while effective, reflect only the OS Throughline and miss the deeper narrative layers:

• Crimson Tide:

  After the Cold War, a breakaway Russian republic with nuclear warheads becomes a worldwide threat. U.S. submarine Capt. Frank Ramsey and Lt. Cmdr. Ron Hunter face a dangerous power struggle on board, with Hunter potentially mutinying to prevent what he sees as an impending disaster.

• The Constant Gardener:

  Justin Quayle, a reserved British diplomat, unearths a deadly conspiracy following his wife’s murder, risking his life to expose the truth.

These loglines set up an exciting story premise but focus solely on the OS throughline—i.e., the plot-level conflict driving external events and motivations. In many stories, however, a single perspective misses the narrative’s full potential.

By contrast, here’s a logline for Columbus, which hints at deeper narrative layers:

• Columbus:

  When a renowned architecture scholar falls ill, his son Jin becomes stranded in Columbus, Indiana. He strikes up a friendship with Casey, a young architecture enthusiast, exploring life’s burdens and aspirations.

This logline suggests more than just the Objective Story—it touches on the Main Character, Relationship Story, and Obstacle Character Throughlines, each offering depth that a straightforward plot summary might overlook.

Beyond the Basics: The Four Throughlines

A fully developed story weaves together four critical perspectives, known as the Four Throughlines:

• Objective Story (OS) Throughline: The plot-level conflict impacting everyone involved.
• Main Character (MC) Throughline: The personal journey or internal struggles of the main character.
• Obstacle Character (OC) Throughline: The contrasting influence that challenges or catalyzes the main character.
• Relationship Story (RS) Throughline: The evolving relationship dynamics between characters, often between the Main Character and Obstacle Character.

Understanding each Throughline allows you to build a story with layers, revealing facets of character and connection that enrich the narrative.

Integrating Throughlines in Story Development

Let’s examine how these Throughlines interplay within a narrative. In E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial:

• Logline:

  An alien left behind on Earth is hidden by a 10-year-old named Elliot, who, with his siblings, forms a strong emotional bond with him while evading capture by authorities.

This logline does more than outline an external chase or struggle (OS Throughline); it also hints at the RS Throughline, showcasing the relationship between Elliot and E.T., which underpins the story’s emotional depth.

How Subtxt Expands a Logline

Subtxt guides writers to move beyond the OS Throughline, integrating a "story snapshot" that captures each perspective. Consider the example of a modernized House on Haunted Hill:

• Updated Logline with Multiple Throughlines:

  In the haunted halls of a mansion, guests must unravel deceit and supernatural threats to survive the night. Courage waning, Nora confronts deep insecurities, while the leader, Lance, struggles with his drive to uncover hidden truths.

Here, the Objective Story (unraveling threats in a haunted mansion) intertwines with Nora’s internal journey (MC Throughline), her interactions with Lance (RS Throughline), and Lance’s role as a guiding influence (OC Throughline). Each Throughline contributes to a cohesive and layered narrative.

Compare this to the original 1959 logline:

• Original Logline:

  A millionaire offers $10,000 to five people who agree to stay overnight in a spooky house.

The original version provides an intriguing setup but lacks the complexity of a fully realized story structure, which we find in the updated example.

From Logline to Story Depth

Loglines are powerful as first impressions, designed to capture attention quickly. But to tell a memorable story, the narrative must expand beyond a single perspective. Subtxt supports writers in developing a layered story structure by integrating each Throughline, allowing characters and relationships to resonate with depth and authenticity.

In Subtxt, your logline is just the beginning. With each Throughline, you’ll find the tools to uncover the essence of your story, ensuring it reaches audiences with both clarity and emotional impact.

The Four Throughlines

The Four Throughlines section will take your Logline or Story Idea and extract the Four Throughlines from them. They will also determine and create both the Main Character and Obstacle Character, and will generate the Domains for all Four Throughlines. In addition, these Agents will conclude their services by writing a Blended Synopsis of all Four Throughlines.

Explore The Four Throughlines

Plot and Players

The Plot and Players section will help you generate the remaining cast of Objective Story Players, assign them to Archetypal elements, generate the Story Goal (or Story Intention and Story Overwhelm), and establish two Story Drivers (first and last if Male Mental Sex, middle and last if Female Mental Sex). In addition, these Agents will conclude their services by writing a Plot Synopsis of your Objective Story Throughline.

• Explore Plot & Players

Character Arcs

The Character Arcs section will generate four Storypoints based on the MC Resolve your current Storyform. For the Changed Player they will generate illustrations for the Problem and Solution (or Condition and Adjustment if Female Mental Sex). For the Steadfast Player they will generate illustrations for the Problem and Evolution (Condition and Adjustment if Female Mental Sex). In addition, these Agents will conclude their services by writing Character Arc Synopses for both the Main Character Throughline and the Obstacle Character Throughline.

Explore Character Arcs