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Screenwriting
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Log Line Machine

One story. Five ways to make them say yes.

Log Line Machine takes your story concept and returns five distinct loglines — each framing the same story from a different angle. Copy the one that lands and use it anywhere: your pitch, your query, your deck. Never stare at a blank logline again.

✓ No credit card required3 days free. Keep going from $12/mo · Cancel anytime
LOG LINE MACHINE — 5 LOGLINES
Logline 1The Reluctant Reckoning
Logline 2The 72-Hour Countdown
Logline 3Smoke And Signature ✓

The Hardest Sentence You'll Write

You wrote a hundred pages. It's the one sentence that won't come.

The logline has to carry character, conflict, stakes, and tone in under fifty words — and do it differently for every reader and every room. Writers who can draft a full act freeze completely on this one line. It's not a talent problem. It's that one attempt is never enough.

I've written the whole script but I still can't say what it's about in one sentence without it sounding flat or generic.

Cost: a great story, badly summarized

The logline that worked in my query email fell completely flat in the pitch meeting. I needed a different version and didn't have one.

Cost: the wrong angle in the room

I rewrote my logline forty times and every version was a slight variation of the same weak angle. I was stuck in one frame.

Cost: forty tries, one dead angle

The Difference

Stop chasing one perfect line. Start choosing.

Before

Rewrite the same logline forty times

Stuck in a single frame you can't see past

One version for every reader and every room

No sense of which angle actually sells

The blank-line freeze that stops the whole pitch

→

After

Five distinct angles from one concept, instantly

See your story framed five different ways at once

A different logline for a query, a pitch, a deck

Compare angles side by side and pick the winner

Never face the blank logline again

What you get

Five Distinct Loglines

Not five near-duplicates — five loglines that vary hook, protagonist framing, and structure, each with its own evocative title.

5 Loglines

Genre & Tone Aware

Pick from 13 genres and 8 tones and every logline is tailored to match — dark & gritty reads nothing like whimsical.

13 Genres · 8 Tones

Target Audience Built In

Tell it who you're pitching to — general audience, four-quadrant blockbuster, YA, arthouse — and the hook adjusts.

Audience-Aware

Characters & Goals

Name your protagonist and their goal, and Log Line Machine builds every angle around the specifics, not a generic placeholder.

Character-Specific

Works From Anything

A paragraph, a sentence, even bullet points — Log Line Machine works from whatever you have.

No Polish Required

Copy Any One Instantly

Each of the five loglines has its own copy button, ready to drop into an email, a deck, or a pitch document.

One-Click Copy

PART OF THE SCREENWRITING SUITE

Log Line Machine is the first step in your pitch.

Log Line Machine stands on its own — get five distinct loglines from one concept in a single pass. It also pairs naturally with the rest of the Screenwriting Suite: copy your favorite into Formly's story description, expand the concept into a full Treatment Writer draft, or develop the characters behind it in Character Dossier.

Works well together

Formly

Copy your favorite logline and use it as Formly's story description.

Works well together

Treatment Writer

Expand the concept behind your logline into a full narrative treatment.

Works well together

Character Dossier

Develop full profiles for the characters your logline introduces.

How It Works

From concept to five loglines in four steps.

1

Drop In The Concept

A paragraph, a sentence, or bullet points — no polish required.

2

Add Detail (Optional)

Genre, tone, target audience, character name, and goals — each one sharpens all five.

3

Get Five Loglines

Five distinct angles, each with its own title, generated in one pass.

4

Copy & Send It On

Copy the strongest one and paste it into your pitch document.

Why Five, Not One

The same story sells differently to different rooms.

A logline that wins a query email can fall flat in a pitch meeting. Five angles means you walk in with a version built for the room you're in.

The Query Email

Lead with the strongest hook — the version that earns the request for pages.

The Pitch Meeting

Answer "what's it about?" five different ways, and read which one lands in the room.

The Prestige Buyer

Lead with character or emotional stakes — the frame that signals depth over spectacle.

Built For Everyone Who Has To Pitch

Whoever's asking "what's it about?" — you're ready.

Working Screenwriters

Test multiple framings before deciding which angle to lead with in a pitch.

Writers In Pitch Prep

Five options means five different ways to answer "what's it about?"

Development Execs

A five-angle set shows a writer who understands their own story's flexibility.

Writing Instructors

Show how one story reframes for different audiences and contexts.

✦

Why It Matters

The logline is the most important sentence a screenwriter will write. It has to communicate character, conflict, stakes, and tone in under fifty words — and land five different ways for five different readers.

Log Line Machine

$12/mo
  • Five Distinct Loglines
  • Genre & Tone Aware
  • Target Audience Built In
  • Characters & Goals
Start your free trial →

✓ No credit card required · 3-day free trial, then $12/mo · cancel anytime

New users get a free 3-day trial of every tool in the Screenwriting bundle.

The story is finished. Now make them ask to read it.

Every pitch lives or dies on one sentence. Stop rewriting the same weak angle — see your story five ways and lead with the one that opens the door.

Start your free trial →

What do I need to provide?

A rough story description — a paragraph or a page, whatever you have. More context about character, conflict, and stakes means more varied output.

Can I use it for TV pilots?

Yes. Just mention the format in your input. Log lines for TV pilots have slightly different conventions and Log Line Machine accounts for them.

How do I pick the best one?

Read them aloud. The one that's easiest to say and lands cleanest in 10 seconds is usually the right one.