The throughline is a single thread that winds through your story and off which everything else hangs. It drives the writing and organizes the plot, action and character development. The throughline is the main motivation driving the protagonist toward the ending. It is what holds your story together so it can be a story instead of a random collection of anecdotes and scenes. A good throughline is how you propel your story forward in a way that makes sense.
Okay, that is well and good, but what is it really?
The throughline is the main point. The big picture. The idea that hangs over everything, even plot and theme. It is the reason for your story. It is what you are trying to say even when you don’t say it directly.
Let’s look at an example.
In the film Sabrina (the original version with Audrey Hepburn and Humphrey Bogart), everything that happens to Sabrina is the result of her love for David. It is what drives her childhood dreams. It is what compels her father to send her away from him to Paris. It is what brings her back and what drives Linus to intercede to keep them apart. In the end, it is what makes her realize what love really is and how foolish she has been.
The throughline is Sabrina’s love for David. Everything in the movie revolves around that fact, and that lie. It is only when she realizes she is falling for Linus and that her feelings for David were nothing but fantasy that she discovers what love truly is. The throughline is love.
The throughline to the movie Taken is Bryan Mills’ need to protect his family no matter what it takes. Everything Liam Neeson does in the film is to either protect his daughter or save her/avenge her. Every action he takes is to get him closer to that goal. Every fight gets him one step closer. It doesn’t end until his daughter is safe.
Throughlines vs. Loglines
In film and screenplays, writers are often more familiar with the concept of loglines. The logline is the short version of what happens in the story. It is the description of the plot that helps sell the film to producers and studios.
It is the hook.
“Jaws in a lake with a crocodile” Lake Placid
“A young FBI cadet must establish rapport with an incarcerated killer for insight and advice on how to find another killer who skins his victims.” Silence of the Lambs
“A wheelchair-bound photographer spies on his neighbors from his window and sees one of them commit murder.” Rear Window
The general rule with loglines is to keep them under 25 words and to focus on what happens in the story.
Loglines focus on what happens. Throughlines focus on why what happens matters to the protagonist and audience. They go deeper than a logline.
The Tagline
A tagline is what the marketing department adds to a film poster or book cover to help sell the story. It is a hybrid of a logline and throughline. It gives a glimpse at what to expect, while also hooking the audience’s attention with why it matters.
Examples of taglines:
Who you gonna call? Ghostbusters
In space, no one can hear you scream. Alien
Work sucks. Office Space
You’ll never go in the water again. Jaws
Still the fairest of them all. Snow White
Why so serious? Dark Knight
The mission is a man. Saving Private Ryan
Next week we will dissect thoughlines and look at how to create one for stronger writing.