For most people the words story and plot have the same meaning, and in casual conversation the two are often used interchangeably. “That plot is amazing.” is just another way of saying “That story is amazing.”
While that might cut it down the pub on a Friday night, in certain circles this blatant disregard of meaning won’t stand. Novelists and screenwriters, for example, would likely object to these words being bandied about so willynilly. For those delicate artists, story and plot are distinct elements that should be discussed separately on their own merit and not squeezed together into the same lump like play-doh.
Of course, this casual interchangeability could be easily stamped out if there were clear and concise definitions for each word. But there isn’t. Few people seem able to present definitive definitions, even those novelists and screenwriters can’t agree on where the plot begins and story ends.
Now I’m not bold enough to proclaim I have cracked the code, that I can put all this confusion to bed with my savvy and crystal-clear explanation, but I will say that after a couple of years of writing short stories I’m closer than I’ve ever been to coming to my own understanding. When this happens, I like to get my thoughts down on the page in the hope that it will cement the meaning in place and hopefully help others out. This is by no means the definitive conclusion so please feel free to debunk and ridicule my opinions.
First, let’s tackle the easy part. Story.
The most basic definition of story would be something like: a series of related events bundled together as a single unit. When a friend tells you what happened on holiday, or what they did at the weekend, they are effectively telling you a story.
Moments ago, the cleaner in my office complained to me about his hectic work schedule. He told me about getting up at 4am and listed off all the places he needs to visit before he goes back home. Technically, this yawn-inducing anecdote fulfils the requirements of a story. Sure, it was pointless and directionless, but unfortunately stories don’t make any promises about quality. They are merely a journey from A to B in much same way as a taxi ride. Don’t get me wrong, taxi rides can be exciting if they go to the right part of town, but mostly they take you on the same well-worn, predictable routes.
This is where plot comes in.
Plot ensures that each story travels along the most interesting and satisfying route to the final destination. It requires, depending on the style of writing and genre, the narrative to hit a number of different targets. For example, let’s look at one of the most common plot structures: Freytag’s Pyramid. This has five key elements which are Introduction, Exciting incident, Climax, Falling-action and Conclusion. Each element is designed to keep the story moving, and more importantly, to suck the reader/listener in and keep them wanting more.
To see how this works let’s take the cleaner’s story again and shove it through the first few steps of the pyramid to see if we can make it a little more palatable. First we can have our hero (the cleaner) wake up to find a message from his landlord, this message says that if he doesn’t pay his rent by the end of the day he’s getting evicted. Straight away the story is 100 times more interesting. We are introduced to a character with money problems, and we have an exciting incident - the eviction. If the cleaner told me the story like this, I would be hanging on his every word, because now there are stakes and consequences to his actions. What if he doesn’t make it to all his jobs today? Will he get paid? Throw in some traffic jams and a vindictive boss and we have the beginnings of a half decent romp. It’s not exactly Die Hard but it is miles better than the original story.
Think of it like this. Story is like a taxi ride that takes you from A to B. There are few guarantees of a good time. A story with plot, on the other hand, is like getting a taxi ride with an experienced tour guide. Sure, he will take you from A to B, but will also take you on the most interesting route and show you the sights along the way.