WHAT IS A STORY?

This is a subject many writers disagree on. The difference between a plot and a story has been argued since Aristotle stirred things up back in Old Athens. For the record, I’m going to take the side of writers like George Bernard Shaw who said: “There are only two stories. ‘Cinderella’ and ‘Jack and the Beanstalk.’”

Translation: “Boy Meets Girl” and “The Hero on a Quest”.

However, I part company with Mr. Shaw on the number of stories. There is only one story. The Hero on a Quest. Because Boy Meets Girl is about one or more characters questing for an object of desire. Love.

Man Vs Nature is often quoted as another basic story. But that story is about a hero questing for peace and quiet, or better weather. When you really think about it, all stories are about characters trying to get something. Either an abstract, like peace of mind, or a material object, like a bag of money.

The definition of “quest” is: to seek for something, or a mission to perform a goal. Therefore, we find many completely different plots all end up with the same basic story. Examples:

JURASSIC PARK: Scientists seek to survive when monsters get loose.
STAR WARS: A young man seeks justice in a troubled universe.
JAWS: The sheriff of a beach town on a mission to kill a monster.
THE GODFATHER: A young man seeks to create order in a troubled world.
THE WIZARD OF OZ: A young girl searches for home when she is lost.
GONE WITH THE WIND: A young woman seeks love in a troubled world.
CITIZEN KANE: A reporter seeks for the secret to “Rosebud”
FORREST GUMP: A retarded man seeks for love in a troubled world.
SCHINDLER’S LIST: A Nazi seeks to save Jews from injustice.
BATMAN: A hero seeks to create justice in a troubled world.
HARRY POTTER: An orphan seeks to create order in a troubled world.
JAMES BOND: A spy seeks to create order in a troubled world.
LORD OF THE RINGS: A hobbit seeks destroy a ring and restore order to a troubled world.

As you can see, in all these stories we have a character, or characters, seeking to obtain something or achieve a goal. They are all heroes on a quest.

Notice that all these stories involve people wanting something. That’s because from the moment we are born, we want something: Air, food, love, money, sex, entertainment, excitement, power. It’s a common thing to all humans. Our desires is what defines us.

Boil down any story and you end up with this formula: A>B

A (the hero) wants C (the Object of Desire) and B (the conflict/villain) stands in the way. 

Just as there is one basic story, there are only three possible endings to a story. Success, failure, or neutral results. But we’ll get to that in a later chapter.

If you understand there is only one kind of story, it makes it a lot easier to focus on your goals. You now know that in every story, your hero is trying to achieve something. You have to decide what that is. It doesn’t have to be limited to one goal, as we will discuss later, there are usually multiple goals in a story, but they are usually part and parcel of the same thing.

We are all trying to get something. We are all motivated by desire. We are creatures of need. Hunger is something everyone can relate to. Stories satisfy us when we can identify with a Hero and his desires, even if we disagree with his motives or methods.

To make your story unique, you elaborate on the one story in a way the Audience has either never seen, or never expected. But it has to be in a manner they will agree with and enjoy.

Therein lies the rub.

REMEMBER: Every story is about “A” wanting “C” and “B” stands in the way.

WHAT IS A PLOT?

There is only one basic story, but an infinite variety of plots. Plots are like a machine. You start with a bunch of parts, which are the story elements, and put them together until the thing works. The purpose of this machine is to arouse the Audience’s expectations. To move them in some way.

A plot is the mechanism of the story. It makes the story tick. A plot that’s well constructed hums along and has lots of power. A bad plot coughs, sputters, even falls apart. That’s why you have to learn how to be a good plot mechanic, to make it all run smoothly.

Plots come in two levels. There is the basic plot, or synopsis, which is the plot boiled down to a paragraph. And there’s the expanded plot, or the outline, which is the sequence of events around which a story is decorated and embellished. The plot’s plot, if you will.

A plot is what many people call a story. And it’s not wrong to call it a story. Every plot is a story. It’s merely a story dressed up as a plot. It gets confusing when writers argue the difference between plot and story. My definition keeps things simple. Why get complicated?

In case you’re confused by the above ramble, I’ll explain it another way. A plot is the story blown up and embellished with events, characters, and scenes. Think of the story as an evergreen and the plot as all the blinking lights, tinsel, and colored glass balls needed to turn that bland evergreen into a Christmas tree.

Every Christmas tree is unique, because the size of the tree can be large or small, the choice of decorations are as varied as the tastes of the decorators. But everyone knows it’s a Christmas tree when they see it.

A plot, like a Christmas tree, will be as unique as the imagination of the writer can make it.

The decorations are the characters, scenes, and techniques used to make the story more exciting. Once they’re all in place you have a plot.

TYPES OF PLOT

In classic story structure, plots take one of two basic forms:

The Progressive Version is where the conflict keeps getting more and more intense for the hero as the story progresses until he reaches a point of no return. This is the crisis of the story where the whole outcome is determined.

Examples: DIE HARD, NORTH BY NORTHWEST, STAR WARS.

The Sequential Version is where the hero has a series of adventures that each advance the story, explore the premise, and lead us to an inevitable conclusion. This form is hard to pull off and maintain direction.

Examples: FORREST GUMP, HUCKLEBERRY FINN

REMEMBER: There is only one story, but a zillion plots.

Posted by James Hudnall on 01/23 at 10:52 PM
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