The Vital Difference Between Plot and Story—and Why You Need Both

Image: outdoor sculpture of two figures, one showing a smooth exterior and the other showing internal structures.

Today’s post is by book coach, editor and platform expert Heather Davis (@HLeeDavisWriter).


Writers buy plotting books by the dozen and do their best to create the plottiest plot that the world has ever seen. They stuff their novels with action-packed sword fights, explosions, fist fights, and screaming matches. Plot points, pinch points, and grandiose climaxes abound.

But the problem is this: in the world of great novels, Plot and Story are very different entities, and every great novel needs both.

Plot refers to all the external events that happen in a novel. The plot encompasses things like sword fights and explosions. It also encompasses the logical flow of the narrative as a series of cause-and-effect events. (Plot even encompasses your Inciting Incident—you know, that oh-so-important event that catapults your reluctant protagonist into the action in the first place!) Think of Plot as the external and highly visual part of your novel.

Story, on the other hand, refers to the internal transformation that your protagonist must make throughout the course of the novel in order (usually) to become a less flawed version of themselves by the end. Story tracks the character arc of the protagonist, showing us exactly how they get from point A (maybe selfish or cowardly) to point Z (maybe unselfish or brave). Story is largely internal, and it follows the emotions and thoughts of the protagonist as they try to make sense of (and adjust to) their ever-changing world. It is here in the Story where we see the protagonist slowly transformed by the events of the Plot.

Think of Plot as what’s happening to your protagonist and Story as what’s happening within your protagonist. And certain events force them to wrestle with their internal demons, fears, misconceptions, and prejudices until (finally) they come out the other side of your Plot as a changed person. (Or, possibly in a tragedy, not changed.) When that happens, the Story is done!

Novels that have an interesting Plot but not a deep Story are dramatic sequences of somewhat related external events that would rival any Hollywood action flick. But…those action-packed events don’t seem to have a throughline, and there is no emotional continuity for the reader to grasp hold of. Plot without Story is unrewarding for readers. In fact, neurologist Paul Zak found that both plot and story must be present for test subjects to pay attention to a narrative and feel empathy for the characters involved.

Here are seven ways to infuse your Plot with Story.

1. Design a clear character arc for your protagonist. Your protagonist is an imperfect person, because they would be totally boring if they already had everything figured out from the beginning. Decide which aspect of their imperfection your story will focus on. This will be their basic character arc. Here are some common (simple) arcs, but there are many more that vary in complexity.

  • Selfish to selfless
  • Cowardly to brave
  • Mistrusting to trusting
  • Deceitful to truthful
  • Lacking self-confidence to having self-confidence
  • Afraid to unafraid

2. Create a compelling backstory that makes your protagonist’s character arc make sense. If your protagonist is selfish, have a specific and concrete backstory that supports this flaw. The backstory you create will be sprinkled throughout the narrative like seasoning, helping the reader understand your protagonist and begin to empathize with them.

3. Make that character arc clear from the beginning of the novel. The opening scenes and chapters are the perfect place for your protagonist to show off their imperfection. If their character arc is cowardly to brave, the reader should see them acting cowardly (and what effect that has on their life and happiness) early in the novel.

4. Test each plot point (narrative event) to see if it relates back to the Story. The events in your novel aren’t just there to be flashy and dramatic. They should pressure your protagonist to change in a very specific way. In essence, plot points exist to make your protagonist walk the trajectory of the character arc you have designed. So, if your protagonist’s character arc is cowardly to brave, then each plot point should relate back to that idea.

Sometimes these events will cause them to be less cowardly and sometimes more cowardly. Their character arc is a two-steps-forward-and-one-step-back sort of thing. But, overall, there should be forward momentum and the reader should feel it.

5. Prune away plot points that don’t relate back to the Story. Once you start connecting plot points to your protagonist’s character arc, you might notice that some of the events in your novel don’t fit anymore. That means they aren’t actually a part of the Story you are trying to tell. This is where that advice to kill your darlings comes in extremely handy. If plot points don’t serve the Story, they must go.

6. Check that internal change is slow and subtle. Readers love Story, but they don’t want to be beat over the head with it. They don’t want to feel like you’re trying to teach them a lesson. Instead, the magic you’re working should be nearly invisible. The internal change your protagonist undergoes is subtle and slow enough to make sense in the context of the Plot. Meaning, the protagonist shouldn’t just wake up one day as a changed person. The external events of the Plot must really leave them no choice but to change.

7. Show that your protagonist is changed by the end of the story. The beginning and ending of your story should be like night and day. If the opening scenes and chapters show that the protagonist has a flaw, then the ending should show that the flaw has been fixed (or at least greatly improved).

Plot and Story are two halves of a great narrative. By spending as much (or more) time weaving a dynamic Story as you do creating a flashy Plot, readers will walk away feeling like your novel was worth their time and energy. They will have gleaned a nugget of universal truth about the human experience from the pages of your work. (And isn’t that why we come to novels in the first place?)

Now I’d love to hear your thoughts! What is the Story at the heart of your Plot? How did you decide on it?

Share on:
Subscribe
Notify of
guest

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

18 Comments
oldest
newest most voted
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
Nicole Meier

Love this actionable advice, Heather. Especially the reminder to prune away points that don’t relate back to the story. So important.

Heather Davis

Hi, Nicole! Thanks! I’m so glad you found the article helpful! 🙂

Doris

Excellent advice for storytellers! Thank you.

Heather Davis

Hi, Doris! Thanks so much for reading! I’m glad you found it useful.

Dr. MaryAnn Diorio

Thank you for your insightful post. It’s a keeper. 🙂

Heather Davis

Hi MaryAnn! I’m so glad you found it helpful!

Rip Brown

This is a valuable lesson all beginning writers (And those well seasoned) should incorporate into their novel writing process. The story represents what is called in literature the interiority of the character which separates a character driven plot from one of action. Another exercise is to choose the arc not from a list of opposites, but by a flip of the coin. This provides character traits that the writer must work really hard from within themselves to understand, So they will experience discovery just like the reader will, deepening the impact the story may potentially have. This is a wonderful lesson. Bookmark this page!

Heather Davis

Hi Rip,

Thanks for commenting, and I love your advice about other ways to understand character arc. 🙂

Lynda Anderson

This was an excellent article – even those who ‘feel’ like ‘seasoned’ writers need this kind of material to both refresh & retool their ability. I’d give this article 10 out of 10!!! Tks for sharing it with us.

Heather Davis

Thanks so much, Lynda! I’m glad the article was helpful to you!

And Ha ha! Yes! We all need to remind ourselves to pay close attention to the Story in our own work because it’s so hard to see your own work clearly. (In fact, I’m revising my first draft now, and it’s Story I’m cleaning up most.)

Mark McMillion

Superb explanation and advice. Made something clear to me that I didn’t understand. Pragmatic and well written. Thank you.

Heather Davis

Mark, I’m SO happy this was helpful! Email me if you have any questions!

Michelle

Do you have any suggestions for novelists who are big on story and spare on plot? i.e. authors who are the opposite of the audience for this post?

Heather Davis

Hi, Michelle!

I know it doesn’t feel like it… but what an INCREDIBLE problem to have. Why do I say this? Because the Story is the heart of your novel and what gives it life and engages the reader. That being said, I know it is very challenging to come up plot points if they aren’t readily apparent.

One way to do this is simply by asking yourself what kinds of events would really challenge your protagonist’s character arc issue. If they are selfish, for instance, and you’re story is designed to make them less selfish, then ask yourself what events would show that selfishness and slowly give them opportunities to change in meaningful ways.

I hope this is helpful. If you would like to chat about it in the context of your story specifically, please don’t hesitate to drop me an email! I’d love the hear from you! heatherleeannadavis@gmail.com

Judith G Harch

I have just finished the first draft of my second novel. This article was very helpful as I begin to pair away unnecessary portions and also to make sure my protagonist (s) are “fully qualified” to act as they do. Thank you so much, Heather. I will save this article as a constant reminder as I work on a second draft.

Heather Davis

Judith, I’m so glad this article was helpful. Revising with both Plot and Story in mind is so helpful! I wish you the best of luck!

Michael Warner

Excellent article, Heather! It’s clear and full of helpful examples. Thank you!

Heather Davis

My pleasure, Michael! 🙂