What is the Difference between Story and Plot and How They Make your Book Better?

What is the difference between Story and Plot?

The first thing we need to talk about is the difference between STORY and PLOT.

YES! There is a difference:

Story: How does the main character’s (MC’s) personal goal, misbelief, and/or fear affect their journey, and how does that change the MC in the process? (Story arc)

Related Post: Creating People, not Characters (The Basics of Character Development)

Plot: The events that take place along the MC’s journey that force the MC to face their goal, misbelief, or fear, thus pushing them to change for better or worse. (Plot arc)

Now, think back to your favorite book or movie. Did you love it just because a bunch of events happened? Or did you love it because the main character faced those events, and it changed them?

Misbeliefs in the writing community

My biggest pet peeve in writing (for publishing or film) is that the events make the story.

Example: Fast and Furious – Movies 1 to 10

I have strong opinions on action-packed stories that may or may not have a character arc in them (Storyline).

Fast and Furious is one of those movie franchises I loved at first, but after that, each one declined in terms of story. I think The last one I saw was six or seven. Whichever one had cars flying through two buildings. Eye roll.

Let me go back to the first movie. I can pinpoint a clear storyline:

Brian O’Connor (Pretty Boy) initially aimed to take down Dom’s (Hottie) crime family. At the end of the movie, his goal changes to protecting Dom.

In that process, the MC (O’Connor) faced events that created a bond and trust between him and Dom, not to mention Dom’s stunning sister. Wink, Wink, Nod, Nod.

But from movie two on, the film became increasingly about the action scenes, thus diluting the characters’ stories. If the time/budget had allowed, the main plot and subplots could have been worked out more.

Don’t get me wrong—the movies make money, but from a story-writing perspective, there were places for the writers to show their skills.

How to make sure your MC has an arc

Every character that plays a part in the story as a whole (who can alter the course of your MC’s story) should have these three key points:

A starting goal- What are they trying to achieve when we meet them?

Fear – What is holding them back? Think of fear of commitment, starting a business, or losing something or someone. Their fear can be anything they will face throughout the story.

Misbelief- Sometimes, this can go hand in hand with their fear:

For example, fear of commitment leads to a misbelief that they are better off alone. Or fear of starting their own business, which leads to staying in a job your MC hates.

The misbelief can also have nothing to do with their fear:

Ex: A fear of snakes can make a character more robust when they have to evict one while cleaning out a dead relative’s house; their misbelief can be that they want to sell the house and move out of small town USA, and never look back.

• The events (Plot) throughout the book should be specially curated to force your MC to face these three elements. Your MC should be made uncomfortable to outright pissed about what is going on during this story.

• The MC should either learn from this confrontation, or they should fail and be forced to retake the test. These points turn your character into the person readers love or love to hate.

A lesson to learn –

If you’re a middle-grade writer or younger, this will be one of your requirements. Most parents and teachers will search for books to help little Timmy grow and understand parts of this world.

If you write for young adults or older adults, escapism is an optional goal, but a lesson remains. It’s just not always slapping you in the face.

Ex: Katniss (The Hunger Games) had to learn to be active in the world around her rather than be a passenger and let Snow drive her and others to their deaths.

Conclusion: View your Story and Plot as two different elements that interact to force some change in your MC.

In the comments: Share a Story (Book or Movie) with a solid Story and Plot connection.

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Further Reading (contains affiliate links):

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