To all my fellow writers – whether you're a novelist, screenwriter, or essayist – I wanted to start off my tips with something I wish would have been taught earlier on my writing journey. Hopefully, this will benefit most of you in this world wide web of words and help reframe how you think of story structure. It did for me as a self-published author and aspiring T.V. writer.
The writing tip I want to go over is the difference between story versus plot. I remember learning about this in one of my U.C.L.A. T.V. writing courses. I was mulling over what I thought was a story idea out loud, and my professor turned to me and said, this sounds more like plot, not your story. This utterly caught me off guard. There's a difference? Indeed, there is, and let me break it down for you in the easiest way I can.
Stories are made up of your characters and who they are, what they want, and why they're pursuing what they're going after (i.e., what's at stake if they don't pursue XYZ goal).
A character who is driven to save the world for altruistic reasons because they want a loved one to believe in humanity is different from a character who wants to save the world for pride and glory because they had everything stripped from them. Same goal, two different reasons, thus two unique stories.
The plot, however, is how the sequence of events unfolds. And many genres like superhero movies, horror films, or coming-of-age stories require certain plot points to happen, simply because audiences anticipate them.
Take a look at any Marvel movie for example. We're always expected to hit these plot points: introduction to a hero, then a villain comes along, the villain outwits the hero at first, but the hero eventually gets the upper hand. But there's a twist!
Plots or scenarios you put your characters in can be the same, even if it feels formulaic. What should differ is who the character is and what drives them. Who Spider-Man is and why he's compelled to save the world is going to be vastly different from Dr. Strange or Black Widow or even Shuri. Plotting out what happens when they're confronted with the same events and their unique reactions creates a compelling story because of this.
If you’re starting off as a new writer, identifying plot points you like can be incredibly helpful. You can look at plot points you want to potentially use and make them your own. Let’s say you like the plot point, a villain that needs to be outwitted. You can then come up with a unique character to face the challenge ahead. Like a made-to-feel diminutive go-getter who gets paired with a scheming partner who’s at first all about him. They come together to save their community. Sound familiar? Same plot points as a traditional hero movie, but now thanks to unique character creation, we have the story of Zootopia.
Or how about, a boy living in a broom closet under a staircase with abusive step-parents who's then tasked with overcoming one of the most powerful beings ever to save the world? Harry Potter.
What makes these narratives move beyond plot and into the realm of stories are the characters.
To sum it up, the major driving force behind the story is the who. The major driving force behind the plot is the how.
Hat's off to my U.C.L.A. professor for sharing this with me and I hope this helps other fellow writers out there.