What is the difference between Plot and Story?

Plot and story are easy to differentiate only if you understand the relationship between the two terms. Most times, people explain story to be a series of events, whether fictional or real, that are arranged in sequence, which is commonly seen in movies and books.

It is important to know that before you can tell a story, you will need a storyline. In that case, the plot of a story is what represents the storyline. The series of events that are used in telling a story is the plot. The plot or storyline depends so much on the story itself. As a result, the story comes first, and the plot follows.

For instance, I'm very sure we have read different kinds of books with different interesting stories. While these stories can be said to represent the general theme or central idea of the books, the series of events that are used to tell each story represent the plot.

Books and movies all include a story and a plot. It is extremely important for writers to know the difference between the two, because it could shape how they write and drive both the plot and the story. A story is the timeline of events that happen in the book or movie.

Page 1 until the ending is the story. It is the entire piece of work and focuses on the question of "What". Until the end of the book or movie, a person will want to know what occurs next. A plot is used to support the story. It keeps the reader engaged and focuses on the question "Why".

One of the common mistakes we make oftentimes is to refer to the story as plot, vice versa. There is a clear-cut difference between the two terms "story and plot" in that the latter is the storyline and does not necessarily represent the story itself. The plot refers to the course of a story, a series of events, incidents that are used, or unfolded in a book, movie, etc.

All these are used to form the storyline; they are needed to make a literary work more interesting and captivating. On the other hand, the story gives a sequence of fictional and real events. It represents the general theme, which explains what a literary work is all about. When writing a book, you can use different plots for a story.

For instance, you can use different events (storyline) to tell a story of how a serial killer was apprehended. While the plot can be easily developed, combining different events or incidents to form a story can be a little bit difficult.