LIVE - SCREENWRITING AMA: “Define STORY and PLOT”

[@SHVDETHEDON]

Hi Glenn, i was the questionner for today's topic ! I'm so grateful you took the time to incorporate that into today's video in was in a great help especially the part when you said if it doesn't HELP you let it go ... whats the story is about you said character's experiences i'm down with this definition. I was already asking myself that question about the example of Tony Stark i gave you this look a lot as character arc so i think i'll go with that. Once again thank you ! 🔥👊🏽

[@writingforscreens]

I'm glad it was helpful. Don't overthink the theory - put all that effort into telling your story, instead! If someone disagrees, well: that's their opinion. Theory honestly doesn't matter, no one is checking or grading your work according to a theory - the reader wants you to tell your story, to be specific and explore what it is you care about.

[@Lake_Filter]

It's always refreshing to see one of your videos. Somehow I ended up with a similar conclusion regarding story and plot. In simple terms, story is everything that happens in the universe and plot is the way I show things that happens to the audience. It works well for me because I tend to write everything that happens to minute details and lose the plot big time. This framework allows me to use the plot as a reminder to not stray off the designated path for too long. Watching your videos and livestreams made me realize the major flaws I have in myself as a writer. And that understanding helps me decide which theories I would more strongly enforce and which ones I'm more lenient about. And at the end of the day, all those theories are mere guidelines to achieve the one true goal of every writer - to finish the story.

[@writingforscreens]

Yes, yes exactly: mere guidelines to make your work more workable :)

[@Ruylopez778]

Story - *what* happens. Plot - *how* it happens. That's a simple definition I heard that works for me. The "story" is what the audience experiences, and they respond emotionally (or not!) to the character's actions and perceive their own interpretation of the "meaning", "voice" or "themes", and why the story was told at all, and how it can help them in their own real lives or society as a whole. The "plot" is how the creator presents those events (the scene order, what is emphasised and what isn't, withheld/revealed, what is explicit or implied, clear or ambiguous). In that sense, you could a have great story with a "bad/boring" plot, or vice versa. I think it's when story and plot become most obvious to the audience; when one is letting the other down. I think a lot of amateur analysis on the internet (from popular social media creators) has made the terms and their usage confusing or even misunderstood.

[@writingforscreens]

That's an interesting way to look at it!

[@Donna07]

Hi Glenn, I just re-watched your definitions of Story & Plot - I love the clarity you brought to them, their distinctions & how to perceive them as simply as possible. Thanks!

[@writingforscreens]

Thank you so much!

[@Ruylopez778]

My favorite example of conflicting advice is this: Stephen King: Never write down your ideas. If the idea is good enough you won't forget it. Writing down ideas just guarantees a list of bad ideas. David Lynch: Always, always write down your ideas, because there's nothing worse than knowing you forgot a great idea.

[@writingforscreens]

Good one! But now I'm just trying to picture King and Lynch hanging out together. I think it would be a blast.

[@TheVioletWolf]

I'm so sad I missed this!

[@writingforscreens]

Sorry you did, but don't be too sad - here it is, replayable whenever you like :)

[@nurbaiti_hikaru]

Hi Glenn, would you please explain about Writer's Statement for competition requirements? How to make a good one? I search in your playlists and can't find any video about that. Thank you.

[@writingforscreens]

I'm sorry to say, I have no knowledge about this at all! Script Competitions only began after I was a professional writer, and so I have never entered one.

[@nurbaiti_hikaru]

@writingforscreens I see. Thank you.

[@nurbaiti_hikaru]

Hi Glenn. What if the idea of my script is taken from a popular song and will be covered by someone else in the film? Will buying the copyright of the song make it difficult to get our script approved? Should we remove the song/music even though the lyrics strengthen the story? Thank you in advance.

[@writingforscreens]

Yes, I would advise you to remove the lyrics, and think about how to convey the feelings without specifying a particular song.

[@nurbaiti_hikaru]

@writingforscreens Well noted. Thank you so much.

[@HerzogVonMartian]

Plot = Skeleton, vascular system, the thread, the trunk and branches etc. Story = the flesh, the leaves, the wind the roots etc. Motive = blood, organs, the heart or Plot = the simple version of the Who, What, When, Where, Why. Story = the explanation of the 5 Ws or Maybe i misunderstood, but this is how I see it, anyways a story has to have a structure, a thread and a motive. Though you could just write a story about nothing, worked for Seinfeld.

[@writingforscreens]

Not a question of misunderstanding - only of each one of us having our own understanding, which was my point. Whatever vision makes things clearer to you, more useful to your writing, is the one that you should use.