In a post on the Script Lab blog, David Young examines the difference between story and plot. While some use these terms interchangeably, “they are distinct parts of the writing process that complement each other,” Young writes.
Young introduces two concepts from Russian literature: syuzhet (subject) and fabula (story). More specifically, fabula refers to the chronology of events as they occur—not the order in which they’re told. “Whether it happens in front of the audience or not, there is an actual timeline of events that is unaffected by the way the story is told,” Young explains.
In contrast, syuzhet is the way the story is told. “By organizing events from a story in certain ways, you can mislead the audience or confuse the message, making a story tell a different truth,” Young writes. In other words: plot. Rearranging your plot can give your story a completely different meaning, even though the chronology of events does not change. The plot clarifies the point you want to make.
Young uses several films to illustrate the difference. For example, in the original Alien, the audience never learns the origin of the Xenomorph. A portion of the fabula (story) is left out of the plot, so that the film can focus on the horror of a group of people trapped on a ship with an unstoppable killing machine. The full story wasn’t necessary. In Se7en, the audience never sees what’s in the box at the end of the film. In the fabula – the timeline of events – there is an act of horrible violence. However, that specific scene wasn’t necessary for the syuzhet – the plot.
You can also see the difference when a story begins in medias res, in the middle of the action. The chronology of the story is unaltered, but the writer makes choices in how to present various scenes. Characters may refer to past events that are never depicted in the plot.
As you begin writing, Young suggests first working out the truth of what happens – the story. Then, consider the message you want to convey to develop your plot. “You can organize the truth of the story’s events—the fabula—into a plot that gives the message you’re trying to send,” he says. “Find your focus and build the syuzhet out of those events to turn a story into an entire plot.”
