Narrative structure focuses on two key characteristics: how
the story is told and what the story is about. Story and plot are commonly used
to describe these two characteristics that define the narrative structure.
Story focuses on the ‘what’, ‘where’ and ‘who’ of the
narrative – these questions help give the audience a better understanding of
what the content of a story is about. Plot, on the other hand, focuses on the
‘how’ and ‘when’ of the narrative. They focus mainly on how the flow of the
story works so that crucial plot points connect that would eventually lead to
the resolution of the narrative; mainly the resolution of a critical conflict
of a given narrative.
Many narratives focus on how a character’s story is
disturbed by a series of conflicts, eventually leading to a resolution of said
conflict. These ‘conflicts’ can either take on a tangible form (physical
environment, conflicts between two people, etc.) or a more qualitative form
(emotional or psychological turmoil, etc.).
To understand the story, one should take a look at what the story and
conflicts are about, where the story or characters are situated, and who the
key characters are, among other things. ‘What’, ‘where’ and ‘who’ are, again,
the main questions that help describe the story of a given film. To understand
the plot, on the other hand, viewers need to take a look at how the conflicts
are arranged and when they happen in the story, and how and when these
conflicts are thus resolved. ‘How’ and ‘when’ are the main focuses to
understanding the plot of the film.
Both story and plot help give the audience a sense of
meaning to a given film, in which story focuses more on determining key points
such as characters, setting and conflicts; while plot focuses more on how and
when various conflicts are staged and resolved. Two films may have different
stories, but it is possible for them to share a virtually similar plot.
