Comments on: Story Vs. Plot, Ghost Vs. Bones: Discuss

By: Writerese: Story and Plot « Brainstorms & Bylines

Writerese: Story and Plot « Brainstorms & Bylines — Mon, 03 Oct 2011 11:41:35 +0000

[...] Terrible Minds, Chuck Wendig creates a compelling analogy using ghost and bones to differentiate between story and plot. To further clarify the point, reminds [...]

By: One Stop Plot Shop | The Parking Lot Confessional

One Stop Plot Shop | The Parking Lot Confessional — Wed, 13 Oct 2010 18:12:29 +0000

[...] Chuck Wendig: Story Vs. Plot, Ghost Vs. Bones: Discuss [...]

By: TERRIBLEMINDS: Chuck Wendig, Freelance Penmonkey » Blog Archive » Characters Make Talky-Talky: How To Write Dialogue That Doesn’t Suck Moist Open Ass

Mon, 08 Feb 2010 13:24:05 +0000

[...] information or explanation, it reinforces the theme of the work, it foreshadows events, it advances the plot or the story, it makes us laugh, it makes us cry, you take them both and there you have The Facts of Life [...]

By: Paul DeLaurentis

Paul DeLaurentis — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 23:44:52 +0000

Metaphors are like pizza. Some are good, some are bad, and almost all of them are delivered by people that have no clue what was in the box they just delivered…but still expect to get a tip for delivering it.

By: Chuck

Chuck — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 23:15:58 +0000

This has all gone quite off the rails.

Anywho. Point I was making is that the story is an untethered thing. Plot is straightforward. It’s merely the sequence. It’s the straight line that cuts through the circle.

Ooh! New metaphor!

The plot is the ladder the audience climbs, but the story is all the things the audience sees as they climb the ladder!

*bangs head on metaphor until head asplodes*

– c.

By: Will Hindmarch

Will Hindmarch — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 22:01:54 +0000

I like LOST quite a bit. I’m not sure that plot is something Lucas’s STAR WARS pictures were lacking, though that seems to be the insinuation there.

What irks me is when people say a movie had a great plot, when what they mean is they liked the story. But as for the notion of plot versus story? Um, what? Who’s saying it’s once against the other?

Your ghosts-and-bones metaphor is a good one, on a subject that seems to require metaphors to make sense of it. It’s not like putting a hammer to a nail — you can’t see it happen and immediately understand what’s happening. Just the way that goes, I guess.

By: Eddy Webb

Eddy Webb — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 22:00:28 +0000

I prefer Chuck Wendig to J.J. Abrams.

By: Paul DeLaurentis

Paul DeLaurentis — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 21:50:26 +0000

I prefer slapping myself across the face with a frozen salmon to watching an episode of LOST.

I do like Fringe, but more because I adore the characters more than the story or premise. That’s a weird situation where I feel connected to the characters and would probably watch them if they were hosting Bass Masters and not appearing in Fringe.

We’ve really driven this go-kart off-topic. I guess the story didn’t follow the plot…

By: Scionical

Scionical — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 21:45:50 +0000

What if I prefer hate to comparisons?

I don’t… I’m just saying.

By: Chuck

Chuck — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 21:13:01 +0000

Generally, that’s why I’d go with the “I prefer X property to Y property.”

As in, I prefer Lost to Fringe.

I prefer baseball to football.

I prefer beef to lamb.

Etc.

– c.