Great Story Telling: Plot Vs Point

Great story telling is the key to entertainment, whether it be comics, movies, novels, or anything. When I write a story, I tend to focus a lot on developing interesting characters because they are what makes a story great. Without them, you have no story. But the plot and the point of the story is also so very important too.

With this said, I must emphasize the difference between Plot and Point. What happens in your story is the plot; whereas, what your story is about is the point. Note the difference? When I ask you, "What happens in your story?", you should reply by telling me the plot. Example: "Mary is a young woman who can never seem to live up to the expectations of her parents. One day she finds an old book in the attic of her family home and accidently opens it, releasing a pleague of demons. With the help of her friends, she has to return the demons inside of the book while still juggling her school work and home life. Etc. etc." (haha, not a perfect example but I made it up on a whim...) So, you get a basic idea of what will happen in the story. This is the plot.

The POINT, however, of the story is not the same as the plot. What is the point? Is the point of the story to show that you don't have to be perfect and super strong to be successful or a hero? Is the point of your story "Love Conquers all"? The point of the story is more on a subjective level than the plot. What do you want to accomplish with this story? With what do you wish the audience to walk away from your story? Without the point, your story will lack dimention. And the point doesn't have to be an elaborate one. It really could be as simple as "Good prevails over evil" ...It isn't a very good point on it's own, but it is still usable. Developing good points are as important as good characters and good plots.

For me the point of my stories are what drives me to write them. For me it is all about the characters and the point. It's funny... I am into horror comics, books, etc. but man I love the concept of love. My most reoccuring Point is love. For example, the main theme for my novel, Dragon Light, is "Love is the ultimate power and without it one can not survive"... But it is funny.... because my novel would not be classified under the Romance genre because the main point of love is subtle, instead of in your face. There is also a secondary theme (one which I am afraid might be almost equal in importance to the main point, not sure yet) and that is "Even though you may be different or considered unworthy or weak, that doesn't mean that you can not fight for what you believe in and overcome the obsticles preventing you from love and happiness." My points are always along the lines of bringing support to those who don't believe in themselves.... to love the unloved and to show how wrong it is to be harmful to others and selfish. It is all right to have more than one point to your story, but you should try to have one dominant Point and minor, secondary points. In my case, I may have to tweek my main Point to the second, more developed point that I mentioned secondly in the sample from my own story as stated above.

Does supporting the weak and innocent or love have to be the same points for everyone's stories? Not at all. You decide what point you want to get across to your audience. Just remember to have a point! C.S. Lewis, with his famous book series "The Chronicals of Narnia," had a point in his books. It was much clearer than most points that take the more subtle approach, but it was a great point and a great series of books. His point was to teach children good manners and that they should treat people with kindness. His points were also to treat children as peers and to be a good person in order to lead happy and magical lives. Very beautiful and valid point, in my opinion.

In the end, your stories should have a plot as well as a point. The best stories will contain both of these things and they are equally important. Remember: Plot = Objective, and Point = Subjective. Take time to think about your Point so that your audience feels like they haven't wasted their time and so it makes your story that much better. Good Luck!