by David YoungWe often say we should start at “the beginning,” which, in the words of Julie Andrews, is a very good place to start. However, it’s not necessarily true that the same kind of beginning works for every story. In fact, that remains dependent on a few factors, including where your story truly begins chronologically, as well as how your plot is structured.
Did You Just Say “Story” and “Plot” Separately?
Yes, indeed. While some consultants may call your story a “plot,” or an editor may mistake the plot for a “story,” they are distinct parts of the writing process that complement each other—hence the common misconception about their natures.
So, what are they, and why are they different? What purpose does each one serve, exactly? We can start by substituting other terms for each. Let’s learn some Russian!
In the Russian novelist boom of the 20th century came an interesting comparison between two concepts: syuzhet and fabula. Narratologists seeking to break storytelling down into clear parts defined fabula with the same meaning in Russian as it has in Latin: “story.”
Meanwhile, syuzhet was given a more nuanced meaning. The actual word roughly translates to the English word “subject,” as in the subject of an art piece or the subject of a sentence—the main focus. When thinking about syuzhet, think of that focus. You’ll begin to see why in a second.
So, What Is Fabula?
Other than simply saying the word “story” again, let’s define fabula in more concrete terms.
Scholars of Russian formalism saw it as the chronology of events as they occur—not the order in which they’re told. Greek tragedies acknowledged horrible battles before, after, and during the main scenes shown to the audience; but these were sometimes told out of order. Similarly, Inception (2010) acknowledges that there were events that led to the first heist we see at the beginning of the movie.
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. Renfield is affected by Dracula well before Jonathan Harker heads out to the Count’s dark fortress—but we don’t see that happen. Regardless of which scene told Renfield’s part, his story is concretely part of the equation. It’s an inherent truth of the narrative.
Consider that a fable is a story with a purpose, with a message behind it; since “fable” comes from the Latin term fabula, just like the Russian word. So, when remembering fabula, think of the immovable timeline behind the narrative—the truth is the storyline.
OK… Then What Is Syuzhet?
On the other hand, syuzhet acts as the focus of the storytelling. If fabula is the truth behind a narrative, then syuzhet is the message in front of a narrative.
After all, 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. That is the power of the syuzhet, or the “subject,” of the story. That is what we call “plot,” and it’s how a movie like Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004) can surprise and delight an audience, despite the twist of the movie coming at the “beginning” of the timeline.
Because of how the story events are organized, you can give the audience a completely different experience from the original story—one that reveals more of the timeline and that narrative truth, making it clear what the story’s “subject” (its focus) should be. If the focus is on discovering lost memories, showing all those memories at the beginning would undermine the story.
This is why syuzhet and fabula must always work together: To have a narrative, you must have both story and plot complement each other.
Read the full article: https://thescriptlab.com/blogs/42366-what-is-the-difference-between-story-and-plot/
