Story and Plot: Finding Meaning
Laura Spence-Ash explores the relationship between story and plot in narrative theory, analyzing how meaning is constructed through their interaction. Traditionally, story is defined as a chronological sequence of events, while plot is a reordering of those events by the author to create structure and meaning. She argues that meaning in fiction is not housed solely in story or plot, but in their intersection. Different narratives require different balances of the two. By expanding definitions through various theoretical lenses and languages, we gain a richer understanding of how narrative meaning is constructed.