When we tell a story, several elements work together to shape the reader’s experience. Four of the most important are story, plot, structure, and suspense.
Because these elements are closely related, it can sometimes be difficult to tell where one ends and another begins. But understanding the difference between them can help you make better decisions when planning and revising your fiction.
Let’s look at them one by one.
Story
The story is the sequence of events that takes place in the fictional world, arranged in chronological order.
In other words, it answers a simple question:
What happens?
Imagine a thriller in which a police officer murders a woman and hides her body. Later, the police discover the corpse. The murderer joins the investigation and secretly destroys evidence until one of his colleagues eventually discovers the truth.
Arranged chronologically, the story would look something like this:
- A police officer murders a woman.
- He hides the body.
- The police discover it.
- An investigation begins.
- The murderer takes part in the investigation and covers his tracks.
- One of his colleagues becomes suspicious.
- The colleague discovers that he is the killer.
This chronological version gives the writer a clear overview of the chain of events.
But the reader does not necessarily have to experience them in that order.
That is where plot comes in.
Plot
The plot is the way the writer chooses to present those events to the reader.
The story may unfold chronologically, but it can also begin in the middle, move backwards and forwards in time, hide information, reveal certain events later through flashbacks, or show the same event from different points of view.
Using our thriller example, the novel might begin when the police discover the body.
The reader follows the investigation without knowing that one of the officers working on the case is actually the murderer. Clues disappear, leads go nowhere, and someone always seems to be one step ahead of the investigators.
Eventually, one officer becomes suspicious of a colleague and discovers the truth.
Only then might the novel show us, perhaps through flashbacks, how the murder happened and how the killer manipulated the investigation from the beginning.
The underlying story has not changed.
What has changed is the order and manner in which the reader receives the information.
And that choice can completely transform the experience of the story.
Structure
If plot determines how the events are arranged, structure determines how the narrative is built and divided.
It is the architecture of the story.
Structure includes decisions such as:
- where the story begins and ends;
- how scenes and chapters are organized;
- how much space is given to each part of the narrative;
- where turning points occur;
- when flashbacks or changes of point of view appear;
- how quickly or slowly information is revealed.
Two novels could tell essentially the same story and even use a similar plot, yet feel very different because of their structure.
One might consist of short, fast-paced chapters alternating between several characters. Another might use three long sections, each covering a different period in the protagonist’s life.
Structure is therefore not just about dividing a novel into chapters. It is about deciding how the different parts of the narrative fit together and how their arrangement affects rhythm, emphasis, and tension.
Suspense
Suspense comes from the questions that make readers want to continue.
Sometimes suspense is created by withholding information.
In our thriller, the reader might not know who the murderer is. The central question becomes:
Who killed the woman?
But suspense does not always depend on keeping secrets from the reader.
Imagine that we reveal the murderer’s identity in the opening scene.
Now the question changes:
Will the police discover what he has done?
The reader may even know more than the characters do, which can create a different kind of tension. Every conversation, mistake, or unexpected discovery threatens to expose the killer.
Suspense can revolve around many kinds of questions:
Will she escape?
Will they fall in love?
Will he discover the truth?
Why did she disappear?
Will the plan succeed?
What will happen when the secret comes out?
The important thing is to identify the question—or group of questions—that keeps the reader emotionally invested in what happens next.
Good suspense is also about managing information.
What does the reader know?
What do the characters know?
What are you deliberately keeping hidden?
And when should each piece of information be revealed?
These decisions are closely connected to plot and structure.
How These Four Elements Work Together
Although it is useful to examine these concepts separately, they constantly influence one another.
Story gives you the events.
Plot determines the order in which the reader experiences those events.
Structure organizes those events into scenes, chapters, sections, and turning points.
Suspense gives the reader a reason to keep moving through them.
For example, deciding to reveal a murder at the beginning instead of halfway through the novel is a plot decision.
Placing that revelation at the end of the first chapter is a structural decision.
And deciding whether the reader knows the murderer’s identity determines what kind of suspense the story creates.
The four elements work together to control how the reader experiences the narrative.
Practical Exercise
A good way to understand these ideas is to analyze stories you already know.
Choose a few novels, short stories, films, or television episodes and try the following exercise.
First, write down the main events in chronological order. This is the story.
Then write down the order in which those events are actually revealed to the audience. This is the plot.
Next, look at the structure. How is the story divided? Where are the major turning points? Are there flashbacks, time jumps, or changes in point of view? Are some sections much longer or shorter than others?
Finally, ask yourself:
What keeps me wanting to know what happens next?
That question will help you identify the story’s main source of suspense.
Once you start looking at stories this way, you will begin to notice how much of storytelling depends not only on what happens, but also on when and how the audience discovers it.
Happy writing!