A chronicle retells events in the order they occurred, while a story indicates why events happened and what they may mean. A story can retell events in order or rearrange them based on dramatic and thematic needs. Examples show a chronicle simply stating two deaths, while a story provides context around the deaths and additional events.

1. chronicle and story
A chronicle is a retelling of events in the order that they
happened.

2. chronicle and story
A chronicle is a retelling of events in the order that they
happened.
A story recounts events such as to indicate why they
happened as they did (the causes and reasons) and what they
might mean.

3. chronicle and story
A chronicle is a retelling of events in the order that they
happened.
A story recounts events such as to indicate why they
happened as they did (the causes and reasons) and what they
might mean.
Because a story indicating causes, reasons, and
meanings, it might recount events in the order that they
happened or it might not. The order of events (or plot) is
determined by the story’s dramatic and thematic needs. (See
below.)

4. chronicle and story
• chronicle
The queen died. The king died.

5. chronicle and story
• chronicle
The queen died. The king died.
• story
The queen died. The king died of grief.

6. chronicle and story
• chronicle
The queen died. The king died.
• story
The queen died. The king died of grief. The prince
nearly died of laughter.

7. chronicle and story
• chronicle
The queen died. The king died.
• story
The queen died. The king died of grief. The prince
nearly died of laughter.
or
The prince nearly died of laughter when his father
the king finally died, after twenty long years spent grieving
the death of his wife the queen, who had died giving birth
to the boy who would soon be crowned king.

8. chronicle and story
• chronicle
The queen died. The king died.
• story
The queen died. The king died of grief. The prince
nearly died of laughter.
or
The prince nearly died of laughter when his father
the king finally died, after twenty long years spent grieving
the death of his wife the queen, who had died giving birth
to the boy who would soon be crowned king.
That boy was the prince’s younger half-brother:
Arthur.

10. Dramatic shape
• The specific conflict that motivates the action, assigns roles to
characters, and tells readers what kind of story it is: e.g., a tragedy, a
rom com, an adventure story, a satire, etc., etc.
• Not sure what “dramatic shape” your story has? Ask yourself: What
movie/play/novel/TV show might you compare it to? And how might
you classify that movie/play/etc.?
Themes
• The “big ideas” that gives the story its deeper, more universal
meaning.
Plot
• The deliberate selection, sequencing, and “sizing” of details — with
the emphasis on deliberate: the writer makes choices and has
reasons for making them.
• What are thsoe reasons? It’s through plotting that the story’s
dramatic shape unfolds and its themes are developed.