Synth Ham with the Lo-fi Tuna

these are not the same thing.

plot is what happens. story question is what it MEANS. and genre fiction... maybe more than any other category, needs both, because readers come in with expectations and if you only satisfy the plot, they'll finish the book and feel weirdly empty and not know why.

let's break it down.

plot question: will katniss survive the hunger games?

story question: can a system that forces children to kill each other produce a person capable of genuine rebellion, or does it just make better weapons?

you need the first one to keep people turning pages at 2am. you need the second one for the book to mean something when they put it down.

here's where writers go wrong. they spend months engineering a watertight plot, the twists, the reversals, the ticking clock, the satisfying ending, and then wonder why their beta readers say things like "i liked it but i didn't love it" or "something felt missing."

what's missing is the story question. the thing the whole plot is actually ABOUT.

and the frustrating thing is you probably have one. you just haven't named it yet.

how to find yours

finish this sentence about your own work: my plot is about X, but my story is really about ________.

a heist novel: the plot is about stealing a priceless artefact. the story is really about whether loyalty is possible between people who've learned to survive by betraying everyone.

a fantasy epic: the plot is about defeating the dark lord. the story is really about whether power corrupts the people who fight it just as much as the people who wield it.

a romance: the plot is about two people getting together. the story is really about whether someone who's built their whole identity around not needing anyone can let themselves be known.

see how the plot is the vehicle and the story question is the destination?

why genre fiction specifically needs this

because genre readers are SMART. they've read a hundred heists, a hundred chosen one narratives, a hundred slow-burn romances. the plot mechanics aren't enough to surprise them anymore. what keeps them coming back... what makes them press a book into someone else's hands and say READ THIS... is that the story said something they hadn't heard said quite that way before.

the plot gets them in the door. the story question is why they stay.

the test

once you've named your story question, check your ending against it. a satisfying ending doesn't just resolve the plot. it answers the question.

katniss survives (plot). and she's broken in ways the Capitol made her, which means the answer to the story question is: yes, the system produces weapons, and the tragedy is that the rebellion needs her to be one (story).

if your ending resolves the plot but doesn't answer the question, or worse, forgets the question entirely, that's the empty feeling your readers can't name.

name your question. then make sure everything in your story is, in some way, asking it.

— rin t. ✨

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There is very little intrinsic institutional power in queenship. The power a consort, dowager, or queen mother has depends mostly on how much the reigning sovereign (usually a man) is willing to grant her. Needing a queen to serve as regent is exceptionally rare, and the regent is more often a male relative.

Queen regnant: woman who rules in her own right, not on behalf of someone else.

Regent: Someone who temporarily assumes the powers of the monarch on account of the monarch being too young or too incapacitated to govern.

Queen consort: Woman who is married to the monarch.

Dowager queen: Woman who was married to the monarch. The monarch is dead, and she is owed support as his widow.

"The hat is customizable," he said, struggling with the velcro patch on the front. "If I need it, I have an ICE one too. I pick based off the business i walk into."

"Customizable is an important hat descriptor," I said. "what can I get you?"

"You wouldn't believe how offended people get these days," he said. "And I'm supposed to do something about it if you're offended? You chose to be offended!"

"We all have hundreds of thousands of decisions everyday," I said. I thickened my accent. "That's what my stepdad always said. But I can make one easier - we have a delicious Ethiopian roast available."

"Like if I told you you have a bull ring," he said, "because bulls have rings in their noses. Is that offensive?"

I laughed. "I've heard that before."

"It's a joke, but people get offended. Maybe you're offended."

I looked at him. I smiled. "You aren't trying to offend me though, right?"

Of course he was. I was being friendly and the friendlier I was, the faster he switched topics. He was saying anything inflammatory he could think of to see if I'd take the bait. After about 20 minutes of my redirecting and deescalating, he settled into a more normal interaction. He took up too much of my time showing me a product I'd feigned mild interest in to get him to stop talking about getting accused of inappropriate behavior at work. When we finally disengaged, he spent 10 minutes trying to catch my eye again. When he failed, he left.

There's this new breed of customer who insists on trying to incite political conversation through their clothing and, when that doesnt work, their snide little comments. If I owned my own business, maybe I would have given the guy the fight he wanted. But I work for a corporation and I love paying my bills so I deescalated.