“Unlocking the Secrets of Story vs. Plot: What Every Writer Needs to Know!”
Backstory in Dialogue
Like Théoden calling out Gondor for failing his people in The Lord of the Rings (2001), dialogue can introduce past events without directly showing them to the audience.
Rather than directly adding this fabula, the question raised makes the audience experience this knowledge secondhand, adding to the narrative weight of it since it means something personal to a specific character.
Frame Stories
A story being told in the context of another story can be a powerful way to organize elements of the narrative and create a unique but compelling plot.
