I agree that "story" has acquired a certain vagueness - it even has that in my own head
, the subject of fiction is really too wide to be easily encompassed under any single/simple statement.
I cannot, even if I wanted to, realistically suggest that every work of fiction
must follow the notions I've offered so far. (But I am tempted to suggest that the good ones do.
)
And despite what I've said so far, I am not a believer in another of those common writing rules: that fewer words are always better than more. Unnecessary words should be eliminated, but necessary becomes a matter of style, rhythm and intention. Even most well written popular fiction has its own rhythms, for those that care to look, though whether these are always intentional is open to question. But words included as part of style can still be considered part of the story, one doesn't exclude the other, indeed they can (and preferably should) complement each other.
However if the style completely obscures or obviates the story then I am no longer certain we are talking about fiction in a commonly recognisable sense. I hesitate to call it poetry, even poetry may have a story, perhaps it has become something different. But words being what they are, with our respective associations, and even pronunciations, so varied, that without a story to carry the writer's intention to the reader, I think the result is often highly unpredictable.
Of course I may be wanting to isolate writing without a story away from fiction just to make my earlier statements true.
But there is another reason. Appreciation of writing, like music and art, can be greatly effected by how the reader approaches the work. It's partly about expectation, but I think it's more complicated than that.
Perhaps naively, when I see something called fiction I look for the story. Even more naively, when I see something called poetry the first thing I look for is the rhythm. When I don't see these things I often find myself at a loss. If some element appeals to me then I may persevere and try looking at it in another way, but without a guide there is no guarantee I will find the right one.
And I think this brings me full circle to my first post on this thread: "In fiction, I prefer my erudition well disguised." I am no longer at school, I don't have a guide to help me try to understand a writer's intention. Where the intention is not usual/clear/expected, then for me to appreciate the work, it is up to the writer to act the part of guide and show me the way. They can't do this by shutting me out with demonstrations of their own cleverness, they must remember me, and include me in the journey.