There is one additional thing to plot and characters: How the story is told. And that one is important. If we talk about "art" this is what makes the difference (I am simplifying here a bit). For example look at good and bad poetry. It is of course just one theory about art, but a very popular one. Kants philosophy is very important for this line of thought. Unfortunately the popular vs good thing comes from there too, from his definition of art as purpose less.
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