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Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/a/32967
License name: CC BY-SA 3.0
License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/

Can I just ask you to make this more specific? Or try myself? My answer will be based off this, but I'd recommend you try to firm up your question.

A story is essentially characters interacting with a problem. The problem is the antagonist and manifests as characters, setting and events that block your protagonists goals. This is the what. Something will be lost, needs to be recovered.

Your genre is basically just dressing. But, it's the first step for choosing how the story will execute and what it will look like. Then your the interactions of protagonists+antagonists and conflicts determine how this plays out.

I don't think it's possible to have a good story with just a what, but they are often called idea stories. Most people in Western culture would say the how is 90% of the story of you define it the way I do.

For me its not just how though, and the excellence of the story really comes down to identifiable characters, settings and decisions that the reader emotes to with positive regard. Without connection it's all meaningless: how, what, and writing style could all fail you.

Original score: 1