A story or plot that is organized by a central idea has one central point that is being made. Everything else within the main story revolves around that idea. The other types of organization are character organization and cause to effect. All three are often present within a story, but one usually is dominant. 2001: A Space Odyssey is an example of a story that is organized by a central idea. It also has elements of cause to effect and to a lesser extent organization by character, but the main idea is dominant. It is the idea that there is another intelligence in the universe that is watching over us. The story takes place in the past, as well as in the near future at least from the perspective of when it was written. In three different times and periods a mysterious monolith appears representing that other intelligence.