Can any story actually be original now?
- Thread starter ReservoirAngel
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Originality is getting rare but what keeps the interest is how that story is told, and by who. Someone will always compare a story to something else.
I could make an original story. Here, It's a story about a toaster toasting toast, and in the middle of the story the toast inside of the toaster starts burning, and in the end the toast pops out of the toaster burnt to a crisp. The toaster is a metaphor for a tanning bed, and the burnt toast in the end is a metaphor for a person that stayed in the tanning bed too long. The moral of the story is to not over use things or Karma will bite you on the arse. So hows that for original?
The thing is, everthing in a story can now be labelled under a 'trope', which is a very different thing to a cliche. Tropes are narrative devices or structures subconsciously used by the writer and expected by the audience.
Every situation, every character, every important object, can be categorised.
It's not so much that they're unoriginal, there are just unoriginal combinations of them.
Every situation, every character, every important object, can be categorised.
It's not so much that they're unoriginal, there are just unoriginal combinations of them.
There are seven basic PLOTS, not stories. There is a very large distinction between the two ideas. The heroes' journey is a plot. Lord of the Rings and Star Wars OT have the heroes' journey plot, but they do not have the same story. If you study the seven basic plots and works like Hero of a Thousand Faces and all of the trademarks of formula writing, it's easy to come to the conclusion that every story has been told already, but that simply isn't true. Have no fear.ReservoirAngel said:
Can a story be original? In setting perhaps. In the exact combination of characters and events perhaps. But these individual pieces cannot possibly be original.
There is no shame in telling a story that has already been told of course. Just as a cake is fashioned in virtually the same way with every baking from the same list of fundamental components a story is worthy based on the entirety of the work and to judge it based upon the those things it has in common with myriad other works is foolish.
There is no shame in telling a story that has already been told of course. Just as a cake is fashioned in virtually the same way with every baking from the same list of fundamental components a story is worthy based on the entirety of the work and to judge it based upon the those things it has in common with myriad other works is foolish.
In terms of plot, no.
In terms of setting, occasionally. Although it's often just a race to see who gets there first. Being John Malcovich is probably the last movie I saw where they achieved this.
In terms of execution, improbable but possible. Here it's just a matter of taking enough left-turns that you create something unlike anything someone has seen before. BJM had it by virtue of its unique setting, but I think Fight Club managed the same trick with a more conventional plot & setting (even if it is based on the book of the same name). When it came to marketing the film, they really had nothing, because you couldn't really compare it to any other movie (and this is largely how movie trailers work). One trailer set it up as a love story, others focused on the action, even today, it's a bit hard to explain it to someone without saying "it's like Fight Club".
In terms of setting, occasionally. Although it's often just a race to see who gets there first. Being John Malcovich is probably the last movie I saw where they achieved this.
In terms of execution, improbable but possible. Here it's just a matter of taking enough left-turns that you create something unlike anything someone has seen before. BJM had it by virtue of its unique setting, but I think Fight Club managed the same trick with a more conventional plot & setting (even if it is based on the book of the same name). When it came to marketing the film, they really had nothing, because you couldn't really compare it to any other movie (and this is largely how movie trailers work). One trailer set it up as a love story, others focused on the action, even today, it's a bit hard to explain it to someone without saying "it's like Fight Club".
Well I think the seven stories definition rins fairly true but they're very, very broad brushes. For instance, one of the seven stores is tragedy wherein "a hero with a fatal flaw meets a tragic end" like...Red Dead Redemption and Macbeth, one's a Shakepsearean play which revolves around an ambitious minister in Anglo-Saxan England murdering others to make it to the top of the monarchial food-chain at the request of three witches and the other revolves around a former outlaw journeying across the old American West taking down former members of his gang so the authorities will let him see his family again. Devil's in the details I suppose, but there are many films, books, games even artworks which adhere to too many tropes of their medium and make no effort to stand out.
Like every creative process, there are two forces at work when forming stories: there's all the preconcenptions and ideas taken from the tales of the past, and your own personal input. New stories are always inescapably influenced by past stories.
Yes, there are only a set number of paths a plot can conceivably follow. But think of all the deviation possible in a simple 'plain farmboy sets off to defeat ultimate evil' idea. From that we get Lord of the Rings, Star Wars, and a zillion other incarnations. When you read a new book, even if you're completely familiar with the direction the plot is likely to go in, you'll probably enjoy reading it just to find out the details of how the story unfolds. Isn't that amazing?
I think a large part of it comes from the setting. If a strange new setting is fully fleshed-out and realised, it can give a fresh perspective on even the most over-used plot. Take 1984, for example. Practically nothing happens in the book: one insignificant man dies and the world carries on. But because of the incredibly chilling setting, it is a story which never leaves you.
Being a writer is a magical thing. There's simply no limit on the number of stories that can ever be told. Because of the sheer breadth of the globe, there's an infinite number of possibilities out there. The characters of a story are a large part of this too. Think of all the characters that could ever be created - that's an infinite amount; a human being is too complex for it to be otherwise. Personally, when I think of new, interesting characters, I can't wait to bounce them off one another. There's something endlessly exciting and fresh about that, even if they're stuck in the middle of a cliched plot. As long as we can imagine new characters, I don't think there's any fear of us running out of new ideas, new forms of presentation, or new stories to tell.
Lastly, remember where the word 'novel' comes from. It means to be literally novel - new and different. When novels originated in the 17th century, their main purpose was indeed to express old ideas in a new way.
Having said that, I can't understand how people are able to continually write new tunes and melodies after centuries of songwriting. And with only seven notes? Craaazey!
[sub]/end literary rant[/sub]
Yes, there are only a set number of paths a plot can conceivably follow. But think of all the deviation possible in a simple 'plain farmboy sets off to defeat ultimate evil' idea. From that we get Lord of the Rings, Star Wars, and a zillion other incarnations. When you read a new book, even if you're completely familiar with the direction the plot is likely to go in, you'll probably enjoy reading it just to find out the details of how the story unfolds. Isn't that amazing?
I think a large part of it comes from the setting. If a strange new setting is fully fleshed-out and realised, it can give a fresh perspective on even the most over-used plot. Take 1984, for example. Practically nothing happens in the book: one insignificant man dies and the world carries on. But because of the incredibly chilling setting, it is a story which never leaves you.
Being a writer is a magical thing. There's simply no limit on the number of stories that can ever be told. Because of the sheer breadth of the globe, there's an infinite number of possibilities out there. The characters of a story are a large part of this too. Think of all the characters that could ever be created - that's an infinite amount; a human being is too complex for it to be otherwise. Personally, when I think of new, interesting characters, I can't wait to bounce them off one another. There's something endlessly exciting and fresh about that, even if they're stuck in the middle of a cliched plot. As long as we can imagine new characters, I don't think there's any fear of us running out of new ideas, new forms of presentation, or new stories to tell.
Lastly, remember where the word 'novel' comes from. It means to be literally novel - new and different. When novels originated in the 17th century, their main purpose was indeed to express old ideas in a new way.
Having said that, I can't understand how people are able to continually write new tunes and melodies after centuries of songwriting. And with only seven notes? Craaazey!
[sub]/end literary rant[/sub]
It's all about doing the story well. An unoriginal story done well and with the author's own signature will appear original and new. Take for one simple example the Animations by Hayao Miyazaki. He is admired or respected by all other animation directors. Has he made the most original animations? I would hesitate to say so. But they have real and honest emotions and take you in with their charm. They are made with great personal conviction and dedication, and this is felt throughout.
If you also believe that you can classify all of us as just human, then yes.
But in the end, it's those little bits in the stories, those little parts of us, that make them unique, and ultimately, very original indeed.
[sub]This metaphor doesn't work well for me, as I'm quite happy to classify us all as just humans, with no real role or significance in the universe, but you get the point.[/sub]
But in the end, it's those little bits in the stories, those little parts of us, that make them unique, and ultimately, very original indeed.
[sub]This metaphor doesn't work well for me, as I'm quite happy to classify us all as just humans, with no real role or significance in the universe, but you get the point.[/sub]
No, when you break it down to it's bare bones there are really only a handful of stories to begin with, everything that has been or likly will be made are simply permutations of a few basic stories.
Not that that's a bad thing though, there are near infinate ways to tell any given story, any number of variations that can make even the biggest cliches seem innovative, for me it's not what story you tell, but how you tell it.
Not that that's a bad thing though, there are near infinate ways to tell any given story, any number of variations that can make even the biggest cliches seem innovative, for me it's not what story you tell, but how you tell it.