There are many good stories out there, but they all follow the same basic pattern:
Character
Conflict
Resolution
It seems that every novel I pick up, no matter how well-written it is, is just a reworking of dozens of similar, previous novels.
So my question is: Is true originality possible anymore? What do you think, people?
kathy
Favorite Answer
Here we approach the truth of literature: there is only one story.
True originality need not reinvent the wheel. What you just described is the definition of a novel. So yes, what ever novel you pick up will have that pattern, because if it didn't, it wouldn't be a novel.
Writers do not create in vacuums, they are heavily influenced by what they read and what they experience.
It is better this way.
If you emerge with something completely new and unfamiliar, chances are it will be so foreign it won't mean anything to those who read it. Using what people have done in the past, using archetypes connects every story together. That story you pick up recalls not only its own parameter of five pages, or twenty, or five hundred: it recalls every story that was ever written and brings those themes in. That is the purpose of allusion. East of Eden retells the story of Cain and Abel and is STRONGER because of it. By referring to an old story, Steinbeck reveals that the struggle of good vs. evil is a personal battle which must be fought by every single person in every time. But the story of Cain and Abel also reveals that from the beginning of time man has had the power to defeat his own darkness. Without that allusion, without that story of Cain and Abel already existing, Steinbeck's work would mean less.
There is only one story.
Stories are about a protagonist who wants to achieve a goal but must face many opposing forces to do so. It may be Sauron, a rival, a mother-in-law, or a manic fear of yellow tape.
True originality is about finding a way to bring everything together in a way that says something different. Naguib Mahfouz's novel "Arabian NIghts and Days" is a retelling of "Arabian Nights' Entertainment" but with a twist, and that combination creates something greater than the sum of its parts, allowing Mahfouz to achieve his purpose. There is one story.
geronimorex67
I think there are many good novels out there, but other media are resorting to comic books and remakes. Some times the remakes are better i.e. I Am Legend as opposed to the original Omega Man.
poisoned by sweet obsanity
all stories follow the same basic pattern because, lets face it, without a problem in a story its not that interesting and if it didn't get resolved then noone would enjoy it.
I get what you're saying about things being similar, but there are differences that make things original, other wise people would be done for copyright fraud lol
Alex
You should try some of Neil Gaiman's works.
Preferably Short Stories like the book "Fragile Things" or "Smoke and Mirrors".
He doesn't follow the rules, he tells modern day fairy tales in a way I've never experienced before. That have my jaw dropped when he concludes it.
I Was Blind, and Now I See
what else is there supposed to be? conflict then falling action the rest of the book? that would be boring without having the main action at the end to keep you going, its the ideas and plot that needs to be more original