There are trillions of books in the world, and perhaps even quadrillions of angles on stories as old as time itself. There is nothing new under the sun. Writers often believe that they should not bother to try writing anything, because “it’s all been done before,” and “I don’t have any original ideas. Everything I think of, someone else has written something like it.” Well, dear writer, look no further for yet another excuse to give up on writing before you’ve even tried it out properly.
First of all, you are right that nothing’s new. There are more or less seven basic plots on which all great books are based, and once you see them you’ll know exactly what I mean. Every great story you have ever heard or read, to some extend or another, adheres to one of these plot lines — so the point is, don’t feel bad if you can’t think of anything new, because neither did Homer, or Herman Melville, or Emily Bronte, or George Lucas. Here they are — the 7 Basic Plot Lines of All Fiction/Drama/Etc:
- man versus nature
- man versus man
- man versus the environment
- man versus technology
- man versus the preternatural
- man versus self
- man versus god(s) and/or religion
Imagine what a refreshing exercise it would be to set out deliberately trying to defy all seven of them in a single piece of writing. And imagine how chaotic and unreadable it could be.
This is not to say that all readers would find all seven plot lines overwhelming and unenjoyable — but many would, so you have to take it easy on your readers by sticking to only a few ones as primary reasons for your story, and focusing all your energy on bringing that out.
Sounds easy, I know, and yet it is far from it. But if you carefully analyze ANY story you have ever enjoyed yourself, you will be able to identify which of the seven is primary among any others that may be present in the story, and thereby, simplify your own writing in a way that helps you get past the idea that just because it’s all been done before, it must not be good.
