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ill titleNothing New Under the Sun

It is said that there is nothing new under the sun, and that all stories follow the same basic plot structures. This statement “nothing new under the sun” speaks lots of truth, but the word “nothing” might go too far. For there are always, several ways to tell a story even if the basic plot; it is these various details that make the story exciting and new.

Components of a Story

First to the story, at least in my opinion, come the characters. These are the people your readers will be stuck with throughout their reading session. If your characters are not fleshed out, your reader will not be able to relate to them and will probably end up wanting to throw the book. Readers have to be able to care about what is going to happen to your characters; if they don’t, then what is the point of continuing to read the story?

All stories need a conflict; without one, a book would be as interesting to read as watching paint dry. In elementary school, students are taught the basic conflicts such as Man vs. Man, Nature vs. Man, Man vs. Self. Stories have characters both protagonist and antagonists. After elementary school, we learn that there are more than those basic conflicts. Though the conflicts have been narrowed into catergories, it how the characters reach these conflicts that is completely left to the designs of the author; no two minds think the same

Plot is that invisible strand that plods the characters along. When I am creating a plot, I try to make it fluid and changeable, allowing the characters some ability to change it as they do not always have the same plans as me in mind. However, the plot maintains some order and pushes the action forward. If readers can see the plot a mile away, what incentive do they have to continue? You have to give the reader a carrot.

Settings add flavor to a story and should be developed as underdeveloped settings have the same feel as 2-D stage props. The setting also reveals certain aspects of characters through their interactions with each other.

Some would argue that theme is an important component to a story, but it is something that I usually ignore as a theme usually there just laying hidden within the tale. As a reader, I do not want to have a theme/moral rammed down my throat; I want it to be in the undercurrents, waiting for me to find it on my own.

With all these factors in mind, plus the subsections of these components, it is easy to see that the combinations a writer can try should be limited.

Monomyth, Cliched Beyond Hope?

Now let’s consider monomyth or the Hero with a Thousand Faces. Monomyth has a set pattern, but does that mean that a story that follows this pattern is unoriginal and clichéd? Let’s take a look by comparing monomyth pattern with Star Wars, Eragon (which for all intensive purposes is a copy Star Wars), and a random plot that I have just come up with.

Monomyth= Call to Adventure, Refusal of Call, Supernatural Aid, Crossing the Threshold, Rebirth, Initiation, and finally the return.

StarWarsPoster Star Wars= Young boy (Luke) finds the one hope for the Rebel Alliance (death star plans/droids), meets wise mentor (Obi-wan), refuses to leave home, uncle and aunt killed by evil empire, boy leaves with wise mentor for rebel base with rebel alliance’s last hope, boy rescues damsel in distress (Leia), wise mentor killed forcing boy to grow up, boy brought into rebel alliance and must prove self, boy foils empire’s plans (destroys Death Star), eventually Luke returns to Tatooine.

StarWarsPoster Eragon= Young boy (Eragon) finds the one hope for the Rebel Alliance (egg/dragon), meets wise mentor (Brom), refuses to leave home, uncle killed by evil empire, boy leaves with wise mentor for rebel base with rebel alliance’s last hope, boy rescues damsel in distress (Arya) wise mentor killed forcing boy to grow up, boy brought into rebel alliance and must prove self, boy foils empire’s plans (wins battle).

Looking at these two examples one is left to believe that there is no hope and that monomyth just does not offer originality, but let’s toy with it.

Made-up Example= Middle-aged man receives draft notice, crumples up notice, meets Officer Bob, who arrests him, forced into military as a tank buster, in heat of battle tears off explosive attached to him and plays dead (saved from grisly fate), wades his way through no-man’s land, joins traveling group of gypsies, after war returns home, he is unable to adjust and leaves again.

The last example is nothing like the first two, though it still follows monomyth. This protagonist to most people would not even be considered a hero but rather a coward. So even in monomyth, there is room for originality.

Conclusion

There are always different ways to tell a story even if the mechanics are similar to another story. As there are numerous details in a story the confines are truely limitless; it is only the mind that restricts the story in terms of originality.

Sources

arrowhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monomyth

arrowhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fiction_writing

arrowEragon by Christopher Paolini

arrowStar Wars by George Lucas