The myth of the original story

Something writers are often told is how their story isn’t original because it is built on similar tropes as other known literary works. But since the very first books written, unless you are the amazing inventor of a completely new genre of books, tropes have been repeated. Some of the most amazing, well-known literary works have tropes in common with other works that came before them.

So, what is a trope?

According to the Oxford dictionary, a trope is a «significant or reccurent theme; a motif».

For example; in the fantasy genre, some common tropes are:

Tragic backstory
Prophecy or quest
Good vs Evil
Chosen one
The lost heir
Enemies to lovers/enemy turned ally
Found family
Forbidden magic
Magic school
Enormous libraries filles with original books
A medival type setting (taverns, swords and horses)
The reluctant hero/antihero
Ancient and powerful artifact
Fantastical creatures (elves, dragons, orcs, dwarves etc)
The cavalry arrives (army, fellowship saves the day)
High cost for winning (hero sacrifices for his freinds/kingdom)

Sound familiar? Can you think of a single fantasy novel or short story that does not have ANY of these? Most likely they all have several, right? Lord of the rings have 13/16 of the above. Harry potter 13/16. Acotar 11/16. Fourth wing 11/16. A song of Ice and Fire 11/16. I can keep going…

Lighting as magical power? There is a whole wikipedia page dedicated to listing fictional characters with that power alone (and its long!)

So, if all these books are «unoriginal», what sets one apart from the other?

Consider if writing a book is like building a house. The tropes are the pillars/timber framing of the house. In itself it doesn’t make a house livable. You need to add windows, walls, cables, piping, furniture and people who will live there.

Same with your story. The tropes are nothing in themselves, they are just the framework for writing characters you feel like you know, worlds you can picture in your head, interactions that make you angry, happy, sad, scenes that push you through the books needing the next chapter.

The is no such thing as an orignial story in the sense that it contains nothing that hasn’t been done before. That doesn’t mean the book you read isn’t unique.

Enjoy your reading/writing. Original is what you make it, magic come in many shapes and sizes.