Plots, Ideas, and Originality

Someone once asked me where I got my story ideas. I responded honestly by saying that I usually took a piece of media (movie, TV show, book, etc.), extracted the basic run-down, and then twisted it a bit to fit into my niche.

Said person responded by asking me if that wasn't stealing. I never thought so, because by the end of my narrative changes, the story often varied widely from the "original" work.

Christopher Booker has a well-known book called The Seven Basic Plots, wherein he breaks down numerous famous works to their most bare-bone elements, resulting in the titular seven plot ideas.

Novelist David Morrell distilled the idea down even further by saying:

"As far as I'm concerned, in the abstract, there is only one plot and it goes like this — A person, or group or an entity (an animal, or an alien, or whatever) wants something... A plot doesn't get any more basic. A quest and obstacles. That's narrative's unified field theory."

While that seems overly simplified, it's ultimately true. Consider your favorite movie or book.

Is it a romantic comedy? The protagonists want love and must overcome their differences to achieve it.

Is it a revenge flick? The main character wants to make the people who wronged him/her pay.

What about sci-fi or fantasy? The hero or heroes want to save an individual or population from some kind of supernatural or otherworldly threat.

The key is not to get too hung up on the idea itself, but the execution of said idea.

Maybe you want to tell the story of a reporter trying to decipher a dying millionaire's last word. There are many ways to go about solving that mystery, but if your story ends with a burning sled, well congratulations, you totally ripped off Citizen Kane. On the other hand, if your protagonist travels the world, uncovers a global conspiracy, and fights a cyborg ninja. Now you've done something new.

The key here is not to get too hung up on where you get your ideas. The trick is how to execute them. You could take the plot of one of the worst movies ever made and spin it into an award-winning yarn if you do it correctly.

So borrow with abandon. After all, recycling and reuse are hot topics nowadays.