Originality In Storytelling

There are two forms of originality.  The first involves autonomous, independent discovery of facts or ideas.  Though they may have been previously discovered by others, no external aid was used in the process of learning them.  The second is the introduction or development of an idea for the first time (or one of the first times) in human history.  Because of the manner in which philosophy and storytelling have respectively developed up until this point, intellectual originality is very much alive in the second sense as well as in the first, since there are numerous details of reality that have very rarely been acknowledged [1], while originality in storytelling is much more limited.

Given the vast number of stories that have been created using different mediums, there are perhaps no completely original stories that a person can invent, in the sense that there is always another story (at this point in time) with at least a passing similarity.  That similarity may take the form of something as relatively minor as a name or something as significant as a character type or plot structure.  Nevertheless, it is extremely difficult, at best, to not find overt narrative commonalities in stories separated by geography, time, or various cultures.

Of course, a person who devises a narrative without being aware that it shares similarities with other stories also expresses originality, but in a different sense than the person who first uses a story element does (as aforementioned).  This form of originality is available to all people, regardless of what era or society they are born into.  The passage of time, however, inevitably brings about the shrinking of other manifestations of originality.  Despite this, contemporary and upcoming storytellers have no need to feel discouraged!

They can certainly always discover narrative structures and elements without knowing where else those elements might have appeared, meaning it is still as if they formalized those ideas on their own--and then they can always bring familiar concepts into new settings.  The latter is the closest thing to the introduction of something completely new to storytelling.  Even if there are no new story elements to discover, it is still possible to combine them, representing them in new ways.  The intimately familiar can seem novel.

For example, basic story elements can seem bold and new simply by being inserted into different genres.  Alternatively, telling familiar stories while placing an emphasis on aspects that are usually not emphasized can breathe new life into narratives that are already known.  There is usually a way to take the expected and revise how it is conveyed so that it comes across as unexpected.

Some stories are far more unique than others.  Even so, many of their individual components can be seen in other works of entertainment, spanning mediums and centuries.  The key to coming as close to the first of the two kinds of storytelling originality as is possible is to repackage these components: this is the new application of established concepts.  When stories are constructed in this way, some people might be surprised at what familiar things suddenly come across as foreign.

[1].  https://thechristianrationalist.blogspot.com/2018/12/a-list-of-neglected-truths.html