Afraid my story is too similar to others out there...

[shamguy4]

So to fix a hole in my book, I made it that my bad guy is not around in the beginning of the story. Instead he is trapped in another realm. His followers break the spell holding him there and bring him back.
There is also a legend or prophecy that a certain mans son would be capable of vanquishing him. So he kills this man before he could have any children.

While it all seems great I'm afraid my story is similar to other stories, but then again what has not been repeated under the sun?

Im scared the "resurrection" of my bad guy can be found in many stories. Like Voldemort being resurrected by his follower. Although my bad guy isnt being resurrected... just released.

Also my prophecy...

There is much more to my story that is, I think, unique, but im afraid of this stuff...

 

[The Storyteller]

I hear you. I've often had the exact same concerns!

I don't want to give too much advice, because to be honest I don't have a lot of writing experience and I'm worried mine may not be much help! But take it for what it is.

I tend to believe that if you can write it well, if you can write it uniquely, and if you can fill the story with interesting characters and places and events and make the story your own, then who cares? Some story ideas just work well, and are exciting and interesting to read. Some story ideas I want to read in multiple stories! As a reader, I like to see some of my favourite elements come into play in multiple stories, where different authors put their own spin on it. Especially if you can add unique details and try to put in some twists and surprises so we don't see the whole story coming before it happens, I think it can work for you.

So my advice would be not to overstress about it. Try to rework the ideas to be unique and surprising where you can, and don't follow the full predictable formula without adding some changes and surprises. But if that is the story line that your story needs, and you can write it well, then go for it.

Again, this is coming from someone very inexperienced, but I hope it helps!

 

[shamguy4]

thanks!
the other issues is my main bad guy was locked in this other realm because they couldnt kill him.... hes immortal!
great... another trope used over and over....

My prophecy is really cool though.... you cant possibly guess how and if it comes true. it would seem impossible.... im really excited about that one.... its reeeeally good! It has a great twist!

The truth is, Im sure it will end up looking unique in its own way when its finally written... at least I think...

Perhaps I cant use all those ideas... the immortal one bothers me most. its too much repeated tropes....

 

[The Storyteller]

Perhaps then you should ask yourself why you chose to make him immortal? Is it needed or necessary? Could you put a spin on that to get the idea of long living without being 'immortal'? (For a random example, the baddie has his own ancestral line, where all the memories are transferred down to the eldest son, thus keeping part of him alive without being an immortal, etc. etc.)

 

[shamguy4]

Interesting idea. But it needs to be the same guy...
Perhaps he somehow has no heart... Or sold his soul or something...

 

[Warren_Paul]

but then again what has not been repeated under the sun?

I think you gave the answer to this thread in your opening post. It's not a matter of doing something that hasn't been done before -- because that's nigh on impossible -- but doing it BETTER than those who have come before. Put your own spin on it, beat out the competition.

 

[The Storyteller]

Interesting idea. But it needs to be the same guy...
Perhaps he somehow has no heart... Or sold his soul or something...

Perhaps he swaps souls with his son whenever he gets too old, so suddenly his kid is in an old dying body and he has a new one! What a fiend!

 

[Mad Alice]

Perhaps his undying state is the result of a geas? He is cursed to go on undying until he finds redemption?

 

[Susan Boulton]

Just write it as you see it, don't worry about other stories. Make the trope yours.

 

[Kerrybuchanan]

I agree with @Susan Boulton. Make it so good that no one notices it's a trope

One twist you could use is that being locked in the other realm is what gave your anti - hero his immortality. Your hero-folks' ancestors sort of brought about their own fate!

 

[Jo Zebedee]

Any book in the world can have similar tropes as others - it's what you do with them that matters.

 

[Toby Frost]

I’d agree with the others and say that the best way of avoiding doing what anyone else has done is to do exactly what you want to do and to do it well. Fantasy and SF (and crime, and romance, and every other sort of fiction) is full of ideas that have been dealt with by many people before. In fact, I’d go so far as to say that unless it’s utterly stupid or grossly offensive, the basic premise of a story doesn’t matter all that much in terms of originality.

Doing exactly what you want will mean not feeling that you have to follow the setting or background of an existing story (even if it’s the same story with the names changed). So suddenly the appearance of giant talking cows means that you’re no longer writing something just like Lord of the Rings, or Starship Troopers, or even Halo or whatever. You’re taking the story in a new direction and effectively forging your own, original story. The same goes with the characters. Say the evil guy is brought back by a group of his fanatical worshippers, or by accident, or by someone who thinks that his powers can be used for good. Each of those will send the story in a different direction.

Quite often things seem to go down a clichéd route because it’s the easiest. Stories sometimes seem to naturally fall into a certain shape. The answer, I think, is not to accept that the story has to go that way, and to have the confidence to direct it exactly where you want it to go.

 

[Brian Rogers]

I think general miscommunication could be a great form a conflict for the readers - i.e. irony. Readers know a bit about the history of this baddie and turns out maybe he's not all that bad or perhaps the real bad one is still at large and he's a good guy but over generations truth has been turned by the real bad one. But then I don't know your story well enough to give you new ideas, but go with what everyone is telling you - if everyone says the same thing its often right! - just write it all out exactly as you want. Add your own flare and embrace the trope/cliche, don't fight it. The more you think about it rather than thinking about ways to avoid it, the more your mind will work on it and naturally come up with new original ideas that could push your story in the direction of a cliche but not exactly down the same path. Those small idiosyncrasies and slight deviations from the norm will endear your writing to readers regardless if they've read similar plots before. I'm excited about this prophecy lol, good luck with the book!

 

[Maieius]

I think it's very hard to avoid having similarities. There's always something that's been done before. I've got a similar plot in that the bad guy is trapped. He's spent many years imprisoned; my protagonist is his means of getting free and also entering a country he's forbidden to enter, which is the home and kingdom of the protagonist, who is the prince. Now that written down is probably the same plot of many other plots (none that I can think of but no doubt they're out there) but it doesn't necessarily make it similar.

I often find certain things in my story too similar to others and if it really bugs me, I take it out of the picture momentarily and ask myself if is there another way of doing it? I brainstorm and decide whether other possibilities seem feasible, but you might often find there isn't another way and this way is truest and makes sense to your plot. Sometimes after a brainstorm, I discover a whole new path to the end goal with a lot more interesting sights along the way. Other times I find it's the only way. Sometimes you need to take it out to realise whether or not it belongs. I've done this many times in so many different aspects of my story. I think it all boils down to character. Characters are what make a story stand out the most. Just ask what they would do and you might have an answer.

For example, I ruled out the possibility of immortality and I'm avoiding prophecies. I don't think there's anything wrong with them at all, but it's just something I've done to make it less easy for my characters and it doesn't make sense in my world. I've ruled out a prophecy because then it's my protagonists decision to confront the villain but Harry Potter did the prophecy well and the story wouldn't have happened if it weren't for that prophecy. It made logical sense in that world, but it wouldn't necessarily make sense in mine. It's all about whether it makes sense in the world you've built, no matter whether it's been done a million times before. Can we no longer write about small beings and giants because it's been done so many times? Are we limited in how we build our magic systems because it's been explored so much? Elves and dwarves and giants and fairies have been done over and over but every author has their own individual take on them.

I like to think of a story as a persons face: we all have a nose, ears, eyes, mouth, eyebrows but every face looks different (with the exception of identical siblings, though, often as they grow, I've found they become more and more dissimilar). Each feature on our face is shaped differently, despite everybody having these same features. It's all about how you shape the features in your story.

 

[shamguy4]

Hmmm I was watching this thread and got no email of all the replies!
Thanks.
I guess I'll let the book dictate what happens and stop worrying!

 

[Kissmequick]

I think you have a double problem here

Worrying about tropes and cliches - we all do that. Even when we don't need to

BUT

There is also the market to look at. And man have I seen too many prophecy stories -- the market was saturated with them a while ago. A bit like orphan boys who find a magic sword and then find they are the secret son of the king...

So it's a trope. which is fine, but it has become a cliche, not so fine.

So, turn it. Upside it right onto its head. Your first idea is not usually the best one, so think further, deeper. Consider the consequences of your worldbuilding, how would that twist your world, your character? How can you twist this prophecy to entice an audience that has had it with prophecy? How can you twits your characters so that the prophecy takes a back seat until needed?

How can you make this book yours?

 

[Mirannan]

Regarding immortality, there appear to be two grades of that quality and both of them are found in myth and literature. The higher grade is "will go on living no matter what" which is rather uncommon in literature, though not in religion. The lower grade is "will go on living until killed" enjoyed by elves in most traditions, Norse and Greek gods and various angelic or demonic beings.

IMHO the latter is easier to deal with. Incidentally, "living" in this context includes "existing as a thinking being", which covers undead and unliving beings such as vampires, mummies and various sorts of robot.

 

[The Neon Seal]

Shiro Masamune, the creator of Ghost in the Shell, said that every day he be comes more convinced that all things are just a facsimile of something else, and what really matters in story telling is the feeling you put into it and what you do with the parts you use.

 

[Darkranger85]

They have been done over and over for a reason. They work.

If we could only write stories that have completely unique premises no one would write again.

Put your unique spins on it and it will be fine.

 

[KyleAW]

First post: I think it is generally assumed that your work and that of any other writers will have massive similarities to stories that have been written before. Often it isn't a case of doing anything differently, as most readers are not looking for different; most readers want to enjoy the time they spend reading.

I've always felt that good characters that people cheer for and boo against sell the best stories, coupled with wonderful world building.

That said, if you the writer are concerned that something you have written is too similar in structure to other stories, it is your decision whether that comparison will be made by others. You mention Voldemort, do you believe that readers will actually go 'Hay, this is a rip-off of Harry Potter!' or is that just your fear talking?