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Description
The world of story-writing generally follows systematic patterns that current readers will be most familiar with; many of the great turning points in literary history are when a writer will do something both familiar and new, such as telling a familiar story in a new and innovative way or changing the system completely. While it is usually historical preservation that secures a writer's notoriety in history, there have been many authors who changed the course of literature through the way they wrote their works; some of the most recents ones, like J. K. Rowling and Suzanne Collins, may quickly be swallowed in the mass-goods-generating culture the modern world is building up, but their methods have impacted how stories are written within the decades their work was published. The problem is the growing lack of originality; there are many gifted writers who truly love writing and desire to continue it, but who are far more dedicated to writing simple fanfictions of their favorite characters than pursuing a serious career. Fanfiction makes for good practice for cultivating better spelling and grammar and an idea of your writing voice, but it does not provide growth in any other direction.

1. What Makes a Plot Original
There are many different opinions as to how many kinds of plots there are; some numbers range from 1-36 types. The central base is conflict; the character meets a need, problem, person, or entity that is at odds with them and must seek some kind of resolution. For basic storytelling, there are seven (7) plot devices used in the history of literature:

Man vs. Man
Man vs. Nature
Man vs. the Environment
Man vs. the Supernatural
Man vs. Machine
Man vs. God/religion
Man vs. Himself

All stories use one or more of these devices in various ways with no exceptions. From there, we branch out into plot directions, genres, happy or unhappy endings, and so forth. More information on these can be found here: www.ipl.org/div/farq/plotFARQ.… .

While these components are not original in themselves, they are the building blocks to making a story at all; the skeletal structure of forming a plot. The originality comes from the way the author tells the story, what components the author puts into the story, how the resolution is formed, and the personal qualities of the characters themselves.

2. Forming Original Characters
As is well known, individual characteristics, attributes, strengths, and weaknesses are as varied as those of people we meet every day. It may sound odd, but the key to making them original is not about giving them personalities of their own; it's putting them and their personalities into unique situations, stressing different points, and developing new aspects of those personalities that were previously not there, underdeveloped, or unnoticed. Let's take a look at a few well known types of characters:

a) The Classic Hero/Heroine
These types of characters have a wide variety of characteristics; they've been known to be strong and confident or awkward and adorkable, but what they all have in common is a staunch sense of moral obligation, particularly honor. Honor is something not seen in many more humanized characters (characters with more obvious flaws; phobias, addictions, etc.) that modern culture has produced. It is most frequently associated with the classic medieval, knights-and-maidens setting; epic literature hosts an abundance of characters who hold a firm dedication to their masters, lovers, and/or deities that sometimes costs them their lives. A few more commonly known examples of these classics are King Arthur, Luke Skywalker, and Beowulf.

b) Scoundrels and Daredevils
These characters are often associated with romance, as they generally carry a jaunty air; they can be brash and take unreasonable risks (sometimes just for fun), but they're often quick witted and come out on top anyway. They can sometimes be selfish, as they are usually primarily focused on Number One, but their spirit is what draws the audience to them. Popular examples are Don Juan, Benedick, Han Solo, and Deadpool.

c) Victims
It is advisable not to make a victim the main character of a story, as they are often viewed as pathetic; the importance of their existence is usually either for invoking empathy or fueling contempt for such characteristics, but they are the most frequently fearful, timid, and sometimes cowardly characters. They have usually been forced into desperate situations because they view themselves as trapped, whether by physical force or unlucky happenstance, and seek the aide of someone else to get out of whatever trouble they're in. If the victim changes their views or rises above their situation, that is seen as progressive character development; if they remain the way they are, they often qualify as pure filler space, which does not always make for high praise from readers.

d) Villains
One aspect you will never find in any villain is the desire of doing evil for its own sake; even the crazies act upon their own impulses seeking physical pleasure or gratification. For pure villains, like the Disney classics, they are the inverse of the classic Scoundrel, seeking only their own gratification; you might say they're Scoundrels gone to seed. The Villain inverse of the Hero/Heroines are generally confused, misled, or upset about a certain aspect of another; those seeking revenge for an injury or those with misguided views on a harmful cause can often be viewed as a Tragic Hero; Marc Antony from Shakespeare is one such character. Villains can also be like Victims if they view themselves as such; these are often seedy, wheedling, cowardly, and generally viewed as contemptible to most average readers. I've only ever seen one example of such a villain: Alfred from "The Hobbit" movies, and it did not make for high quality entertainment.

e) Outside Forces; Nature, Fate, Supernatural Beings, etc.
Much of classic literature portrayed things like Fate, Death, and Nature as actual characters to give readers a better perception on what they were; many of them are wholly impartial to the actions of other characters, continuing their routines without mercy or partiality. Ancient Greek literature carries several of these highly polished beings, who are often viewed as barbarous due to their complete non-humanism. However, concerning deities in particular, steadfast followers will see whatever necessity their gods impose on them for the sake of some greater thing to come; as I once heard it, "We bow to them because honor is due them, not out of moral obligations." Something the Ancient Greek philosophers and the Greek poets frequently haggled over was whether or not the poets had painted the gods as selfish, barbaric tyrants when their actions were for higher purposes.

3. Creating an Original Context
The setting of the story is open to the fields of the imagination; it can be flexible enough to place in almost any environment; fantasy, modern, or post-apocalyptic; or maintain rigid continuity to a specific location. It's important for the setup for the context of the story to be relayed in a way that captivates the reader's interest. Whether it's thrusting the character into a new world they must learn more about, having bits of creative detail revealed in abstract commentary of a conversation, or chronicling a detailed account of the country's formation, it should emulate the writer's own personal style and voice.

4. Forming an Original Voice
Most would assume that the question of how to tell a story is simple; in truth, it is very complicated, but, at the same time, easily overthought. Many people pour masses of minute descriptive detail into their stories that only serves as distracting, tedious, and altogether unimportant for the reader to know about; vivid descriptions of every article of clothing a character is wearing, for example, is entirely unnecessary unless it serves to reinforce a key plot point, like a significant magic jewel or a character suddenly becoming aware of their attraction to another. The writer's voice should be clear and distinct, marking it from the voices of other characters; if the story is told in first person (using "I" and "me"), it becomes easier, but if the story is told by an outside perspective, such as a narrator, the characters' voices must be set apart from it, so as to avoid confusion. Something to keep an eye out for: if you write a story how you talk, make sure it's still in a form that can be easily understood by the average reader; slang and euphemisms are permissible, but if inadequate spelling and grammar make it impossible to understand what you're saying, the reader will quickly lose interest.

Description
The world of story-writing generally follows systematic patterns that current readers will be most familiar with; many of the great turning points in literary history are when a writer will do something both familiar and new, such as telling a familiar story in a new and innovative way or changing the system completely. While it is usually historical preservation that secures a writer's notoriety in history, there have been many authors who changed the course of literature through the way they wrote their works; some of the most recents ones, like J. K. Rowling and Suzanne Collins, may quickly be swallowed in the mass-goods-generating culture the modern world is building up, but their methods have impacted how stories are written within the decades their work was published. The problem is the growing lack of originality; there are many gifted writers who truly love writing and desire to continue it, but who are far more dedicated to writing simple fanfictions of their favorite characters than pursuing a serious career. Fanfiction makes for good practice for cultivating better spelling and grammar and an idea of your writing voice, but it does not provide growth in any other direction.

1. What Makes a Plot Original
There are many different opinions as to how many kinds of plots there are; some numbers range from 1-36 types. The central base is conflict; the character meets a need, problem, person, or entity that is at odds with them and must seek some kind of resolution. For basic storytelling, there are seven (7) plot devices used in the history of literature:

Man vs. Man
Man vs. Nature
Man vs. the Environment
Man vs. the Supernatural
Man vs. Machine
Man vs. God/religion
Man vs. Himself

All stories use one or more of these devices in various ways with no exceptions. From there, we branch out into plot directions, genres, happy or unhappy endings, and so forth. More information on these can be found here: www.ipl.org/div/farq/plotFARQ.… .

While these components are not original in themselves, they are the building blocks to making a story at all; the skeletal structure of forming a plot. The originality comes from the way the author tells the story, what components the author puts into the story, how the resolution is formed, and the personal qualities of the characters themselves.

2. Forming Original Characters
As is well known, individual characteristics, attributes, strengths, and weaknesses are as varied as those of people we meet every day. It may sound odd, but the key to making them original is not about giving them personalities of their own; it's putting them and their personalities into unique situations, stressing different points, and developing new aspects of those personalities that were previously not there, underdeveloped, or unnoticed. Let's take a look at a few well known types of characters:

a) The Classic Hero/Heroine
These types of characters have a wide variety of characteristics; they've been known to be strong and confident or awkward and adorkable, but what they all have in common is a staunch sense of moral obligation, particularly honor. Honor is something not seen in many more humanized characters (characters with more obvious flaws; phobias, addictions, etc.) that modern culture has produced. It is most frequently associated with the classic medieval, knights-and-maidens setting; epic literature hosts an abundance of characters who hold a firm dedication to their masters, lovers, and/or deities that sometimes costs them their lives. A few more commonly known examples of these classics are King Arthur, Luke Skywalker, and Beowulf.

b) Scoundrels and Daredevils
These characters are often associated with romance, as they generally carry a jaunty air; they can be brash and take unreasonable risks (sometimes just for fun), but they're often quick witted and come out on top anyway. They can sometimes be selfish, as they are usually primarily focused on Number One, but their spirit is what draws the audience to them. Popular examples are Don Juan, Benedick, Han Solo, and Deadpool.

c) Victims
It is advisable not to make a victim the main character of a story, as they are often viewed as pathetic; the importance of their existence is usually either for invoking empathy or fueling contempt for such characteristics, but they are the most frequently fearful, timid, and sometimes cowardly characters. They have usually been forced into desperate situations because they view themselves as trapped, whether by physical force or unlucky happenstance, and seek the aide of someone else to get out of whatever trouble they're in. If the victim changes their views or rises above their situation, that is seen as progressive character development; if they remain the way they are, they often qualify as pure filler space, which does not always make for high praise from readers.

d) Villains
One aspect you will never find in any villain is the desire of doing evil for its own sake; even the crazies act upon their own impulses seeking physical pleasure or gratification. For pure villains, like the Disney classics, they are the inverse of the classic Scoundrel, seeking only their own gratification; you might say they're Scoundrels gone to seed. The Villain inverse of the Hero/Heroines are generally confused, misled, or upset about a certain aspect of another; those seeking revenge for an injury or those with misguided views on a harmful cause can often be viewed as a Tragic Hero; Marc Antony from Shakespeare is one such character. Villains can also be like Victims if they view themselves as such; these are often seedy, wheedling, cowardly, and generally viewed as contemptible to most average readers. I've only ever seen one example of such a villain: Alfred from "The Hobbit" movies, and it did not make for high quality entertainment.

e) Outside Forces; Nature, Fate, Supernatural Beings, etc.
Much of classic literature portrayed things like Fate, Death, and Nature as actual characters to give readers a better perception on what they were; many of them are wholly impartial to the actions of other characters, continuing their routines without mercy or partiality. Ancient Greek literature carries several of these highly polished beings, who are often viewed as barbarous due to their complete non-humanism. However, concerning deities in particular, steadfast followers will see whatever necessity their gods impose on them for the sake of some greater thing to come; as I once heard it, "We bow to them because honor is due them, not out of moral obligations." Something the Ancient Greek philosophers and the Greek poets frequently haggled over was whether or not the poets had painted the gods as selfish, barbaric tyrants when their actions were for higher purposes.

3. Creating an Original Context
The setting of the story is open to the fields of the imagination; it can be flexible enough to place in almost any environment; fantasy, modern, or post-apocalyptic; or maintain rigid continuity to a specific location. It's important for the setup for the context of the story to be relayed in a way that captivates the reader's interest. Whether it's thrusting the character into a new world they must learn more about, having bits of creative detail revealed in abstract commentary of a conversation, or chronicling a detailed account of the country's formation, it should emulate the writer's own personal style and voice.

4. Forming an Original Voice
Most would assume that the question of how to tell a story is simple; in truth, it is very complicated, but, at the same time, easily overthought. Many people pour masses of minute descriptive detail into their stories that only serves as distracting, tedious, and altogether unimportant for the reader to know about; vivid descriptions of every article of clothing a character is wearing, for example, is entirely unnecessary unless it serves to reinforce a key plot point, like a significant magic jewel or a character suddenly becoming aware of their attraction to another. The writer's voice should be clear and distinct, marking it from the voices of other characters; if the story is told in first person (using "I" and "me"), it becomes easier, but if the story is told by an outside perspective, such as a narrator, the characters' voices must be set apart from it, so as to avoid confusion. Something to keep an eye out for: if you write a story how you talk, make sure it's still in a form that can be easily understood by the average reader; slang and euphemisms are permissible, but if inadequate spelling and grammar make it impossible to understand what you're saying, the reader will quickly lose interest.