For some reason, I didn't really notice this until I started doing Nanowrimo.. but more and more, it seems that all the new stores are merely re-writes, or slight variations on a theme.
I'm currently reading Dies the Fire, by Stirling... which is about a post-apocalyptic work without electricity. Last night, hubby turned to a new show called Revolution.. which is about a post-apocalyptic world without electricity. Sure, there are differences.. one is set on the west coast, and one is set in the Heartland.. in one, the failure of electricity extends to guns, and in the other, guns still work.. but both stories have lots of crossbows, lots of horses, lots of farming and agriculture, and a fiefdom sort of government.
Back in 2009, I did my first Nano... and wrote of a world where everything revolved around spices.. occupations, holidays, names of people, names of food, names of businesses.. with a strong controlling government. Two months later, in early 2010, Jasper Fforde's Shades of Grey came out.. a world in which everything revolved around colors -- status, occupation, relationships.. with a strong controlling government. Sure, I'd read Fforde's earlier works, but S of G was quite different from his earlier stuff, which mostly dealt with characters in fictional works.
While we were watching Revolution last night, a commercial came on for a new show called Loopers, involving time travel. Although I'm a pantser, I do come up with a broad overall theme for my Nano stories in advance.. I don't really know the beginning or middle, and I definitely don't know the end, but I have to decide on some key elements in advance, so that I can do any necessary research before the starter's pistol goes off. For Nano 2012 -- yep, you guessed it, my story will involve time travel.
I guess I don't have a problem with recycling, and tweaking and twisting... it just surprises me that we seem to be out of new ideas.
Random ideas, musings and mutterings that seem to come from nowhere, as I sit drinking my tea. Must be something in my teapot.
I like series too but I do thing that it takes a lot of work to keep it fresh. Over time, we become bored because we have become so well acquainted with the character. You know, it's like a long marriage. Not much surprise you anymore.
ReplyDeleteMy favorite is Iris Johannson. Her Eve Duncan series is really good. I've read her for years. But she recently started bringing her series to an end. I think it is time she revealed what happened to Bonnie. If she doesn't, I'm probably not going to continue. Resolution is always the goal of any story.
Just realized that I didn't answer the question. Are we out of new ideas. There are several writing books that posit the theory that there are a limited number of plots available. I have one that says 25. There are some who say 10, 5, etc. you can look these up. Ultimately, I suspect there is a limit. I think most point out that the key is to come up a way to make your story unique, even it is uses an old plot.
ReplyDeleteThat sounds simple but 1000 yrs ago, there were a limited number of people telling stories. Writing was limited to the elite. Books are a fairly new invention in the historical time scale, particularly as we know them. The art of storytelling has expanded and now, everyone is a writer. And that's ok. But it does mean that more than one person may come up with the same idea. They simply have to tell it in a different way.
Have we reached our limit? I think so, or we wouldn't be seeing television shows about Grimm's fairy tales.