A tale as old as time...

[Kelliezgirl]

But a much larger number of variations on that plotline. Different ways of executing it.

For example, take the Czech play Parfumerie. It concerns to co-workers who are both in a lonely hearts club and don't get along, not knowing that they're writing to each other.

It gave rise to four adaptations: The movie The Shop Around the Corner, the movie musical The Good Old Summertime, the Broadway musical She Loves Me, which is a fun musical, by the way, and the movie You've Got Mail. The same source, same plot. Each executed differently, so while they share commonalities due to the same source, they're all different, distinct works.

Some ideas are timeless. There are so many fascinating "retellings" of Shakespeare for instance.
10 ThIngs I hate about you, is Taming of the Shrew in an America High School and it's great.

 

[SkyBubble]

Some ideas are timeless. There are so many fascinating "retellings" of Shakespeare for instance.
10 ThIngs I hate about you, is Taming of the Shrew in an America High School and it's great.

West Side Story is Romeo and Juliet moved to New Yok in the 50s with gangs instead of the Montagues and Capulets.

 

[EmilyMiller]

A tale as old as time​

For anal gotta slime
Booty needs some grease

 

[Kelliezgirl]

West Side Story is Romeo and Juliet moved to New Yok in the 50s with gangs instead of the Montagues and Capulets.

Good point, there have been quite a few takes on Hamlet, MacBeth, and Othello over the years.
Hollywood is in an obsessive remake phase right now, but I don't think remakes are inherently bad. You can take a story that resonates with people and present it in a new and interesting way.
Steven Spielberg did a wonderful movie called "Always" which was a remake of a Spencer Tracy movie "A guy named Joe". Both tell the story in a wonderful way. There's even a bit of a reference to the original that I didn't catch until much later. "Always" takes place with water bombers fighting fires in the Pacific Northwest. One of the characters makes a comment about how this isn't WW2 bombing Germany, which was the setting of the original.

 

[ICantLeafYou]

Lunch Hour Self-Love definitely feels the most cliche. Guy gets horny at work, runs to the bathroom to rub one out.

I had that fantasy in my head and had to get it out on paper, it set me on fire. Don't care if it's overdone or predictable.

Go Fuck Yourself may be more original than my other stories? Meh.

Just as with the last story [and most of what I write], it was an intense fantasy that I had to get out of my head.

 

[M_K_Babalon]

One of mine is literally The Emporers New Clothes. Most original is probably Subway Ride... maybe.

Spare Parts isn't exactly original, or at least has some somewhat common tropes. He gets a ship and takes to space the first time, that happened with Gene Starwind in Outlaw Star, I think Finn and Rey when they found the Millenium Falcon, Jenga Fett at some point, Lost In Space probably counts. He has an android for sex, Tripping The Rift did that. She's snarky, that's R2-D2 and C3PO, and the robot in Hitchhikers Guide.

I don't know how original Not Just The Horn Blows, is. Babalon's Curse is kinda original. Mobile Suit Love could probably be an anime, I wouldn't be surprised if there was an anime or hentai that did something like that.

 

[Erozetta]

Short of strokers, my least original is probably Delectable Delights - A young woman develops a romantic, or at least sexual, interest in the much older man next door.

Most original is probably either Collars and Cravings or Devil's Dance Floor.

C&C is all about having wants but struggling to express them verbally, so finding a way to do so without needing to say a word. It's the MFC telling the MMC what she wants through the color of the collar she chooses to wear each day. She has a full "in her head" dialogue about her desires, but says very little out loud.

Devil's Dance Floor is a selecting ceremony where a ball of sorts is hosted for young demon prince to choose his first soul to torment in hell. The participants are essentially the worst of the worst from across time. Only the soul that catches his eye is not only far too willing, but eager to reciprocate the pleasures offered to her.

 

[HordHolm]

Least original? I'd say my latest is pretty unoriginal (though done quite well, if I say so myself). It's a romance set in World War 1, so...

Trenches - check
Futile death by the bucketload - check
Wounded soldier meets nurse in hospital - check
Young woman breaking free from the constraints of society - check
People back in Blighty failing to understand soldiers back from the Front - check
Soldier seemingly finally safe dragged back into danger - check
Lovers torn apart just as they find each other - check
Tragic end or happy ever after? - either way, check: it's WW1, the only original ending would be apathy.

 

[HordHolm]

Devil's Dance Floor is a selecting ceremony where a ball of sorts is hosted for young demon prince to choose his first soul to torment in hell. The participants are essentially the worst of the worst from across time. Only the soul that catches his eye is not only far too willing, but eager to reciprocate the pleasures offered to her.

I really enjoyed that one. Great fun.

 

[Kelliezgirl]

West Side Story is Romeo and Juliet moved to New Yok in the 50s with gangs instead of the Montagues and Capulets.

And I was just reminded that Clueless is a remake of Jane Austen's Emma.
Can't believe that slipped my mind.

 

[StillStunned]

I think I want to change my mind for "most original plot".

"Annie's Inhibition Removal Therapy" could be described as "discovering an inner power". Except that inner power is an alter ego who, unlike the narrator, is capable of having sex.

 

[yowser]

Perhaps like some others, my initial efforts were strikingly stale, trope-ridden, clumsy, not even stories and (looking back) cringeworthy. If I had any self-respect at all I'd delete them, but somehow they remain up as signposts of humility. So I offer up one of my firsts: 'Whole lot of penis going on' (twenty-five inches actually, in aggregate.)

The first Geek Pride challenge was the cause of likely my most original work in terms of plot and story arc. An Infernal Folio, with magical-realist undertones, is a subtle delve into a sudden sapiosexual encounter. The tale evolved into a trilogy with complex motivations amongst the characters. Still a bit amazed at its birth, one of my favorite children.

 

[Kelliezgirl]

Perhaps like some others, my initial efforts were strikingly stale, trope-ridden, clumsy, not even stories and (looking back) cringeworthy. If I had any self-respect at all I'd delete them, but somehow they remain up as signposts of humility. So I offer up one of my firsts: 'Whole lot of penis going on' (twenty-five inches actually, in aggregate.)

The first Geek Pride challenge was the cause of likely my most original work in terms of plot and story arc. An Infernal Folio, with magical-realist undertones, is a subtle delve into a sudden sapiosexual encounter. The tale evolved into a trilogy with complex motivations amongst the characters. Still a bit amazed at its birth, one of my favorite children.

Lots of the authors here started with a quick stroker, then grew into something else.

Writing that first story is like taking a cooking class.
Some people graduate and are just happy they don't burn the spaghetti anymore, other people get inspired and want to be Julia Child.
Some people are happy writing strokers, some people want to go further.
Both choices are great.

 

[StillStunned]

Lots of the authors here started with a quick stroker, then grew into something else.

Writing that first story is like taking a cooking class.
Some people graduate and are just happy they don't burn the spaghetti anymore, other people get inspired and want to be Julia Child.
Some people are happy writing strokers, some people want to go further.
Both choices are great.

I think that comparing strokers to basic level cooking does a disservice to well-written strokers. It takes skill to turn the simplest story type into something fresh. Advanced plotting isn't necessarily taking your writing "further".

I'd rather compare it to what ingredients and techniques you use. Molecular cooking looks impressive, and done properly it can be an amazing experience. But it also takes skill to make something special from a handful of stock ingredients.

In either case, it's the skill of the cook that determines how much the eaters enjoy their food. And it's the same with plots. A complex or original plot stands or falls with the competence of the writer. A simple plot can be boring, or it can be written in an engaging style that keeps the reader glued to the page.

 

[iwatchus]

I think that comparing strokers to basic level cooking does a disservice to well-written strokers. It takes skill to turn the simplest story type into something fresh. Advanced plotting isn't necessarily taking your writing "further".

I'd rather compare it to what ingredients and techniques you use. Molecular cooking looks impressive, and done properly it can be an amazing experience. But it also takes skill to make something special from a handful of stock ingredients.

In either case, it's the skill of the cook that determines how much the eaters enjoy their food. And it's the same with plots. A complex or original plot stands or falls with the competence of the writer. A simple plot can be boring, or it can be written in an engaging style that keeps the reader glued to the page.

Like a great writer writing an amazing stroker, a great chef can make spectacular snack from simple ingredients.

Stories and meals can be expected ingredients together, but can be tasty or repulsive, depending on the cooking. Sometimes the creators of either will be experimental, combining elements from the everyday in new ways or bringing in a whole new sensation. And sometimes that works and sometimes it doesn't.

I like the analogy significantly. Maybe because cooking would be my other active hobby if me knee permitted it. I consider myself comparable cooking and writing. People generally say they enjoy what I produce, but I have gotten far enough to recognize how much further there is to go to be truly good.

 

[Kelliezgirl]

I think that comparing strokers to basic level cooking does a disservice to well-written strokers. It takes skill to turn the simplest story type into something fresh. Advanced plotting isn't necessarily taking your writing "further".

I'd rather compare it to what ingredients and techniques you use. Molecular cooking looks impressive, and done properly it can be an amazing experience. But it also takes skill to make something special from a handful of stock ingredients.

In either case, it's the skill of the cook that determines how much the eaters enjoy their food. And it's the same with plots. A complex or original plot stands or falls with the competence of the writer. A simple plot can be boring, or it can be written in an engaging style that keeps the reader glued to the page.

The intent wasn't to detract from a good stroker, it was merely an observation about the relative ease for a beginner.
A new cook will make chocolate cake.
A chef will make baked Alaska.
However, if the chef turns her attention to chocolate cake, it will likely be a far superior product.
A new cook trying to make baked Alaska will end up with a disaster.

 

[Bamagan]

The intent wasn't to detract from a good stroker, it was merely an observation about the relative ease for a beginner.
A new cook will make chocolate cake.
A chef will make baked Alaska.
However, if the chef turns her attention to chocolate cake, it will likely be a far superior product.
A new cook trying to make baked Alaska will end up with a disaster.

My God, man, this is moose turd pie!
...
It's good, though.

(Punchline to an old joke that your post reminded me of.)

 

[dirk2024]

Devil's Dance Floor is a selecting ceremony where a ball of sorts is hosted for young demon prince to choose his first soul to torment in hell. The participants are essentially the worst of the worst from across time. Only the soul that catches his eye is not only far too willing, but eager to reciprocate the pleasures offered to her.

This was a great read!

And very original.

 

[DeMont]

There's no such thing as a new tale. Every story we write can be reduced to a finite number of plotlines, every character is a variation on an archetype.

Or so the scholars would have us believe. It doesn't stop us from writing those stories, of course.

The question here is twofold: which of your stories do you think is the least original in terms of plot and tropes, and which is the most original?

This isn't about how you told the story. It's not about reader response. It's not about how much emotion your characters evoked. It's not about the dialogue or the scenes or your gorgeous prose.

It's about those stories that can be reduced to "boy meets girl and they live happily ever after." Or "you killed my father, prepare to die." Or, more Lit-appropriate, "two people forced into physical proximity that results in sex."

And it's about the twists that you didn't even see coming as the writer. The fresh takes that make the story completely original. The stories that make you think "I hate to boast, but I don't think anyone's done this before."

So let's hear yours. Don't be embarrassed about retreading old paths. An old trope can still be told in a way that readers enjoy. And by the same account a completely original plot might fall flat. This isn't about successes and failures. Just the basic plots and how original they are.

@StillStunned,
You, my dear colleague, never cease to disappoint with your questions do you? Kudos!

Okay, here goes, My least original tale would have to be "Traversal", boy sees girl, just. Boy seeks girl frantically, boy finds girl, they fuck madly. (The only twist is they are from parallel universes and thus it's a one time fling)

I think my most original tale is "Cleavage", the story of a young man with a strange psychological obsession with... you guessed it, cleavage. Big character work within an obsessed mind, and life, in that one.

That's my short answer my friend.
Respectfully, as ever,
D.

 

[Rob_Royale]

As an artist, originality is very important to me. But when I began writing, I realized quickly that that was going to be very difficult in erotica. That was hard to accept at first, but when I realize that the tropes were something to be embraced, I wrote A Bumpy Ride. It's a backseat, older woman/younger man story, sans incest. It was fun and I enjoyed it.

I think my most original work is Velvet Collars. In it, a young nobleman is auctioned into servitude for the purpose of completing his training as a gentleman and a noble. The world is a little steampunk and the society radically different from ours.