We often hear that there are only 3, 6, 20, or 36 possible plots. In other words, all stories are merely variations on the same themes.
Yes… but no.
While this idea isn’t entirely false, it is, above all, reductive, because:
Characters change. Their journeys are unique.
Cinderella and Pretty Woman may have similarities, but their emotional paths, choices, and dilemmas are not the same. And that’s because:
Context changes everything. Human emotions are timeless, but the era and society shape a story in very different ways. A tale of betrayal set in the Middle Ages could never be told in the same way as one set in the 20th century, because the values, constraints, and aspirations of the characters are incomparable. The stakes are different.
Every story has its own truth, shaped by its time, its characters, and its perspective on the world.
While narrative structures may be universal, originality comes from the context, the characters, and the way we choose to portray them.
Context is one of the key elements of narrative coherence and the driving force behind a story’s plot. It doesn’t just dress a story - it shapes it, nourishes it, and makes it unique.
It isn’t repetition; it’s the continuous rewriting of the world.
