Unique concept vs Proper storytelling: Which one is more important?

[miramiee]

I thought about this as I reread the overall outline for my comic. My story isn't very unique-- it's another "Alice and Wonderland" situation--but with the proper storytelling, can it be redeemed? After all, I'm not copying that adventure word for word.

I know ideally you should have a really good unique concept AND a proper grasp on how to tell a story, but I was wondering which is more expendable? Would you rather read a story with a great concept but with mediocre writing, or a story with amazing writing but with a basic concept?

[Pan]

I was going to say they are equally important before I read the whole post!

If I absolutely have to choose, I would argue that no matter how ordinary a concept, if it's well-written, that trumps all! Storytelling wins for me, but I think your idea sounds lovely!

Of course, with concept vs storytelling, opinions will differ, but that's my two cents

[BlackRose108]

A story with amazing writing but a basic concept is always going to win. Sure beautiful disasters can be interesting aesthetically, but it all boils down to anyone can have an interesting idea, but can you write it in an interesting way?

Focus on writing a good story, cliches and whatnot can be forgiven rather easily if the plot, pacing, and most importantly the characters are all done well, and a simple concept often allows for more wiggle room in terms of where things can go. An interesting concept can sometimes be TOO specific in it's strive for uniqueness that it closes itself off into a tight box.

Though that's not to bash unique concepts, always strive to do something different with your story if you can, and when the perfect lighting in a bottle of unique concept and good writing is achieved it's definitely a sight to behold. But again, a unique concept might get people to initially read your story, but good storytelling is what's going to KEEP them reading.

[joannekwan]

I think at the end of the day, a proper story with decent execution beats out anything super unique with writing that falls flat.

Take the two movies The Magnificent Seven (2016), and The Titan (2018). Mag Seven is your usual western, a group of rag tag guns for hire beat out some bad guys. It's a remake of the original western which was a rehash of an even older samurai story with the same basic plot. It's your classic good guys vs. bad guys in the ol' west. It's nothing new but damn was it entertaining and has a satisfying story overall. Now The Titan, I thought the premise was pretty unique and interesting. The Earth is fucked, so there is a program that aims to force humans through artificial evolution to adapt to a new environment, Saturn's moon, Titan. It was shot beautifully and acted just fine, but damn were there plot-holes. The ending also fell apart and didn't make logical sense. It was pretty good up until the final 20 minutes or so. I don't think I'd watch it again.

[seru]

This is just my two cents so feel free to disregard my take on this.

Inspiration from existing IP can be a double-edged sword. One, readers can easily identify and relate to it. Two, it's not unique enough to be memorable.

If you're set on this concept, I suggest play around with the cliches and have your own take on it. Two, experiment with the settings and characters' personalities to make it uniquely yours.

Proper story telling can be overshadowed by cliches. Readers will be bored of it. Versus, a unique concept, even though the writing or execution is not that well, it will be remembered for its uniqueness.

[MariMontoya]

Proper storytelling! Nothing is really original in my opinion. There's something called intertextuality in which stories are all connected in some way whether through themes, plots, struggles, character tropes, cliches, etc. Now, how you tell the story, to me, is what is important. Taking an idea/inspiration/theme no matter how common and making it your own with proper storytelling is unique.

[shazzbaa]

I don't think "uniqueness" is all that important tbh. I don't place much stock in it at all. Like, uniqueness can be nice. A distinct and limited colour palette can also be nice. They're both two different kinds of eye-catching, making it easier to attract readers on first sight. But the idea that every single story needs a significantly unique premise is just as silly as suggesting that every single comic needs a distinct and limited colour palette.

Like, no, you can't just go through the basic beats of the same old story without really adding anything and expect it to be well-received just because you did it competently. If you don't look past the surface of the archetypes, it doesn't matter how well you tell it.
But I think if you've put thought into what's important about this story to you, put thought into the world and the characters and the things they want and the problems they have and the flaws that hold them back, and you've made them real and honest, then it's hard not to put at least a little bit of yourself into the work -- and your personal voice and heart shining through in that way is a kind of uniqueness that's much more effective and much harder to fake.

[AmysGames]

I've always worried about my story concepts being a bit generic, so the responses here are relieving lol. But yeah I would agree, good writing is more important than a unique concept.

That said, there are a few times I can think of where I put up with mediocre storytelling just because I liked the concept enough. But even then, there's a difference between "mediocre writing" and "hot mess."

[A-weird-girler]

Look, as the saying goes, nothing is original under the sun! It's not about the idea, but what you do with it. Don't necessarily avoid cliches but don't go the usual route with them. Have a love triangle (one of the most notorious tropes)? Well surprise the reader by making the 2 competitors fall in love instead! Put your own twist on things

[ButterflyEmpress]

I feel that proper storytelling is the most important. You can have the most original concept, but if executed poorly, the whole story could come out bad or mediocre. After all, a concept is just an idea.

[Oksa]

I know the feeling. I too, always fear that my story is too "used", but the truth is, I think everything is used already. a story with good storytelling gives you it's own uniqueness I think. Since it's well written, you can make your own unique twist in any used plot you use.
From my personal experience, I've read stories that have the usual fantasy setting, but is still very unique with their way of telling the story vs the stories that are different, but there's a lot of holes in the plot since it's not that well written. Always choosing well written stories first.

[inkythoughts]

I definitely agree with most people here, if you got proper storytelling, it doesn't matter much how "uncreative" and generic the idea is.
The irony is that good and unique storytelling can make something very mediocre feel, well, very unique an memorable! After all, storytelling isn't only about the general plot summary but also the perspective of who tells the story, how characters react to certain situations, how tropes play out in your story... which again may set your story apart from similar ideas.

[DokiDokiTsuna]

Obvious answer, but I prefer good storytelling over a good concept. Everyone and their mom knows a good story with an ordinary premise, so I'll go for the opposite: Good concepts that are poorly written just make me feel sad. I can't tell you how many animes I've seen that had amazing concepts but the story and characters were such garbage that I couldn't continue with them (or even start them, in many cases).

It's frustrating; it feels like a waste. Like, you took ownership of a dynamite idea and ruined it, and now no one else can use it without people telling them they're copying you, even if they could do a much better job. -_-

[monotone_ink]

Any premise can be done justice if it is written well.

Take for example this chinese cartoon called 'Golden Boy' - it's about a guy who travels around Japan, takes on part-time jobs, and gets into random shenanigans. Not very exciting - however, the comedy and ecchi is extremely well-executed, with every character he comes across being charming and memorable.

Or maybe even Toradora - It's a romantic comedy, where 2 individuals try to help each other hook up with the person they like. Very regular too, but it's the focus on relationships and its wonderful execution of its story that makes it great.

All in all, just write a good story.

[xanedis]

My favourite writer, Brandon Sanderson, has a saying(or he's quoting it from someone, I'm not sure which one it is) that applies perfectly to this question. "You can write ANYTHING, so long as your execution is phenomenal." This means that if you write about things the RIGHT WAY, you can write about anything and make it seem interesting. You may have to twist genre staples a bit, or add depth in some parts of your story to give characters a breath of fresh air.

Let me give you an example. Red Riding Hood is an ooooold classic that everyone knows, and its twists are not unknown to us. But if you gave that story a sense of depth that the original story didn't have - for example, the hunter(or was it woodsman?) that eventually kills the wolf is actually the uncle of Red Riding Hood, but has never told her the fact - you'd go a long way in creating a story with a good execution. Now this still probably wouldn't make for an interesting story, so let's add to it that Red Riding Hood has actually started seeing someone, and because of this she's been unusually air-headed as of late, not noticing the strange changes in her "grandmother" before it's too late. And thus, the story is slowly diving towards the tragic-end-spectrum of things(SPOILER: but it won't end sadly).

Something weird like that. Obviously this isn't a good example, as I was trying to keep to the mold of the fable and not break it by adding a twist or two(I can't, for the life of me, write a good traditional fable). My point here is that by adding character development and intriguing details, you can create something out of a cliche that isn't a cliche anymore, but rather its own thing. Also, if you careful construct the scenes(and in which order they come) it'll go a long way in creating a great story with superb execution.

So, shortly put: proper storytelling>unique concept, because execution>good ideas.

...Of course, if you can create the both, then all the better. However, it would do us good not to underestimate the power of cliches. They're cliches for a reason - because many people love to see them when they're executed RIGHT.

[moodyfd]

I'd definitely rather read a story with amazing writing with a basic concept. We all have tropes that we like (i.e. friends to lovers, enemies to allies, chosen one, etc.) and many stories contain repeated elements. Since no story is completely original, it's all up to the writer for me. How they chose to tell their version of the story so to speak. What spins do they put on it? That sort of thing!

[moodyfd]

I agree with you! The plot may be similar to another writer's but the one thing that changes from story to story are the characters. No two are alike so the story should unfold differently for each one. It's what keeps the same handful of story ideas "fresh."

[LordSeriphus]

I'd definitely agree with everyone else here. Storytelling trumps an idea. I've read multiple times that "You can tell anyone your greatest ideas for hours and they will never be stolen. No one steals ideas without great motivation and skill. If they had those things, they'd be creating their own ideas." Well, it sums up to something like that, at least. A basic way to put it is "People steal gold, not goldmines." Work, not concepts.

I've been writing for many, many years. I've rarely shared my works, other than my poems, but I've always been afraid that my storytelling wouldn't be up to par. I'm fine with my ideas. So I kept working at it and started sharing my work more and more over the years. People told me what I could improve, what I did well, and what they could do better.
Now I'm working on a story about a delusional murderer who's made immortal in a Fantasy world. (I think that's original.) But I'm pretty sure something similar has been done before. The idea sounds great to me. But it's just that. An idea. If I have the ability to suck the reader into the story and throw them right into the cluttered mind of an undying, confused freak, and get them to want to be there... Now that idea matters.

@moodyfd I sometimes feel sick of seeing the same stories all the time. (Especially the "Chosen One" trope.) It's not that I don't find them enjoyable, I just want something new once in a while. But, with that said, I wouldn't stare at a page for two seconds if I couldn't handle the writing unless it was really enticing beyond it's portrayal. And a lot of rehashes and stories built from someone's inspiration from a different project are written exceptionally well. And that's why we can all enjoy them.

Also, I was thinking of Treasure Planet while I was at work today, so I need to talk about its greatness. That movie is amazing and its dialogue is phenomenal. It takes direct inspiration from Treasure Island. Inspiration is at the root of anything people create. So give it hell, but make sure the story writing is the best you've got. That's what will make the impact, not the idea people nodded to when you spoke before you wrote the story.

[Im_moron]

reads title
doesn't even read description, just skips it to immediately start typing

No question, proper storytelling and execution

being unique/special isn't going to give people enough merit to wanna read or like your stuff.

SAO is a cool concept, bad molest scenes and crummy/wuss writing (aint got balls to legitimately kill people we actually care about)

Treasure planet, copy of treasure island, uses cliche friend who is actually antagonist trope, still the greatest story ever.

(those claims about the titles/movies/shows above are my opinion btw, I'm just making an example.)

[ilustrariane]

GOOOD STORYTELLING

something that's very rare this days...with webcomics looking like anything but...comics...