"The commons" - that huge collection of ideas, attitudes, public domain stories, concepts, myths, "common knowledge", and characters - is a source of inspiration to writers, consciously or unconsciously. The commons is, to put it simply, our shared cultural heritage. It is the fairy tales we were told as children; it is the traditional "classics" taught in English classes; it is Shakespeare's plays and Tarzan of the Apes; it is the prevailing attitudes we see around us; it is Sherlock Holmes and Alice in Wonderland. It is available for us to draw upon without asking permission, without worrying about who "did it first", without being sued for copyright infringement.

At the same time, you want your work to be original. Some insist that every aspect of their story must be completely original - but even they draw from the commons. You can start ten writers from the same basic idea, and they will produce ten different stories. Reversing that concept, you can find that all stories start from a common foundation. Taken to extremes, you can abstract it down to the one basic plot: "there's a conflict, it must be resolved." A more useful set of plot abstractions are Polti's 36 basic plots, each with a handful of basic variations. You can build original stories starting at a commonly used base.

But there's more to a story than plot. You want original characters, too. While a good character, one that seems alive, is not a pure archetype, most characters start out that way, then gain depth - depth that comes from our knowledge of other people, our society's "common knowledge" and attitudes. In short, from the commons. The characters are collections of personality traits and attitudes that are drawn from the commons and that resonate with you, and hopefully your readers. Despite the common source for the characters, you can still build original characters.

Even starting ten writers with the same first paragraph will produce startlingly different stories. This common first paragraph was a weekly exercise on a site I visit semi-regularly, a tradition which has sadly been discontinued some time ago. All this shows clearly that originality in the finished product does not depend on originality at every level; that the unique mix of old ideas is the true source of originality. The degree of borrowing can be quite high and still leave room for a wonderfully original story. Two examples of this are the recent movie "O Brother Where Art Thou?" and the well-known series of books featuring Harry Potter.

"O Brother Where Art Thou?" has a plot based on "The Odyssey", and features a character named Ulysses who is travelling with his companions to rejoin his love, meeting the sirens and the cyclops along the way. In addition to this classical Greek base, there are layers of southern folklore and history. "Babyface Nelson" the bank robber was a real, if also legendary, person; the KKK was a notable presence; and the local politicians campaigned with homegrown music. The mixture of all the borrowed elements adds a flavour to a story that is still original.

The "Harry Potter" series borrows heavily from mythology around the world for its background. Every magical beast that appears in the story is taken from some country's mythos, with the possible exception of some of Hagrid's experimental crossbreeds. The historical figures in the book are also either 'real' legendary figures, such as Merlin, or real historical figures, such as Nicolas Flamel, a 14th century alchemist who actually did substantial research into the production of the Philosopher's stone and has a book titled "The Philosopher's Stone" detailing that work. This borrowing doesn't make the stories any less original than it would be if the author had invented all the creatures that appear in them.

It's the author's unique twist that makes a story original, not a measure of how many story elements have never been used before. Given the massive number of stories that have been written, it's impossible for anyone to be sure any element has never been used before, especially when it comes to the basics like plot. The creative process is less one of invention and more one of discovery and synthesis. Taking a fresh angle on an old idea *is* originality - and it's all we've got.