(NYTIMES) - In popular culture, a successful plot is a recognisable plot - the hero's epic journey, the marriage's inevitable consummation, the dashing warrior who slays the monster.

Some narratologists argue that there are no more than a handful of basic plots - story lines that are recycled again and again, such as "the quest", "rebirth" and "rags to riches". Hollywood producers tend to agree, as illustrated by an old industry joke my father, a screenwriter, once told me about the head of production who demands a movie plot that is exactly the same as the last one - except different.