Nothing new in this world...

[deathpixie]

There are only seven basic story plots.

[wo]man vs. nature
[wo]man vs. man
[wo]man vs. the environment
[wo]man vs. machines/technology
[wo]man vs. the supernatural
[wo]man vs. self
[wo]man vs. god/religion


Discuss.

Comments

[nute.livejournal.com]

You mean five. The last three are all the same thing.

[trishalynn.livejournal.com]

I disagree. I think supernatural forces can exist outside of religion, or at least the author can denude them of their formerly religious trappings.

[nute.livejournal.com]

Except that Supernatural always fits the same concepts as Nature or Man.

[diamond-dust06.livejournal.com]

I don't know. In a fantasy novel where the supernatural actually exists, I'd consider the conflict of man vs. supernatural different from man vs. man. The latter involves issues of morality and ethics because they are inherently human. A supernatural force/being isn't constrained by ethics or morals, though, so it's a different conflict.

[http://users.livejournal.com/_bounce_/]

However, as the existence of both must be taken on faith, they should fall into the same category regardless of genre.