Be original! If you’re going to rehash an over-used plot vehicle, give it a new twist. If your story is too predictable, you’ll lose readers.

They say there are only a few basic plots, which are used over and over. Boy gets girl; whodunnit? vampires; zombies; psychos; other worlds; other universes; etc. Another example at a more fundamental level is the hero’s journey. More on that some other time.

This is not to say that this is unavoidable. There are some truly unique stories out there, but in most cases, they’re going to be similar to some other story in one way or another. If you want your work to stand out, however, you need to make it original in some way. Some character, setting, or plot twist that makes it different. It can be done, even if it takes some effort.  At the very least, your characters need to be so engaging and real that the reader gets sucked into them, even if the rest of the story is familiar.