Whoever said that there's nothing new under the sun is crazy. Of course there's the old idea that Shakespeare cornered the market on every possible combination of human emotions and that every story told today is a copy. The endless possibilities at every turn are part of the beauty of life. In college, a writing professor gave us an assignment to mimic a great writer. There are evolutionary advantages in mimicry.
Flowers mimic bees for the purpose of survival.
Children learn by imitation. It's a great way to learn how to paint or write or do anything. In those days, as a student, I was already trying my hardest to turn myself into Gabriel Garcia Marquez. A little encouragement to blatantly copy him was a nice offer. At some point I thought it was my mission to bring magic realism into contemporary American vogue.