It's been a common complaint about Hollywood, and rebooting T.V. Shows, Spin-Offs, and Movies. That there is no more stories to tell in the world. I personally feel that there is, and that Author's bring creativity with each new telling, from their P.O.V.
However, I ran into an interesting situation the past couple of days. I've been diligently working on my Story The Half-Elven Warlock, even soliciting advice from good friends, on how to approach one aspect, and even outlines. Chapter 4 is almost done, and Chapter 5 has elements that I've already written for it. As they say, "To be a good writer, one must be a good reader," I've been reading from time to time, and have been binge reading a 40+ chapter story here on GA. Imagine my surprise, when I get to chapters in the center of this seven-year-old story, and find a training session for the Lead Character, and it matches 85% of what I had just written. Of course, details, tone, and setting is completely different, along with use of style, but wording and intent is spot on.
I'm now rewriting my chapter, as it's not plagiarism, but the concepts are damn near close to being identical.
So, has that happened to you? Have you worked on a project, only to find that someone else did it as well, years earlier?