I used to spend a lot of time in the “planning phase” of my books. I was often so obsessed with making sure my stories didn’t copy anyone else’s too closely that I — you guessed it — never got around to turning a lot of my ideas into actual stories. Those weren’t wasted years by any means, but I did learn a lot about what’s worth worrying about when you’re writing a story … and what isn’t.
Many writers are afraid of writing something that isn’t new or unique enough. What most of them don’t realize is that, just by writing a story from start to finish, an original work of art has already been made. Or at the very least, it’s one step closer to being fully formed.
There’s No Such Thing as an Unoriginal Idea
Many stories that have already been written have a similar framework. Beginning, middle, ending. A hero goes on a journey. Problems get resolved and characters overcome pivotal flaws along the way.
But this doesn’t mean you can’t build a completely new story, made up of your own ideas, on the foundations of already existing literary frameworks. All art is inspired by art that has come before it. Your story may not seem wholly original right now, but that’s because you’re only just getting started. That, and it’s your story — it may not feel unique to you because it already exists inside your head. It will feel new to people who, hopefully, eventually read it.
No One Can Tell Your Story Like You Can
Just because someone has already written a story similar to yours doesn’t mean yours won’t be different. This is because no two people can tell a story the same way. You know this if you’ve ever heard two of your friends try to recount the same events from a night you yourself witnessed. Everyone comes away from every experience having viewed and interpreted it differently.
Only you can tell your story the way it’s meant to be told. That’s why there are thousands upon thousands of books. You have your own way of seeing and thinking about the world, and how you use that to write your story is the element that’s going to attract people to it.
Honor the Stories That Have Come Before You
I’ve written a lot of stories with similar themes to books and other media I’ve consumed and loved throughout my life. Instead of thinking about this as unoriginal, frame it as appreciation. You’re (hopefully) not copying someone else’s story line by line and changing the names. You’re taking the parts of your favorite stories that mean the most to you and creating something new from them.
Many authors begin their journeys with retellings of classic stories. How many times has Disney taken an already existing tale and turned it into something new — and quite successfully, time and again? Write the story you want to write. Make it your own. Be proud of what you’ve made.
Meg Dowell Writes 