Every writer feels the pressure to be original. It’s hard to get a story noticed if it’s anything like the billions of stories that are already out there. Certain publishers and literary agents won’t pay attention to concepts that they’ve seen a thousand times. Old ideas are referred to as tropes and archetypes as if to say, “Don’t pay attention to these. They’re used.”
Fresh ideas are overrated. If every idea was meant to be original, we wouldn’t have genres. Do you have any idea how many heist movies have been made? They’re creative, but there’s nothing fresh about watching people steal stuff for the thousandth time.
Heist, superhero, and racing movies haven’t been fresh in a century, but people still watch all of them. People watch reboots even though their concept revolves around being the same as the original. Superman punches bad guys in every movie but the way he does it is always different. People are after unique voices, not original ones.
There’s Beauty in Being Different
I understand how dumb I sound. I whine about writers being forced to be original, then I turn around and say “Be unique.” They sound like they’re one and the same, but there’s a huge difference between them.
Being original means coming up with new ideas that haven’t been told before. At the very least, they can’t be overused. It would be nice if every book that came out featured a drastically new and untapped concept. The problem is that stories have been around since 700 B.C. and every new idea has already been said.
Take a look at this quote by Mark Twain.
“There is no such thing as a new idea. It is impossible. We simply take a lot of old ideas and put them into a sort of mental kaleidoscope. We give them a turn and they make new and curious combinations. We keep on turning and making new combinations indefinitely; but they are the same old pieces of colored glass that have been in use through all the ages.”
— Mark Twain
He believed that new ideas simply don’t exist. He thought that every new idea was built from the foundation of old ones. All we do is put new spins on ideas that already exist.
Being unique is all about taking something that already exists and making it your own. It’s like how someone else made the clothes you wear, but you’re the one who put them together to create a unique outfit. That’s why people aren’t fond of uniforms: they lack originality and individuality. There’s nothing unique about them.
The same could be said for stories that blatantly copy others. This is the part where I have to stress that you can’t copy Harry Potter and claim it’s unique just because you changed his name to Blarry Hotter.
Inspiration does not equal Copying
I’ve got a story for this one.
In 2018, I published a book called The Blue Barricade. It’s the first book that I’ve ever published. I was afraid that it’d get nothing but one-star reviews. They ended up being way better than I expected, which both I and my anxiety really appreciated. The only negative one hated the book for a reason I never expected.
This now-deleted review (either by the person itself or by Amazon, I have no idea which) bashed my novel and a certain scene in particular. It’d be fine if they didn’t like a specific scene out of personal preference, but their reasoning ended up being more frustrating than that. They claimed that the scene in question was a rip-off of a similar one from Harry Potter.
Of all the books to be compared to…
I have no problem with negative reviews of my work. At the end of the day, criticism is inevitable and it’s up to me to either learn from it, cry over it, or both. My problem came from the assumption that I straight up copied Harry Potter, which is one of my favorite book series. The scene I wrote isn’t consciously based on anything, but it might have been inspired by J.K. Rowling’s scene.
It makes sense that a book I love could inspire me and the things I write. A few of my stories are definitely inspired by some of my other favorite things. Inspiration is fine as long as you’re copying the story word for word. Remember my warning about Blarry Hotter.
Examples of Unique Takes
I’ve explained why it’s important to focus on being unique instead of original, but now you need to know how to put this into practice. The best way to explain is by listing some examples.
Everyone’s heard of Santa Claus. He’s the guy who stars in every single Christmas movie known to man. He must get paid a fortune in royalties. Santa has a supposed origin story, but that hasn’t stopped every writer on the planet from offering their own unique take on his story.
The most recent example of this is a lovely movie called Klaus. It’s a 2D animated movie that you can watch on Netflix. It’s all about how the legend of Santa Claus got started. The movie is loaded with a number of tropes that are as unoriginal as its premise. Despite Klaus’ lack of originality, it’s a fantastic movie. Its many tropes come together to form an overall enjoyable and moving experience.
That’s the goal here. Attempt originality or don’t, but none of it matters unless your writing offers value. It should be entertaining, informative or both.
Conclusion
Writing something in your voice is hard. You’re trying to make something unique, but it also has to be good, well-written, entertaining, and the list goes on. At the end of the day, just make sure you write something that stands out. Make your mark on the world in a way that no one else can.
Kesten E. Harris is a self-published author and writer who wants you to be yourself. He also writes young adult novels, runs a website, and want to offer you 6 ingredients for an interesting novel.