Does originality exist anymore?

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passionatereader16
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Re: Does originality exist anymore?

Post by passionatereader16 »

yeah he's quite good at it.
shilalekh
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Post by shilalekh »

I doubt. Two days back I was writing a post on "Emotional Independence" for my own blog from my own experiences. While looking for some quotes, I came across content that had some of the same ideas as mine. :o Originality down the drain.
May be because we humans are supposed to feel/exhibit just four or six types of emotions!!
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Post by moderntimes »

I wouldn't say "supposed to" but that yes, humans actually do only feel a few basic emotions. So basic and root ideas are never new.

What is different, however, is how we relate to those emotions, and how we react, either physically or mentally. And this would provide the basis for writing a story about these feelings. So while emotional independence may not be fresh, the reflection that you work with within that emotional envelope would lead to a new story or new direction.
"Ineluctable modality of the visible..."
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eggiekyu15
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Post by eggiekyu15 »

I think that no specific idea is original because after all these centuries there will always be someone who thought of it before you. BUT it is original to group all of the previous used ideas in the author's own way. The way the author plots the story differently from others, the way the author tells the story, it makes the story original. So it's not about each unoriginal individual idea, but the original story as a whole.
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Post by e-tasana-williams »

Like others here I would say that the originality does not come from the story itself, necessarily. The originality comes in how the story is experienced by the individual in their own place and time. For example, reading a book multiple times may yield an original experience for the same reader at different points in a lifetime: the Christian creation story is viewed in a new light by the reader when he is a 45-year-old physicist compared to how he viewed it the first time he heard it at age 7. My two cents...
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Post by Lee Stone »

After finishing my newest book, "The Student Council," I happened to see the movie "Gone Girl" on TV. Having never read that book, I was surprised by a hint of similarity to my own storyline. Not to worry, I decided. My plot is more engaging and the characters are more endearing!

Remember, even a single story can be told a million different ways. Try to make your version the most thought-provoking!
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Post by DATo »

I think the emphasis today is directed less toward the originality of the story but rather to the originality of the delivery. A good example of this is David Mitchell's Cloud Atlas.

This novel contains six connected stories which vary in style from comedy, to murder mystery, to sci-fi, to historical drama and take place beginning in the 1700s and extending to the distant future. The novel begins in the 1700s and then progresses to the 1930s, then to the 1970s, then to the present, then to the future (~2100s) and then to the distant future. At this point you are at the middle of the book. Then the order reverses itself revisiting each of the periods and resolving questions which were left unanswered in the first half of the book. This was very ambitious and courageous writing which culminated in a best seller.

Below is a trailer from the movie which was later made. In my opinion this is the finest trailer ever made, and in the opinion of one who has read the book it conveys precisely the "feel" of the book.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hWnAqFyaQ5s

It is the DELIVERY which is unique in this novel though the basic plots of the stories may arguably have been told before in other forms.

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Post by KatherineEWall »

I am sure someone has said something along this line already: There is nothing new under the sun BUT there are a myriad of ways to tell the story. So, while we may give the same idea to a thousand writers, we will inevitably get a thousand different stories. Will there be some overlap? Of course, but as unique as we are, so are all our stories. Be true to your story, trust your characters, and your world will still be original.
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Post by MarteenReadsBooks »

This is so true. I mean the thought has occured to me so many times. Everytime I try to write, I always have that thought. "Someone probably did that already."
The truth is: they probably have, but it's never written the same way or with the same emotions or 'feels'. You want yourslelf to reflect off of your work. Not your work reflecting off of someone else's work.
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Sean Wheeler
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Post by Sean Wheeler »

It is hard to come up with original stuff. But if you were to write out a story and not use any public domain elements at all, you'd be writing a new language. You can't use Earth because Earth is the most common planet in writing. No humans. Must be aliens. But wait, aliens have been used so they can't be called aliens. It would make no sense to the reader. Ideas would have to come from somewhere. However, it would be illegal to write someone else's stuff without permission unless you do stuff in fair use and public domain.
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LeenKansas
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Post by LeenKansas »

I once had a professor that explained that there were only two stories ever told: a stranger comes to town and a hero goes on a journey. While this may not be completely true, it is something I think about every time I read or write. I think it's difficult to come up with completely new and original ideas, but a writer can absolutely find new and unique ways of presenting these ideas. A good writer can take a basic idea and create a specific world. So I suppose my answer would be yes, there can be originality in the way a writer presents their idea.
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Post by MarisaRose »

I agree with this topic completely! It is so hard to be original now a days, and a lot of people don't like originality because it is too different or too hard for them to grasp. I wish more people would try to write more originally!
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R Cronk
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Post by R Cronk »

Total originality? Very rare. Many genres are very constrained - people read in a particular genre because they know exactly what to expect. For example, in a technothriller, one has to have a PLAUSIBLE scenario, it must involve a threat (usually from terrorists or others) that could endanger many, many people, if not the world, it must have a hero/heroine that can overcome whatever issues s/he has to find a way to save the world, it usually casts a government agency (CIA, military, etc) as part of the evil which must be overcome (either the direct threat or trying to get in the way of solving the problem), and on and on and on... This is part of the reason some people hate technothrillers.

BUT, the originality in writing is what you can do within those constraints. In a good technothriller, it has a plot you get into and can't stop reading, and it has characters you truly CARE about.

You could say that nothing written in English is original because ALL writing consists of the same 26 letters of the alphabet. But, wow, what you can do within that constraint can be phenomenal.
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VWHITEHEAD1
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Post by VWHITEHEAD1 »

I agree with many of the others--that originality is rare. "There's nothing new under the sun." However, I also sometimes think originality is overrated. Many of us tend to be lazy or even unaware that we're pilfering the ideas of others. As long as it's done well, I don't really have a problem LOL...
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Im2Adorkable4U
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Post by Im2Adorkable4U »

Of course it does! Everything YOU write is original, although the idea may be the same, you can put your own twist on anything and everything! I enjoy reading a book and taking one small idea to build off of. And yes, I do agree! Google sucks Lol.
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