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I feel like every idea is so overdone that there is surely something out there just like my stories, but I just haven't come across it yet... But then you put something out there are BAM every example of what it is just like surfaces and any originality you had is thus undermined. Sometimes I wonder what originality even is anymore. People seem so hyper critical and quick to assume ideas are stolen. How horrible it must be to live in such a negative, and assuming the worst in people, mindset. All I know is how exciting it is to arrive to an idea all on my own, and how heart wrenching it is to find out others came up with it first. Damn you Google!

Have any of you had similar experiences where you are excited about an idea only to find out it is already out there? Do you abandon the idea? or add a new twist? How do you cope with it?

I think originality the way you mean it is a rarity.
However I think originality is all around us.
Every new take on the same old shtick is an example of originality.
And your definition of originality still exists...but it's like a shy unicorn...in order to find it you must be patient and have an open mind...and an over active imagination doesn't hurt either.

Originality is a rare thing now a days. Especially when we consider fantasy - where I feel that you can be most imaginative - people still cling to the classical sense of fantasy. But there are some authors those who peek out of this repetitive mind set and when I can get my hands on those books I am the happiest.

When you've had people telling stories for thousands and thousands of years, being the first in anything can be quite difficult. Try taking inspiration from dreams, or combining two old ideas in a new way. If your amazing new idea turns out to be nothing new, then maybe instead of trying to be new, try to be the best.

Just strive to be great whether your ideas are original or not. Whatever is in front of you, do the best you can and even if it is not entirely original, you will still put your own take on that idea or concept. The effort is what really matters!

Skillian wrote:I feel like every idea is so overdone that there is surely something out there just like my stories, but I just haven't come across it yet... But then you put something out there are BAM every example of what it is just like surfaces and any originality you had is thus undermined. ...
Have any of you had similar experiences where you are excited about an idea only to find out it is already out there? Do you abandon the idea? or add a new twist? How do you cope with it?

So there are two aspects of this argument which are opposing views
1. Nothing is Original
2. Everything is Original

1. Since humans have been telling stories they have always been the same stories retold with different characters. Love, Tragedy, Comedy, Drama have all been told. These stories of either overcoming adversity, of heroes, or simply of comedy or just plain tragedy have been told over and over again through out millennia (The Odyssey, The Iliad, The Bible, Greek/Roman/Norse Methodology, etc). They were used to teach lessons or understand the world around us or simply to entertain. So in that sense nothing is original (not even the first written account since it had probably been told a million times before it got on paper or stone).

2. Everything is Original - Even if the story has been told before how it is told has an originality about it. The who, the why, the when and the where. Otherwise no one would watch Fast & Furious 7 or James Bond movies since they are the same story (or TV Series).

Regardless of whatever view you subscribe to I believe certain times tend to bring certain types of stories to the forefront. Dystopian stories or post-apocolyptic stories seem to be pretty strong right now (Hunger Games & The Walking Dead) probably because of how most of us feel about the world around us which bring these types of stories to the forefront of writers.

Writers live and experience the world just like everyone one else. When folks feel they lack control of what is going on around them a Dystopian or Post-apocolyptic type of story (in which characters lack control of the world around them or are trying to fight against it) comes to the forefront.

Just before the types of stories that are popular now Vampires and Werewolves were popular (dark characters who either redeem themselves or destroy society) which is how folks felt about government and those that run it. Wow I guess I have a lot to say about this.

Anyway, all this to simply say that as long as you tell your own story and do not plagiarize anyone else's story I think you are fine. Will it be similar to other stories and perhaps even have the same elements? Sure, so what to me how you tell your story and how entertaining it is what matters.

There is a saying by a very wise writer, Solomon, of the Bible's Proverbs. That states that there is nothing new under the sun. But that is too literal for this question. If we write of our own experience, we do not need to worry about copying another person's work, since we know different people, and have lived a different life. Even though we all have the same basic desires and needs, we each have a uniqueness that makes us interesting to each other.

I often worry about this when I am writing something!!
I once had this super awesome story going (well... at least, I thought it was awesome) with this cool new creature that I had created all by myself... and then I read Harry Potter, and the thing was basically exactly the same as a Dementor! I was so annoyed, so I felt like I had to change it.

ALynnPowers wrote:I often worry about this when I am writing something!!
I once had this super awesome story going (well... at least, I thought it was awesome) with this cool new creature that I had created all by myself... and then I read Harry Potter, and the thing was basically exactly the same as a Dementor! I was so annoyed, so I felt like I had to change it.

I don't think you needed to change it unless your character was exactly like the dementors. For example the marshes in LOTR that lure you to your death are almost exactly the same as the Inferi in Harry Potter. However, I don't think anyone watching the HP movie thought of the LOTR marshes and if they did it was only in passing.

-- 21 Nov 2014, 14:48 --

ALynnPowers wrote:I often worry about this when I am writing something!!
I once had this super awesome story going (well... at least, I thought it was awesome) with this cool new creature that I had created all by myself... and then I read Harry Potter, and the thing was basically exactly the same as a Dementor! I was so annoyed, so I felt like I had to change it.

Also the Wraiths in LOTR are very similar to the Dementors (at least in look and that they do their master's biddin') and they both seem to suck the life out of things.

I like to think it does. Or at least I hope it does. Its sad to think that we are so numb to so many things that go on around us. Thinking up new ideas, and ways be original can be exhausting. I write what I like, what I know and just hope that somewhere someone likes it.

Though things like 'selfie' and 'ipod,' etc. Are totally new things... so perhaps originality is in chasing new technologies? Or at least that is one way to try to attain it. That must be the most thrilling thing about being an inventor.. is knowing you are the first person to have that thought... even if it's just a clever name... or variation of something that already exists.

I think originality exists. I just think it takes a lot of effort.

Interesting... because what about just POOF having an idea? Doesn't that happen sometimes? I wonder how often originality is based on a lucky combination of events that leads to a unique thought pattern.... or rigorous study and hard work in forcing something into fruition.... but then which is actually more original?

I think both happen. I don't think one is more original than another though.

-- 14 Dec 2014, 13:45 --

I guess what I'm trying to say is: originality is originality. No matter where it comes from.

ALynnPowers wrote:I often worry about this when I am writing something!!
I once had this super awesome story going (well... at least, I thought it was awesome) with this cool new creature that I had created all by myself... and then I read Harry Potter, and the thing was basically exactly the same as a Dementor! I was so annoyed, so I felt like I had to change it.

I feel you! Back in high school, I "made up" these scary, cloaked monsters on horseback. I thought they were the coolest, creepiest creatures ever...until I read (and watched) The Lord of the Rings. My super-cool evil monsters were, in fact, Ringwraiths!!! Part of me was devastated, but another part thought "Great minds think alike!" However, I don't think most people would see it that way