How NOT to write a book #5: Be 100% Original

One day, a long time ago… holy crap… I just realized that I have been saying that “I started writing this in 2003”… but this story happened in 2001…

Crapbaskets…

(stares at a wall for several minutes, ruminating upon the eternal questions of life…)

Okay, existential crisis over. Where was I? Oh yeah… One day, TWENTY FREAKING YEARS AGO, a coworker asked me about the book I was planning. He saw me sketching during a break and liked what he saw. It was probably the first time I had ever been asked. I didn’t have a blurb ready. I never needed to describe it to anyone that wasn’t already expecting me to rant (as I tend to do). Yup… it’s elevator pitch time and I’m on the spot! I paused for a moment… then I just blurted out several HUGE plot points.

Though he was intrigued by the description of my characters and very positive for the most part, he ended with something that affected me more than I expected it to…

“Prophetic dreams? Hasn’t that been done before?”

That statement messed me up for a while. “If your idea isn’t 100% original, nobody will buy it!” It’s an idiom that everyone says as if it’s obvious and true. The guy walked away after saying this and I’m sure he went on about his day like nothing happened… and here I am, spending weeks banging my head against the wall, trying to come up with something 100% original.

Eventually, I had to get over it and accept the reality that NOTHING IS 100% ORIGINAL! Your favorite movie, book, or show is not 100% original. Its core is always going to be roads already tread… but the most important point is that NOBODY CARES! There isn’t a single romance novel reader that’s going to see a book and think “Wait… this is two people falling in love? That’s been done before. I’m not reading it.” Imagine an action fan seeing a trailer for a movie and saying “A martial artist in dangerous situations with explosions everywhere!?!? That’s been done. I’ll pass.” Originality comes from the voice of the author and the WAY they tell the story. It comes from the meaning BEHIND the trope being used within.

As for my story, the originality doesn’t come from the concept of prophetic dreams… it’s in the way his dreams are used in my series. Originality is in the reason the character has dreams. Originality is in what he dreams and how they are used to further the plot. He’s not “the chosen one.” Is it fate? Is it destiny? Not even the source is obvious or cliche. Finally… whether or not he should even do anything about them… even something THAT simple isn’t obvious in my story.

If you have an idea and the core is something like kids in a magic school, a journey to deliver/destroy an item, forbidden love, etc… WRITE IT! If someone tells you “It’s been done,” then you say “not like this!” You take that idea and you MAKE it yours. If you put your all into it and make it yours, then it will be original… because it’s coming out of YOUR HEAD! It’s okay if it starts out in a familiar place, as long as you diverge from the trodden path… that’s how you make it yours!

Have you ever felt your idea wasn't original enough? Have you ever heard any bad or questionable writing advice? Comment below! I might even tackle it next week!