Anna Staniszewski

I’ve been working on a WIP recently which I’ve given the code name Lightning here, but the working title I have is The Wielding. I wasn’t sure if that would be the final title, but I figured I’d worry about that once the manuscript was done. Then, earlier today, I read a query critique on another blog about a project named Wielders. The concept of the book was pretty different from mine, but there was just enough overlap that I knew I’d feel more comfortable if I came up with a new title. This got me thinking about originality in writing.

Many writers believe that when they sit down to write a book, it has to be a story that’s never been told before: something completely unique and original. But chances are that no matter what story you tell, at least part of it will have already been told by someone else. That’s just how stories work; there is always going to be some overlap. The fact that there are about a hundred new vampire books out shows us that the goal of writing isn’t necessarily coming up with a completely original plot; it’s also in how you tell the story.

This point is further supported by an NPR interview with Michael Rubens I heard recently about his new book The Sheriff of Yrnameer. It’s a science fiction novel for adults, and its ideas were very much influenced by well-known sources such as Star Wars and Blazing Saddles. The themes in the book also reminded me a bit of M.T. Anderson’s amazing YA novel Feed.

In the interview Rubens very freely credits his influences and makes comparisons between his book and other books and movies already in existence. He’s not trying to sell his novel as something completely unique; he’s showing how he took various elements that inspired him and fused them together to create his own story. That’s essentially what all writers do, whether we’re aware of it or not.

So next time you have an amazing idea, and then it turns out someone else had it first, don’t worry. Just keep writing. You may have to adjust a few plot elements so no one will accuse you of being derivative, but ultimately you’re the one telling the story, and no one else can tell it the same way.