Documentaries have always been one of ways for me to get a new perspective of the world and its many characters. For instance, there is a show that comes on a local programming station here in the states called Independent Lens. The episode I caught last night was a low budget documentary depicting a man that suffered brain damage from an assault. His injury was so severe that he slowly became unable to socialize effectively with society. In order to deal with his affliction, he began to re-create WWII scenes in his backyard. He built a large landscape of miniature houses and towns that were filled with soldiers. He would take pictures of different scenarios and tell various stories of the world he created. He describes how he uses this as a sort of coping mechanism. It was one of the strangest things I've seen in a while. But I also thought he, or various types of people like himself, could create an interesting character. Various versions of this story could at least be spun into an interesting short story. Documentaries are great because they help one to peek into the corners of life. There is a lot out there to see. I would suppose that when searching for ideas it may help to remember one of my favorite quotes of the baseball coach/philosopher Yogi Berra: "You can see a lot by observing"
I do chick lit and I can guarantee you that if you gave me a bucket of chick lit, I could dip my hand in there and pull out a story that involves a main character who is in love with a character and has a completely different character in love with her/her, too. But I can as easy guarantee you that if I put my hand back in that same bucket and pulled out a second book, it would be the same formula but a -completely- different story. Here's how I see it: If chick lit can still crank out new books on a weekly basis, everyone else is pretty much alright. When you get discouraged, keep that in mind. That is one genre where the same old story is used in probably every other book that comes out, yet they all seem to be completely fresh and genuinely new. Why? Because it's a different person writing it who has brought in different experiences, characters, and scenarios. That's what counts!
In my opinion, until you're at a stage where you're seriously considering writing something to sell, I wouldn't worry too much about originality. During the early stages, honing your craft should be the main priority. And beautiful writing can be its own reward too. Take Chesil Beach by Ian McEwan (or Saturday by the same author, for that matter). Beautiful writing can make even the mundane concept an absolute page tuner. As for generating new ideas, the most valuable tool a writer can have is a notebook that they carry everywhere with them. You never know when an idea could strike and you'll kick yourself later if you can't quite remember it. And those ideas don't just come from fully-formed concepts that pop into your head - they can come from anything. Snatches of a woman's conversation with her daughter on the bus, for example. And inspire yourself in everyway possible. Be curious about the world. Never stop asking questions, reading books, watching films etc. I've written for a living for over 5 years now 9-5 and even I get stuck sometimes. And when I do, I don't get frustrated or annoyed with myself. I simply do something else. I go for a walk in town. Browse the net. Maybe reply to a post or two on a forum (). And then the words come back and I go back to my machine. Vick
Yes, everything has been done a thousand times…. However the “x factor” is you. You’re the element that can turn something mundane and overdone into something new, exciting, and fresh.
Does this ever happen to you guys, or is it just me that apparently has no unique thought in my head? There are loads of times that I'll read a book or watch a movie, and I'll see things that have already been formed in my head ages ago - right there out in the open. And the bugger is, it wasn't me that got it out there first! It's happened with creatures, story-lines and certain characters. Even on here since I've been lurking about I've read two different stories (parts of stories) that members have posted for critique that have reminded me of my own stuff. It's such a disappointment when that happens. I'll be happily tootling along thinking I've created something really original, and then boom! Already done. Obviously it's not exactly the same, but definitely very similar and with obvious comparisons that would make anyone who ever reads my stuff assume I've taken it from these other sources. Boooo! Rubbish. lol. This happens to other people, right? Not just me? I have one story that I particularly like, and I'll be absolutely gutted if someone else gets their version of it famous before I've had chance to show it to anyone...
I think it happens to everyone at some point (btw, Domino, I LOVE your sig... makes me laugh everytime I read it. Why, yes, I am easily amused...)
It may sound like a tautology now, but the idea doesn't matter, it's the story. You can argue that all ideas have already been done before, but regardless, there's a sort of collective unconscious. We are all subjected to the same world, movies, and literature, chances are we're not inherently original, we just utilize our influences to form something new out of similar ideas.
I once wrote a short story called Sin City that had a main character named Kevin. And then that movie comes out... and after that I discover the movie is based on an awesome comic book. That really bugged me, though the plot was different.
I wrote a song back in high school that I thought was crap, so I never played it for anyone and generally forgot about it. Then Phil Collins came out with his "In The Air Tonight", which was my song, note for note, chord for chord! (He had different lyrics, but the music was the same.) He made about a zillion dollars with it, and I STILL THINK IT'S CRAP! I learned a lot about myself then, and about people in general, and about earth and purgatory and hell and various other real and mythical states of being. My bank account has yet to benefit from any of this.
I think it happens to everyone at some point or another - afterall, we all watch the same films, hear the same music and are subjected to the same culture as everyone else around us. In a way we are all taught to think is a similar way, so it would be more surprising if you never had a thought that was similar to other peoples. As far as your writing goes though, although it may be irritating when someone else has a similar idea to you (and maybe does it better ), if you can make your story your own, it doesn't really matter than someone somewhere has previously done something similar
Ha, yeah. I came up with what I thought was a really original sci-fi idea but no, someone who read it said 'it's like that film...' Darn it.
I think it's something we all suffer from. It puts me in the mind of when you change your car - you never noticed that make of car before you got one - now the streets are full of them.
I have an idea for a creature/race/offshoot of humanity that I'm so fond of. I haven't told anyone and am not intending to until I've used the idea in a story. I'm betting, after I've done that, it'll only take a day or so before I find out that someone else has done it already.
I know it happens to everyone at some point but one time I swear, they copied me. I based a character on a TV show character and one of the things I did to my version of the character, the show later did to the original. I was like:
Think of poor old me - I was reading something about Twilight and realised a ton of parallels between my characters and those in the story. :O Never mind I'd been sitting on these ideas for like 6 years at the time... Way before I knew anything about Twilight. I used it to my advantage though. I knew the characters were similar, but the story really wasn't, so I read the novels, enough to figure out what was bad, and what not to do, and avoided it all in my own writing, or took reassurance that I hadn't already done it. (I don't think my characters were ever that bad, but there was a certain type to them all... Right down to the fact my main character was called Yzobella... Thankfully always "Yz" for short rather than "Bella")
I was the one who actually came up with the Harry Potter series! No, no, seriously it's common. You see ideas of stories have all been done, plots do not change, so one must then create a unique idea. Thousands, millions, each year a new story begins so it is not uncommon for one to see something that represents their own original thoughts. I feel more connected with the world when I see two ideas of two completely different individuals play out with such similarities.
It happens a bunch of time to us. That might prove to us that more than just one person have the same idea... ^^;
Oh, also, Doctor Who stole, like, ALL my innovative ideas from my latest series. All in a few episodes of this latest season! I want to go shake Stephen Moffat and tell him to get out of my brain. Also to stop trying to kill Rory off.
i'm sure it's happened to all writers at one time or another... and has been doing so for as long as people have been making up stories...
I think that authors' voice plays such a big role in the sucess of a book that even if you have a very similar story it could have a very different feel. Also anyone who is hugely sucessful has to put up with people comparing their work with every other story out there, even if the closest similarities are the use of the words "and" and "the".
I agree. It happens, but AmyHolt has it right, the voice and perspective can make it unique. I have an old blog post on this very subject. http://jamesbabb.wordpress.com/2010/07/05/let%e2%80%99s-take-a-look-at-perspective-from-a-different-viewpoint/
I had this whole vampire world I was/am still working on long before the vampire craze hits and I plan on keeping it long after it's over. Besides, if I'm disheartened because something seems similar I decide to change it and it's usually for the better in my story anyway.
