The Originality of Writing
Jul. 14th, 2008 02:27 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
moonshaydeI'm asking this in general instead of just on my writing filter or my writing journal since I feel like it can apply to both fanfic writers and original fic writers.
Have you ever started to write only to get stuck, afraid that what you're writing is empty and the most unoriginal thing ever? I bet most of you have. It could be a piece of fanfic that you're afraid is littered with the same old fandom/fanon cliches or some original project you fear is just Buffy the Vampire Slayer all over again.
What do you do? How do you fight that self-damning urge?
As a writer, one of the things I struggle with is the wonderful concept of originality. I'm always terrified that my characters and plots are just some subpar ripoff of something else that came before it. I freeze with that kind of unfounded fear which prevents me from completing works. I don't want to be known as someone that just rips off stories and publishes her own.
That said, I'm acutely aware that the whole process of creation is rooted in the inspiration of other works. We are inspired by other creations that have come before us. Whether you find inspiration in nature, in science, in history, or in a tv show, a book you read, a song you've heard - it's all been done before. It's been done before that and before that. Creativity is a force that keeps creating.
Some of the greatest literary or entertainment works have been rooted in inspiration from other works. Most of us like to tap into those lovely universal archetypes. In the end, we'll each put our own spin on the story. That will make it unique. That will make it essentially our work.
I'm trying my very best to acknolwedge this and just keep going. It's hard. That critical voice in the back of my mind is always nagging me. But I figure what we should do as writers is just let that fear go and just create. If there are simialrities in the story, so be it. Most of the time, it won't be a rip off. The characters will evolve and take on their own distinct personalities and histories. The plots will twist and turn in spontenous unexpected ways.
I know I am inspired by everything. I am inspired by TV, film, video games, music, nature, science, history, or a random magazine article. Often, my ideas mirror something I've seen. They are rooted in the "what if?" What if character X did this instead? They are rooted in dissatifaction of missed opportunities. It sparks creation. This is what I would have done with said plot. This is what direction I would have taken.
It's a starting point. From there, the characters and plots will blosson. Maybe at first it will seem like you're copying. I'm arguing that you aren't. I'm trying to make myself realize this. I'm not out to copy other people's work. I'm out to explore questions and possibilties within my own plots and my own characters. At the end of the day, I know they'll be my own special creations. And if I love them, it will show.
I hope the same for you as well.
(Btw, anyone who wants to be on the writing filter I can put you on if you want. I rarely use it though. If you've asked in the past, you're already on it so don't worry. But like I said, I don't use it very often. Not because I don't want to, it's just half the time I don't think my ramblings are too exciting. Heh.)
ETA: Um, did that come off as whiny? It wasn't meant to be. This is sort of part discussion and part rant. I think I failed in what I set out to do whih was just to set up place for people to talk about what works for them, if they feel the same, and to find some solace. Hmm.
Have you ever started to write only to get stuck, afraid that what you're writing is empty and the most unoriginal thing ever? I bet most of you have. It could be a piece of fanfic that you're afraid is littered with the same old fandom/fanon cliches or some original project you fear is just Buffy the Vampire Slayer all over again.
What do you do? How do you fight that self-damning urge?
As a writer, one of the things I struggle with is the wonderful concept of originality. I'm always terrified that my characters and plots are just some subpar ripoff of something else that came before it. I freeze with that kind of unfounded fear which prevents me from completing works. I don't want to be known as someone that just rips off stories and publishes her own.
That said, I'm acutely aware that the whole process of creation is rooted in the inspiration of other works. We are inspired by other creations that have come before us. Whether you find inspiration in nature, in science, in history, or in a tv show, a book you read, a song you've heard - it's all been done before. It's been done before that and before that. Creativity is a force that keeps creating.
Some of the greatest literary or entertainment works have been rooted in inspiration from other works. Most of us like to tap into those lovely universal archetypes. In the end, we'll each put our own spin on the story. That will make it unique. That will make it essentially our work.
I'm trying my very best to acknolwedge this and just keep going. It's hard. That critical voice in the back of my mind is always nagging me. But I figure what we should do as writers is just let that fear go and just create. If there are simialrities in the story, so be it. Most of the time, it won't be a rip off. The characters will evolve and take on their own distinct personalities and histories. The plots will twist and turn in spontenous unexpected ways.
I know I am inspired by everything. I am inspired by TV, film, video games, music, nature, science, history, or a random magazine article. Often, my ideas mirror something I've seen. They are rooted in the "what if?" What if character X did this instead? They are rooted in dissatifaction of missed opportunities. It sparks creation. This is what I would have done with said plot. This is what direction I would have taken.
It's a starting point. From there, the characters and plots will blosson. Maybe at first it will seem like you're copying. I'm arguing that you aren't. I'm trying to make myself realize this. I'm not out to copy other people's work. I'm out to explore questions and possibilties within my own plots and my own characters. At the end of the day, I know they'll be my own special creations. And if I love them, it will show.
I hope the same for you as well.
(Btw, anyone who wants to be on the writing filter I can put you on if you want. I rarely use it though. If you've asked in the past, you're already on it so don't worry. But like I said, I don't use it very often. Not because I don't want to, it's just half the time I don't think my ramblings are too exciting. Heh.)
ETA: Um, did that come off as whiny? It wasn't meant to be. This is sort of part discussion and part rant. I think I failed in what I set out to do whih was just to set up place for people to talk about what works for them, if they feel the same, and to find some solace. Hmm.
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no subject
Date: 2008-07-14 10:50 pm (UTC)I've done some academic work myself and I understand the pressure of having something new and finding that angle that was never done before. I think that was the most stressful part of my graduate career so far - all of my classes were fashioned with this mind set to help train us towards higher disseration research graduate work. So every class we had to come up with topics that would have a new angle. My research thesis had to have a new angle. My women studies research needed an entirely new angle and it drove me mad. I recall ranting about it quite often on my LJ at the time.
It's true of any writer, I suppose, but with different variations. Reporters/journalists need a new angle on news and stories. Fiction writers need to make old themes seem new and fresh. Fanfic writers often worry about cliches in fanon. Acamdeic writers need to make sure their research is adding something new and valuable to the field, especially since it reflects on them and the university.
I'm starting to realize that the beauty of creativity is often in the "missed opportunities." if you think about it, this is where research is born. You read an article and you feel that the author missed an aspect on Mayan life, for example. Then you read another and another and find they are all missing this angle. Why? What is missing? And then suddenly you have a topic. Fiction is no different. You find something lacking in a story and start thinking about it and suddenly your idea has morphed into its own thing.
And that feeling of seeing an idea blossom, no matter the medium, really is one of the best feelings there is.