The creative process can be a real rollercoaster! On the good days, it’s easy to be positive about your work. But on the bad days, it’s just as easy to let self-doubt creep in.
I wrote these letters to remind myself of some important truths about writing. My hope is that they can help other writers too.
Dear Bad-Day Stephanie,
You may have forgotten this, so I’m here to remind you…
Your writing doesn’t have to be ~*Original*~.
Now before you yell at me and insist that I am wrong—DEAD wrong—and that applies to everyone BUT you, let me break it down for you…
Logically, you know that ~*Originality*~, or whatever, is unattainable. It’s [insert year here], for god’s sake! Whatever clever idea you think you have has already been done before by the Ancient Greeks, or the Anglo-Saxons, or some random kid on the internet. But that’s no reason to despair!
You know that old advise…”Every story has been told before, what makes yours unique is how you tell it.” Well, it’s cheesy but it’s true. It’s the things you smash together that make your story unique. Forbidden love? Been there. Done that. But what about a Romeo & Juliet style love story set in space? With moon-dinosaurs?
Now THAT is some spicy original storytelling!
I know what you’re thinking though—What if galactic moon-dino Romeo & Juliet has already been done? And what if I only discover that after I’m 50,000 words into this manuscript?
Well, my friend, this is an unlikely worse-case scenario. But I’ll humor it.
My answer to that is…
So what?
Most likely, that author didn’t tell the story the way you would. (For example, your version probably also includes a few saber-toothed cats.) Just because this idea has been done before, doesn’t mean your story is without value. Quite the opposite in fact. Together, these stories contribute new and differing ideas to the conversation surrounding Shakespeare and moon-dinosaurs. Basically, you’re drawing more attention to something you love, and encouraging people to consider it more deeply. And that’s pretty fantastic.
There’s another important question you should be asking yourself when it comes to ~*Originality*~. And that is: Who cares?
Seriously.
Who. Cares.
Do YOU care about ~*Originality*~? NO. How many books have you read about vampires? How many more vampire books are you willing to read in this lifetime?
Be honest with yourself. The answer is…A LOT.
What do you expect from other authors? Sure, some level of inventiveness—but not always. When you find a story you love, you can’t help but want more just like it. You’d read 1,000 versions of The Bloody Chamber if they existed.
Bottom line: do you love your story? Does it bring you happiness? Because that’s all that matters.
If you don’t feel happy working on that manuscript then there’s no point. So cram all of the things you love into it—the ~*Original*~ ideas, and the guilty pleasure ideas, and the worn out ideas.
If your story doesn’t get published then all you’ll have is your own satisfaction, and that’s worth quite a lot if you’re willing to respect and value your own opinion.
Crazy concept, right?
So go ahead, take out that unoriginal idea you’ve been hiding in your pocket. Give it a good polish, and shove it into your story.
I promise you won’t regret it.
