I was reading some of the posts on "Avoiding cliche" and it seems to apply to the issue I have been struggling with the past couple of days. Everytime I start a story, or start to outline a story idea I inevitably reach a point where I say "wait a minute this is exactly like . . ." I agonize over finding a completely original idea. Finding that Big idea that is new and completely fresh. Do you all know what I am feeling? Or perhaps it comes easier to some. If you have any ideas on how to brainstorm for novel ideas without being discouraged I would love to hear them. Thanks.
Posted by Avatar300 (Member # 1655) on :
There is no completely original idea, everything under the sun has already been written. I think it's OSC who has written that the best stories come from taking two unrelated ideas and combining them in unexpected ways.
Posted by thexmedic (Member # 2844) on :
I wouldn't worry too much about how similar the idea is to any other's floating about. What's important is how YOU treat the idea.
Posted by Survivor (Member # 213) on :
If your "Big idea" hasn't been done before, there is probably a very good reason.
Being completely original isn't such a great thing, nor is it usually even that original.
Posted by Kathleen Dalton Woodbury (Member # 59) on :
What's original is the combination of ideas that you bring together and how you develop them, not the ideas themselves.
You can't copyright ideas simply because everyone has them. All you can copyright is what you do with them.
Posted by trousercuit (Member # 3235) on :
Exactly. Just take a bunch of random things and smash them together. Combinatorics says you'll come up with something original.
Combinatorics is fun. It says your average 30-word sentence has probably never been said before by anyone before, and probably never will be again.
So write your story about anorexic gorilla ancestors from Europa who instinctively eat their young and feel terrible about it, one of which gets mixed up with a Terran spy and caught in a corporate scandal involving the recipe for cheese whiz and a popular shade of nail polish. I'm fairly certain that's never been done before.
Posted by wrenbird (Member # 3245) on :
Thanks everyone. I feel better already. And today, I start work on that sweet anorexic gorilla story. Posted by englshmjr18 (Member # 3906) on :
hi wrenbird!
i just wrote THAT VERY STORY last week. go gorillas!
Posted by AeroB1033 (Member # 1956) on :
Ideas are a dime a dozen. It's how you develop them into a story that counts.
Posted by Lynda (Member # 3574) on :
I read somewhere that there are only twelve basic plotlines and that Shakespeare did all of them. I remember a book titled "The Twelve Basic Themes" (just looked it up online - shows how old I am - the book was published in 1943 and was talked about when I was in school in the 60's and 70's - there's one used copy available on Amazon.com if you're interested).
There are books that help you define and perhaps "warp" the basic plot premises. Look for "Story Structure Architect," for instance, and other books on plot. Study them and you'll have a better idea of what's gone before, and how you can combine elements from those basic plots in what might be unusual ways. And as has been said here already, there's nothing new under the sun, and there's no such thing as an "original" plot. But that gorilla idea sounded pretty darned close!
Lynda
Posted by trousercuit (Member # 3235) on :
Naw. Going by the I've-managed-to-reduce-all-of-literature-to-two-stories model, it's just a "hero leaves home, comes back changed" story.
Posted by Inkwell (Member # 1944) on :
^^^ You left out the "kicks villain's evil arse" ending.
Inkwell ----------------- "The difference between a writer and someone who says they want to write is merely the width of a postage stamp." -Anonymous
