A note on originality.

Here's something to think about if you are a writer or aspire to be one. I get posed the same question - often delivered as an intended criticism - regarding originality in writing. A lot of the time when you write something, or when a pro publishes a book that is derided for its derivative nature, the naysayers jump on your back and lash you for plagiarism. How do you respond to that? How do you come back at someone who is lambasting the fruits of your creativity; someone who is attempting to cut you down and send you back to the typewriter with your ego crushed? Firstly, don't be offended. All their criticism means is that you're writing about something that has been done before, which, in other words, means that you're writing about something popular, whether it be a theme (Vampires, for examples), a plot (a quest, say), or a message (good over evil, or something equally over-hashed). It doesn't mean your ideas are necessarily bad. It just means you have been influenced by what's around you - what's around us all - and have perhaps not executed your ideas as originally as you could. And that's really the crux of my response: everything creative is about execution. Everyone wants to have the most fantastically original idea in the history of creative pursuits, but the rub, quite simply, is that pretty much every idea has been had. I liken writing a novel to the formation of a single sentence, with each of the words in this hypothetical sentence representative of a plot twist, theme, character aspect and so on. There are only so many words in the English language, just as there are components that go in to writing a novel. Some techniques are so overused, they are as common and integral to the formation of a novel as the definite article. It's about arrangement, flavour, and the components you choose to use and when you choose to use them, rather than a new, never-before-seen notion that will blow the socks off your critics' feet. Focus on applying your ideas - whatever they may be - in an original way. That way you have a better chance of creating something relevant and, crucially, readable. Sure, it is possible to create something that flouts convention, and if that's your goal - to amaze and bamboozle your public - then fine, good luck. You might end up with something akin to Waiting for Godot, but that kind of work operates in such a market that you might just find yourself similarly waiting and waiting for your work to receive the respect it deserves for a very long time indeed.