Do you ever worry that your stories aren’t original enough? That no one is going to care about you because they’ve already consumed a book, article, or short story identical to the one you’re working on right now?

This might be every creative person’s internal struggle. And that fear is often reinforced by the fact that, on average, literary journals only accept 1-2% of the submissions they receive. For some journals, that rate might be even lower.

So how do we move past that fear to become better writers? Perhaps we should look at what “originality” means in terms of storytelling.

Has anything ever been original?

All stories written today are inspired by stories that have existed for centuries. Think about how many books, stories, and other media that rework a classic Grimm Fairy Tale (A Court of Thorns and Roses, The Lunar Chronicles, and even less obvious ones like the movie Ex Machina).

Fiction has always been iterative. We find a good structure we like and expand on it. Tropes exist for a reason.

People enjoy what is familiar.

And many people seek out only what they like. It’s why some people are die-hard James Patterson fans and will read anything with his name plastered on the cover. They know what to expect.

And that’s why, in general, people will consume like media. So, if you ever stumble upon a book or TV show that has the same exact premise as the story you’re working on, don’t fret. Structurally, it may not be a totally new idea, and that’s okay. Because you can still bring something entirely new to the conversation with your unique writing style and lived experiences.

What makes a story feel original?

Okay, so being “original” is not really the goal of writing fiction. But how do you make your story compelling enough to justify rehashing an old tale into a fresh take?

The key is your craft.

Voice

Every writer has a distinct voice that shows up consistently in their work. It’s something you typically develop over years of practice. You may not find your exact voice for a couple years after starting. That voice also might change through experimentation or a single story concept.

Voice is shaped by word choice, tone, point of view (first person vs third person), syntax (short sentence structure vs elaborate, descriptive sentences), and pacing. How you use these elements will differentiate you from another writer. And naturally, because we’re all unique individuals with different lived experiences, our voices are going to be different.

Some writers might try to manufacture a unique voice by coming up with unusual or awkward similes that don’t work or finding a new verb for every dialogue tag (“said” works just fine). You don’t need to do this. Write authentically. Your distinct voice will eventually show up.

George Saunders is a great writer to glean voice inspiration from. He has this very distinct, whimsical, humorous, quirky voice that you could recognize within the first sentence. No byline needed. Every story he writes is distinguishably his.

Character development

Original characters stem from the intricate, indescribable parts of their personality – the things they obsess over, the memories they linger on, the emotions they’re too scared to face. These are the things that compel us to like, hate, or empathize with a character and to want to follow their story.

And this is where you can use your own experiences, thoughts, fears, etc. to inform your characters’ identities. Every great writer brings some of their own life into their stories. This is where that saying “write what you know” comes in handy. If you have an unhealthy obsession with pickles, give one of your characters that same obsession. You don’t have to explicitly state they are obsessed with pickles but rather, think about how it could influence the way they interact with other characters or what they believe about the world (people who don’t like pickles are fundamentally awful, for example).

Use parts of your life or personality to create compelling, complex, dysfunctional characters that feel  like real people.

Relationships vs. plot

Characters are truly key to creating an original story. Your plot. Well, that’s secondary. What most readers care about is what happens to the main character – how he or she changes, relates to their environment, and interacts with other characters.

There are dozens of stories out there that literally have no plot. The play Waiting for Godot is (among other things) essentially a meta narrative of this exact phenomenon. And what makes this story compelling for many people is its exploration of humanity, the search for meaning, and the exchange between the two main characters.

Point is – your story doesn’t need to have a lot of action. It can be heavy on the plot. But for your idea to be truly compelling, you need to focus on conflict and relationships. That doesn’t mean that your character needs to fight with another character. No, it simply means that your character needs to experience a struggle (either within themselves, with another character, or with an ideology) and the story should revolve around that struggle.

What matters is your intent, not plot devices or tropes. Focus on developing your characters throughout the story. Show us how they come to terms with their struggle. Take us on a journey, even if it’s purely an emotional one.

Specificity vs. surprises

Plot twists and trick endings don’t make your story stand out. Yes, they may be shocking, surprising, and defy readers’ expectations, but they shouldn’t be what you rely on to make your story different.

Trust me, I tried it once in my very first short story. It got mediocre feedback at best.

Aim for specificity instead. You can still have surprise endings. But they have to be earned by sprinkling in concrete details throughout the story that make that ultimate reveal satisfying.

For example, if you want to write a thriller where the person you least suspect turns out to be the killer all along, don’t just give us a generic character type – like the quiet loner or the handsome nice guy. Give that character details. Maybe he always has grimy fingernails because he bites them due to his anxiety over being found out that he commits heinous crimes while simultaneously enjoying the adrenaline and thrill of anticipating his eventual demise. Maybe he keeps a pet turtle in his bedroom and talks to it every night.

Give your readers details that they think about when they try to fall asleep. Give us something that makes your story hard to forget.

The “write it better” mentality

Chances are, whatever new, “original” idea you’re concocting in your head, someone’s already done it before. And that’s actually a good thing. Because you can take that existing story as inspiration for your piece.

What I like to do when I come across a story that’s similar to one of mine, I think about how I could write it better. Even if the published story is fantastic and beautifully written, I look for ways that I could improve upon the concept or go deeper with the emotional conflict.

Let me be clear. This isn’t about bashing the obviously talented writer who got their story published. It’s about manifesting the confidence to try your idea anyways. Because if you get stuck at the someone already wrote this story and it’s way better than what I could ever write mentality, you’re never going to get anywhere.

Next time you read a piece that closely resembles your own, try it. Here are some questions I run through when I’m faced with this scenario.

• What do you think the story is missing or what do you wish there was more of?
• What are you trying to understand by writing this story? Is it an emotion, a hypothetical situation that has no right or wrong answers? Something else?
• What can you add to the conversation that hasn’t been said yet?
• What critiques do you have about the story (and what would you do differently)? If the story is 100% perfect, no critiques, what makes it so?
• Why is this published story worth reading? If it isn’t worth reading, why? Was it empty of emotion? Was it a surface-level exploration of a theme you want to write about? What will you do to make your story worth reading?

If you’re struggling to get past feeling like a copycat, lean into it. Try mimicking this writer’s style. It’s likely going to be impossible to replicate their story exactly unless you copy it word-for-word. You will naturally write something different, even if the premise of the story is the same.

Write the story you want to tell anyways

As we’ve established, ideas are not original, but how you tell a story is. Waiting for a truly “original” idea means never getting started. People are drawn to what they know, what feels familiar. Embrace it. Use it. And do it better.

But maybe advice isn’t what gets you started. Maybe, like me, you feel like you need permission first. Well, you have it. Write your damn story. Even if it is another dystopian apocalyptic fantasy series.

Question of the day:
Have you ever abandoned a project because it was too similar to other media you consumed?