Unsolicited writing advice, no #284785: Don't obsess over being original. We're all part of the same river. Originality just means that other people don't know which part of the river you drank from. - ThreadSky

joannechocolat.bsky.social • 48 days ago

Unsolicited writing advice, no #284785:
Don't obsess over being original. We're all part of the same river. Originality just means that other people don't know which part of the river you drank from.

Comments

petercampbell13001.bsky.social•48 days ago

But that's the only reason I buy someone's book.

trudieskies.bsky.social•48 days ago

I've been drinking from the murky end of the river.

andrewjudkins.bsky.social•48 days ago

Counter: You have to be obsessed with being not original in this market. Agents and publishers do not want originality or writing that has any challenges requiring people to get familiar with it. At best they are hoping for a catchy, slightly original high concept hook.

timclare.bsky.social•48 days ago

For me it's usually this part:

afharrold.com•48 days ago

Ah! An *English* river!

(Thanks, Thames Water, etc.)

fizbin.bsky.social•48 days ago

The one caveat is that you should be aware of the influences you're leaning on, and if you happen to become more famous than them, acknowledgements are the minimum you owe.

dannycarrier.bsky.social•48 days ago

I love the phrase (which I am about to mangle) about how we all stand on others shoulders…

wyrdeone.bsky.social•48 days ago

I once had a drunken teacher yell at me that all art was derivative. They were a good teacher, so this tracks.

sarahmariepenny.bsky.social•48 days ago

I needed this. Thanks. 🌱

joberry.bsky.social•48 days ago

I take comfort in Lu Chi:

“There are no original ideas
Only those that rhyme with certain classics”

…which he wrote in 200 CE 🙂

joannechocolat.bsky.social•48 days ago

"Nothing new under the sun." Even Ecclesiastes was drawing from what had come before.

renrut-mas.bsky.social•48 days ago

I try to drink upstream from the bad stuff but it's not always possible. I like some of the bad stuff.

pyrholidon.bsky.social•48 days ago

Absolutely no new ideas.

kitwhitfield.bsky.social•48 days ago

And at the same time, nobody is exactly who you are. In the river, it’s water; once it’s flowing through the blood in your veins, it’s you.

joannechocolat.bsky.social•48 days ago

Exactly.

moomindave.bsky.social•48 days ago

Love this. Works perfectly for music composition too, where the 20th century fetishisation of the original makes it all too easy to put oneself down for not writing grindingly unpleasant stuff that no-one wants to listen to.

Comments

Posting Rules

Reply