Plymouth YCL: Originality

Hello to anyone reading. My name is Ailie and in the following posts I hope to share a bit about my experience as the Young Plymouth City Laureate and also to give people a few writing tips that I hope will be useful.

Originality

The first thing I want to say about originality is that, really, it doesn't matter.
It is impossible to be completely original.
Depending on who you ask there are only four or ten or thirty-six plots in the whole history of humankind. So really don't worry about it.

Of course, there's a difference between thinking 'You know, JK Rowling was really on to something.' and writing a story about a boy that lives in a cupboard under the stairs, and thinking 'Hmm, boy under the stairs, toy on a chair... Eureka! I'm going to write about a phantom that steals toys from children!'
The second is good - creativity should definitely fuel creativity as long as it's not too obvious. A good rule of thumb is to get a friend to read it. If they say 'Ah, cool. Did you base this on Harry Potter?' go back to the drawing board immediately.
The first is liable to get you sued. You really don't want that.
There isn't a way to guard yourself from subconsciously re-using ideas, that just happens. Just make sure you don't do it deliberately.

There is also a difference between re-working an old story like Cinderella, and filling a novel with every cliché known to man. To guard against this I would recommend taking a little bit of your brain and moulding it into a crotchety garden gnome. Name him Cynic. Go to him with every story idea you have, if he groans drop it immediately.
Unless, of course, you are writing a parody.

The second thing I want to say about originality is that it is entirely over-rated. If you can write something old better than anyone else has ever written it before go for it and ignore people who use words like 'derivative.' Loads of people wrote melodramas before Dickens but he's the one that is remembered.

Indeed, stories actively incorporating myths or old legends or even newish ideas are often better thought out and more in-depth than novels pulled entirely from the ether. Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings were both based on some folk-lore and even Shakespeare dramatised very well known stories.

So, in conclusion, go forth my little creative friends and write!