Am I original?
I came across a podcast titled “The problem of originality”. It is from a podcast series called “Writing Excuses” and in it, the writers discuss being original in stories.
That prompted me to think about my doubts about being original: in the stories that I write or these blog articles that I am writing now.
And after listening to them, I have realized that I don’t need to worry about being original all the time. Surely not when I am just starting out.
I cannot be original. I cannot conjure up some idea out of thin air and then write about it expecting it to be original. Most probably it is already explored by someone else. And especially not when I am just an amateur beginning my exploration through writing.
So, one, I should not worry about not being original. If I am not original and I am just repeating stuff others have already written, that is fine. And two, I should explore the ideas in my own way. By pushing the envelope, as the writers say in the podcast, I will then reach a new place which explores the idea in a new way!
But for that, I have to keep writing and creating and forget about not being original.
If the masters struggle with it and cannot find a solution, then an amateur should not even think about all that stuff.
