How original is this story idea?

[Devora]

I came up with this idea of a story about a little girl that befriends a kind spirit that is trapped in a mirror. The story is in the Spirit's POV, and it follows his friendship with the little girl as she ages.

Is this idea original for the most part, or is it coincidentally too close to another story?

 

[Chime85]

Tbh I think that could pan out to be a neat little story. Don't worry too much about feelings of originality. If we think hard enough, aspects of any story can be seen from someplace else.

You have picked something that is not usually chosen, as well as telling it from a unique point of view.

 

[Jessquoi]

Spirits trapped in mirrors isn't a new idea, although to be honest I'm not sure exactly where I've heard that story before. I like the idea of telling it from the spirit's point of view. The only difficulty could be that the mirror is probably always going to be in the same room, so the setting wont change much.
But I reckon you should go ahead with it. It sounds like something I would read without having doubts about its originality!

 

[Rob P]

I think your idea sounds great. The only thing similar is from old Sleeping Beauty, the wicked Queen's mirror.

If told from the mirror's POV, which I think is very interesting, to service the settings issues, could it not be an antique mirror. One that has moved around from home to home, auction house to auction house. A house that burned down etc. These would give flashbacks for the Mirror as it remembered its own life and thereby give it a unique character, one the reader could emphasize with.

I would definitely read it.

 

[Nihal]

I'm sure the wicked queen's mirror isn't the only story about spirits trapped inside mirrors. There is the whole folklore associated to mirrors, it was an old custom to cover mirrors when someone died so the deceased wouldn't get trapped inside it.

Speaking of trapped spirits I can recall an anime called Le Portrait de Petit Cossette where the spirit of an aristocrat girl was trapped in a Venetian chalice. She started to haunt an art student who worked on the antique shop where the glass was in display, and at some point you get to follow her POV, discovering how she died and why she tortures the youth. Creepy stuff.

I'm not sure of why the spirit is trapped inside the mirror in your story - usually this kind of story involves murder -, but anyway, don't worry too much about being original. Nothing is created, everything is transformed.

 

[wordwalker]

The Canterville Ghost (story and at least two movies) is a family and a ghost over the years, but not from the ghost's view either.

don't worry too much about being original. Nothing is created, everything is transformed.

That's always my first reaction when I hear the dread O-word. To me "ideas" are like words, the actual story is the combination of many of them and how that's distinctive enough rather than needing "original" pieces

Still, I think you asked this question in the right form, as a quick check. Nobody wants something out there to be too much like our baby.

 

[Nihal]

Still, I think you asked this question in the right form, as a quick check. Nobody wants something out there to be too much like our baby.

That's why I said "too much". =P

 

[T.Allen.Smith]

There's a lot of story option here, and loads of room for original directions. First, there's an entire world behind the glass, the world in which this spirit lives. Second, there's the girl's life if you chose to change it to a two POV story. Third, you have the story about how the spirit was trapped behind the mirror and how that story may link to the girl. Is the spirit an ancestor? What interest does the spirit have in the girl? Why can the girl converse with spirits? And so on...

You're only limited by imagination and courage to experiment. I think this sounds like a wonderful story basis.

 

[Sheriff Woody]

I love the idea. I think it can work wonderfully as a story geared toward a younger audience, in particular.

 

[Ghost]

I came up with this idea of a story about a little girl that befriends a kind spirit that is trapped in a mirror. The story is in the Spirit's POV, and it follows his friendship with the little girl as she ages.

I have this scenario in my Snow White retelling. If both of us are writing this sort of thing, I'd bet you loads of other folks are as well. (I expect dozens of writers did the exact same set up I did, which doesn't say much for my originality. )

But they're not the same stories. While I can't tell how close two stories are unless I read them both, I know the details will be different. The starting points, developments, and themes won't match up either. These stories might seem similar from a distance. Up close, the details and emotions won't be the same.

What would you do if it were too close to another story?

 

[Iamfenian]

Sounds original with the exception of Sleeping Beauty but your mirror spirit sounds benevolent as opposed to mean-spirited or indifferent. Besides what time time period? Modern? Would love to read something you have written with this idea.

 

[Penpilot]

Is it original? Probably not. But is it an interesting starting point for a story? Yes. There's a spark that lights up a lot of interesting directions you could go.

 

[Devora]

What would you do if it were too close to another story?

I'd probably scrap the idea. If someone already did it exactly how i wanted to do it then what would be the point?

 

[Devora]

But one plot point i came up with is that as the girl is growing into her Teens, the Spirit is falling in love with her, but he does not tell her for he thinks it would ruin the friendship.

 

[Saigonnus]

I vaguely remember a fantasy story where the primary villain hides has the capability to use a mirror to trap souls so he can take over their bodies... as an assassin, that could be lethal. I think on the whole it will come down to how its told, rather than how original it is; though I can't think of many stories that revolve around mirrors.

 

[Jamber]

My mind went 'ping'. It doesn't immediately remind me of anything else, yet clearly has connections to a range of stories and to mythical imagination.

I think it's a gorgeous idea.