Is Originality Overrated?

[DeathtoTrite]

Something that I like to do is ask myself "Why is this person doing this/ why is this happening this way?" Often, cliches will force characters or the plot to behave weirdly. (why did villain not kill the protagonist? Because villainous monologue!) CS lewis said it best, just write and make sure it makes sense how it advances and have the world detailed in your head, and it should come out okay.

 

[Ryan_Crown]

Random tangent to showcase just how difficult true "originality" is -- I've been putting together an idea for a story (one I'm hoping to post to my blog as a weekly continuing series). It wasn't based on anything in particular, just random ideas I'd had that were slowly jelling into something that felt pretty original to me. Then a few days ago I stumbled across an old 1970s British TV show on Netflix that from the write-up sounds about 80% the same as my story idea -- a show I'd never even heard of, much less ever seen (it's now on my queue to watch, partly so that my story doesn't end up too similar to it, and partly because it could potentially be a great source of ideas).

So at the end of the day, worrying about how original or unique your setting is (or any other part of your story, for that matter) isn't really worth the stress, because it may well not be nearly as original as you think it is regardless. I think that C.S. Lewis quote really hits the nail on the head -- write what feels true to you, what works best for you.