Questions about Originality

[skip.knox]

I went back to the OP on this. As posted, it casts the net rather widely, with "originality" being applicable to plot, setting, character, and so on. Later in the thread, the focus seems to narrow down to invented objects, which gets covered by setting, of course.

The question posed was, is originality (regardless of how defined) a laudable goal? Is it overrated? Is there such a thing as too much for a single novel or series?

The answer to all those is sometimes yes and sometimes no, which doesn't feel especially helpful. Other answers tend to reduce to "yes if done well and no if not", which likewise is not helpful.

Is there any other sort of answer? Only, I suggest, in the particular. That is, only when the question is, here is something I have written, do you find the "original" parts of it help or hinder the story? By "original" here I leave room for all the perspectives and definitions that have been tossed about on this thread.

I'm not convinced asking leading questions like that is necessarily a good thing when talking with beta readers or editors (not convinced it's necessarily bad, either), but it's the best I can do. To put it another way, speaking in generalities will almost always focus more on definitions than on practical writing advice, while talking about specifics is only randomly helpful to anyone but the author. At the same time, it's the peculiar magic of human beings in forums that all kinds of discussion can spark all sorts of insights in the most unexpected places, even years after the thread has gone quiet.

 

[Incanus]

Well, it’s pretty clear I’d make a terrible lawyer, right? Indeed, I’m not much of a social media personality, and I’m the first to say that many of my posts are of questionable quality or usefulness. It doesn’t seem like something I should offer apologies for as I didn’t intentionally set out to annoy or cause problems or waste time. Perhaps internet forums just aren’t my bag, and this site might run a little smoother without my presence. Who knows?

I’ve been working with a large number of ‘custom inventions’ in my WIP, and I’m struggling with getting it all across in the narrative. It made me wonder about what kinds of things other writers are inventing for their stories, or if they eschew that kind of thing. I thought we could compare experiences. That was apparently the wrong thing to wonder about out loud, or if it wasn’t wrong, I went about it the wrong way. I’m not going to get worked up about it.

If it is a waste of time, then by all means let the thread die out.

Anyway, custom inventions aren’t necessarily all about setting. I’m taking a break on my WIP and working on a long-ish short story. The initial idea (and custom invention) was about the main character. I wanted to tell a story from the POV of a homunculus familiar, and writing it in first-person so the character tells his story in his own words. A homunculus is not my invention, to be sure, but having one as the main protagonist and POV character is certainly unusual, if not unique. Everything else in the story flows from that central concept.

 

[pmmg]

At the same time, it's the peculiar magic of human beings in forums that all kinds of discussion can spark all sorts of insights in the most unexpected places, even years after the thread has gone quiet.

That is one of the unstated oddities of posting things up in the forums, is sometimes i look back into our history, and I see what other great members have said, and I sometimes want to reply, as if I could speak to them again. Those members, when they posted were speaking to the people that were present then and there, but also they were speaking across time to the people here and now and did not even know it. It if strange to me sometimes to be quoted years after I had posted something. Fortunately, I am mostly consistent. They could ask me now, and my answer might be still mostly the same.

 

[Devor]

The question posed was, is originality (regardless of how defined) a laudable goal? Is it overrated? Is there such a thing as too much for a single novel or series?

The answer to all those is sometimes yes and sometimes no, which doesn't feel especially helpful. Other answers tend to reduce to "yes if done well and no if not", which likewise is not helpful.

I thought about answering again in those kinds of terms, but n'ehh, I think I'd rather repeat a framework I used earlier.

An idea has four qualities:
- Purpose in the story
- Freshness
- Personality: the you factor
- Mental weight on readers, often exposition

I think that freshness factor is absolutely worth pursuing. But it's not always the same as being original. To me original sounds like, "well my magic sword is called elecscaliber and electrocutes people who aren't worthy to be the hero." I mean, an idea can originate with me and still feel familiar, old, stale. That happens all the time.

If you're looking for that fresh factor, I think it helps to think on the right level of abstraction. I don't want just another magic sword. I want a magic sword that plays a role in the story that a magic sword doesn't normally do. That difference can be large or small. In my story the magic sword was designed to help one disciplined fairy keep the crazier fairies in check. Much of what it actually does is familiar to a magic sword, but that different role in the story plays out in small differences that feel fresh, or at least fresh enough for what I need it for. Starting with that slight abstraction, of how am I playing with this magic sword, helps to prompt fresh new ideas in the details.