So here's the next post. As promised, it's the one on originality. I should point out that, according to lots of people whom I don't know, there is very little left that is original these days, at least in the fantasy genre. What is there is brilliant authors taking the same basic elements and making something completely new and fresh with them. Dressing up old ideas in new clothing you might say, so that while the concept of magic wands, dark lords, etc etc have been done before, they haven't quite been done the same way every time. And that's good. That's how it should be, if only to avoid a plethora of authors throwing lawsuits at each other for unintentional plagiarism.
However, it does leave new authors who are struggling to break into the market with something of a problem. How do you come up with new ideas, or new clothing if you will, when everyone is trying to do the same.? How do you avoid unintentionally and unconsciously mirroring books that you've read and loved and which have stayed with you? I know when I was initially beginning to write my first project, I had to all but stop reading fantasy work and had a family member read over my work to check it for any obvious descent into the Wizarding World inhabited by Harry Potter. Some days, keeping Harry Potter out of my own work was more difficult than others, but I think overall I managed fairly well.
I think, however, that I've come up with the kernel of an idea. Something which, according to my fiancé who is much wider read in the world of fantasy than I am, has never been done before, or at least not quite in the fashion I'm proposing. Now I need to let it sit. Story ideas are, to me, like a good coffee - sometimes the best ones need to sit in the back of my mind and percolate for a bit while the idea takes full shape. And the best part? At least some of those random, disconnected ideas from the last post just might have found a home.
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