Originality Test!

Welcome to the Originality Test!

Here, you can post ideas on your characters/piece (I can only do stories for 'pieces', sorry)/etc and I or possibly other people tell you if it's:

Completely Original
Fairly Original
Or
Completely Unoriginal

All you you've gotta do is:
-Tell your idea (if you don't want to tell your idea, you can PM me)
-Tell how you got the idea (like, I saw a headline on the papers, or just came to me.)
-Tell me if you would like me to answer you in PM or publicly on this topic.

Just thought of this suddenly. It is a bit weird because most of you can easily tell whether it's original or not so yea.... But you can use this for what other people say if you want to.

The funny part about originality is it doesn't exist yet it is the only thing that exists.

Let me explain.

Stories have been told for thousands of years. In the tens of thousands range. There are only so many basic plots, character types, and events that can be strung together. Finding a combination that has never been done before is next to impossible. Therefore, true originality is next to impossible.

However, the way you tell a story is completely original, because you are completely original. Your own spin on those plots, characters, and events is what keeps people wanting to read your stories. You can take a horribly cliched idea and make it your own, but the fact it is your own only shows up after you've written and polished it. Ideas themselves can be really unoriginal, and look it on paper (especially in the concept stage) but once they get written and the twists that can only come from you get put in place, then the story is original.

One piece of writing advice I find myself giving time and again when reviewing ideas is to just write it. Twists come later. The character's voice comes later. Everything that makes a story breathe comes later. Don't worry if your concept has been done to death. Even if it has, you can still make something amazing.

Don't worry about originality and just write until your story is unmistakably yours. Because the only time you're unoriginal is when you're copying from somebody else.

"just write it. Twists come later. The character's voice comes later. Everything that makes a story breathe comes later"

So I guess I'm one of the 'planning ahead and most likey to stick with it kind of writer' :/ Lol.

But nice advice!

Yea, I did think this out of the blue, had the chance of the bad or the good. >.>

So, if you want, you can delete this topic because this is now completely useless and is taking up some space. :3

Even if you're a planning writer. Your plan will change after you've written the first draft. Your skill will increase as you write the first draft, so you will write a better second draft. The character will develop as you put them through the ringer of the story, and might end up drastically different as you realize how they react to situations. Reviewers will point out issues in your plan that you might not have seen, and will suggest things you may or may not get incorporated.

All stories go through this. Absolutely all of them. Experience in writing simply means you go through less drafts before the final product, with less drastic revisions. It can still happen, just less often.

Also, topics only get deleted if they're doubles. The advice will be here for anybody who clicks through.

Ok then!