RTW: No Samesies Allowed?

Welcome to our 116th Road Trip Wednesday!

Road Trip Wednesday is a ‘Blog Carnival,’ where YA Highway's contributors post a weekly writing- or reading-related question and answer it on our own blogs. You can hop from destination to destination and get everybody's unique take on the topic.


We'd love for you to participate! Just answer the prompt on your own blog and leave a link in the comments - or, if you prefer, you can include your answer in the comments.

This Week's Topic:

What SNI (Super New Idea) were you psyched to work on, but discovered it was too close to something already done?

Honestly, I can't say that I've ever had this problem before, at least not in the way of me knowing it. I typically try not to make things like other things (and this involves a lot of "outside the brain" thinking), but I suppose if I did have to draw any lines of similarity between something of my own and something that had already been written, then it would probably be my story about demons. 

It's influenced by Cassandra Clare's Shadowhunters, but only protagonist-wise. The demons are entirely different and I also have a different backstory for how demons were created and how they interact with humans. There are angels involved as well, but not in the same way as in Clare's books. 

The similarities end there. My story isn't nearly as romance based as City of Bones and the rest of that series. I'm still working on it though, so the incidental samesies haven't discouraged me at all. I've found that having some things the same doesn't necessarily mean my ideas should be scrapped simply because that territory has already been covered. 

You can always bring something new to the table. That's what's so great about creativity and imagination. Those traits rise to the occasion and allow us to expand what is known into the unknown regions. It's the only way we can grow. 

We wouldn't have Harry Potter if it weren't for J. K. Rowling's persistence in writing Harry's story despite a lack of encouragement.

Besides, the success of a book is dependent on multiple things: the author, the editor, the publisher, and the readers. And then you have the booksellers and the reviewers. Even if your idea is somewhat similar to another previously published and possibly very successful book, that does not mean your idea won't be just as successful. Who knows, your book may just hit a better chord in the minds of readers. 

And what are the odds that your idea is going to be exactly the same as another one anyway? It's nearly improbable. There's always going to be some variation. And if that happens naturally, just imagine what you can accomplish if you put your mind toward developing differences. Radical idea, right? 

Until next time...