Originality is overrated

Writing a book isn’t an original idea. Books have been vehicles of change for over 500 years. What you write in your book could be new, but you and I know you probably borrowed some of those ideas too.

It is very difficult to have a completely original idea. That doesn’t happen much anymore. You borrow the best parts of other people’s ideas and repackage them into something new.

If your work is good, people will copy it. That’s okay, as long as credit is given to the artist who created it.

Understand there is a difference between someone who writes (or paints or tweets) and artists though.

Writers write what they are told to write or what sells. Or worse, they try to write what readers want to hear. Writers write when they are in the mood.

Artist, on the other hand, work to do something bold and daring. They challenge the status-quo. They write when they feel like writing and when they don’t. They strain the work to change the recipient. And, most importantly, they give it away generously. Artist are out there doing the impossible, making something that has never been done before in a world that isn’t original anymore.

It is okay to write like your heroes but at some point, we need to hear your insights and your twist on the work that has come before us. We need your genius.