Teenage Author Q & A: What if My Ideas Are the Same as the Books I Like?

We had a writing workshop in school a while back and it really inspired me to get back into writing again. But I always worry that my ideas might be following the ideas from other books too much. –Liam

Liam,
It’s always tough to come up with an original idea. With as many books as there are in print, there are pretty much no new ideas. But every year there are new bestsellers. Someone always comes up with something clever. If you catch yourself following a theme of a book you’re read, ask yourself what you can do to make your idea new and fresh. Brainstorm a different spin on the old idea.

For example, a while back I was sitting around feeling jealous about Suzanne Collins’ Hunger Games idea. I just kept thinking how brilliant it was and how she really came up with a new and fresh idea. But the more I thought about it, the more I came to see that the plot has been done before. It’s a gladiator fight to the death and a love triangle. But it’s the way she put those old plots together that makes it work so well.

So don’t worry that your idea has been done. Find a way to make it different and unique and you’ll be just fine.