Several months ago, as I scribbled down a rough concept for an upcoming book, an unpleasant thought hit me. My main characters and plot reminded me of a famous work of 19th century fiction. Horrified, I considered scrapping the idea and starting afresh. What if people judged my book as an inferior copy of a classic?
Unless it’s a deliberate retelling or reimagining, a lot of authors are terrified of using an idea that’s appeared in another book or movie. Every author wants to write a story that’s completely original. Nobody who slaves over a book for months wants readers to think of their work as hackneyed.
However, King Solomon, one of the wisest people who has ever lived, said there is nothing new under the sun. And that was nearly three thousand years ago! If there was nothing new then, I can imagine how much more true that is today.
When we write books, aren’t we all just recycling the same stories that have been around for years?
Consider this concept: a young orphan who lost his parents as an infant is living with his dull relatives. He dreams of a more exciting future, but it seems out of his reach. He’ll never get out of this boring backwater. A stranger suddenly appears, and the orphan learns he is the chosen hero, the world’s only hope to defeat a great evil. Along with a motley group of new friends and a wise mentor, the hero grows into his strength and conquers the evil overlord.
This description fits several stories, including two huge blockbusters: Star Wars: A New Hope and Harry Potter. And yet, despite their core similarities, these stories are very different.
On the one hand, I believe every story is an echo of something else. There are no entirely new stories. However, every author, with their unique voice, experiences and creative gift, can make a story fresh.
Someday I’d love to try a creative experiment with a group of Christian romance authors: everyone is given the same basic concept to run with and told to turn it into a full story of their own. I’m sure that, even within the same genre, there would be a rich variety of stories.
So, I’m going to carry on with my story idea that resembles a tale from Regency England. I won’t call it a “retelling.” Nor am I quite ready to say it was inspired by a particular novel. Hopefully, as I carry on fleshing out the characters and their story emerges, my God-given creativity will make it completely fresh, while still familiar.
Does it bother you if you read two stories that are similar or that remind you of something else? Let me know in the comments.
I write fiction that reflects my Christian faith. I love happy endings, heroes and heroines who discover sometimes hard but always vital truths, and stories that uplift and encourage. My family and I live in the east of England where we enjoy rambling in the countryside, reading good books and making up silly lyrics to our favorite songs.
Hi, Mila! I understand the concern about being unoriginal. However, I think it’s fair to compare the stories we create with people. We all, if we are healthy, have two eyes, a nose, two ears, a mouth, two arms, two legs and so on. Yet, look at the diversity we see in that basic framework. Tall, short, round, skinny, a rainbow of skin tones and hair colors. Beyond that we have all the differences in personalities, all in the same world of humans.
Since stories (especially romances) are centered around people and their relationships, it doesn’t take a great deal of imagination to see a whole world of stories coming from the same basic ideas. Just like the visual differences that come from about 0.02% of our DNA that determines the physical features that are so often claimed to divide us.
It might be useful, using your illustration, to see how the stories of Harry Potter and Luke Skywalker, for all their similarities, differ. There you will find a fresh view of what makes for freshness in storytelling.
Harry’s parents were killed by Voldemort. Luke’s father lived on in Darth Vader. The Star Wars universe lacks the thrill of Quidditch! Harry was an only child. Luke and Leia were twins. Ben and Rey were a diad in the force. While Emperor Palpatine and Voldemort were both evil, Voldemort was driven by immense insecurity and selfishness which led him to amass power. The emperor was driven by a desire for power which led him to use anyone and anything to gain it (thus appearing to care for none but himself).
I think perhaps the creativity of writing is not so much coming up with stories out of whole cloth but of taking the stories we know (whether we have read them or lived them) and shaping them to pass ideas (and, we hope, truths) to our readers.
I do not mind similar stories (unless they are almost identical with the names changed). I have a real soft spot for retellings of Cinderella and Beauty and the Beast. It’s fun to see how the same form can be dressed in new clothes.
So, have no fear to see your story echo past tales. Dress it in the clothes of a new century and a new context using all the creative gifts that God has bestowed. After all, He is really the only one who created ex nihilo. :-)
Thanks for yet another very thoughtful and encouraging post, Lincoln! You’re spot on about how the same basic framework can be covered in many different ways and convey a variety of ideas.
Not at all! In fact, if I really like a book or story, I’ll be happy to find others that are similar.
One of the things I like to do is find Christian or clean fantasy series, or Christian romances that are similar to secular books I read in my teens or even popular secular sagas now! It’s funny…I mean I’m not going to read some famous trilogy about an innocent girl who falls into the hands of a man with many traumas (I don’t need to read the books to know that they circulated all over the net for a while) but it sure would be interesting to see What would that look like in a Christian story? Maybe the traumatized millionaire found hope in God? maybe I created a ministry to help abused men? Or maybe he decided he could drag that poor student girl who seems so fearful and insecure with him to a Bible study.
I’m sure good girl bad boy stories are better when the bad boy ends up believing in God and the good girl doesn’t end up getting carried away with her crazy life. And let’s not start with how much fun Harry Potter would have been if it had a stronger Christian message like Narnia combined with the school for magic children. Perhaps Draco could have been like Edmund… both were just selfish and scared children, prisoners of envy and pride the difference is that one had forgiveness and the opportunity to redeem himself and the other did not (yes well… I have a weakness for stories like Edmund or Eustace in Narnia and I always thought that Draco envied Harry and never forgave him for not being his friend).
And I think Ron and Hermione would have benefited from learning about humility and how to treat your partner nicely without so much fighting or criticism.
Excellent points, Lilly! I’m especially encouraged to know that similarities in stories can be a strong point, since there’s a reason why certain stories resonate with so many readers. And you’ve got me pondering on how two stories may look similar, but have key differences in how the characters behave and grow. Thanks for your comment!
It doesn’t bother me and it might make me go back and reread the story to see how they are different. I am more interested in the story and if it pulls me in or if I can relate to it or the characters.
Thanks for your reply, Lori! Yes, I love an immersive story, too.
I’ve often wondered if authors had a hard time with a story line if they themselves read other authors’ books. It doesn’t bother me because it can be close to another story but still told in a different way with different nuances.
Thanks for your comment, Kathleen. I’ve heard some authors say they avoid reading because they don’t want other people’s stories in their heads. I’m the opposite and believe consuming a lot of other books is a vital part of my own creativity.
Your creative experiment would be so much fun! If only authors didn’t already have a mile-long list of stories they NEED to tell so that something like this could be coordinated. I agree – it would prove the point.
Ha ha, I know! We need more than one lifetime to get every story in our heads written.
I would enjoy taking your creativeexperiment if it ever happened😊. Thanks for writing!! I love to read
Reading , not taking, your experiment. I posted too quickly without proofreading. Lol
LOL, thanks Diana! I think it’s like when several artists paint the same view or landscape. Each one comes so different because the artists themselves are unique.
I actually enjoy reading about Austen or fairytale retellings. The only thing I wouldn’t be able to read is two retellings from the same subject in a row.
Looking forward to your story!
Thanks for your comment, Priscila. I’ve not read back to back Austen retellings, but I have binge watched different move and TV adaptations of her novels. So much fun!
not a fan of retellings
Thanks for your comment! Retellings are definitely not for everyone.
I’ve run across some books that were really similar in the stories they were telling, but it doesn’t usually bother me because each author puts their own spin on characters and you can get suffering things out of each story whether they’re similarly plotted or not.
Thanks for commenting, Megan! Glad to hear it doesn’t bother you to read stories that have similarities.
I liked the sound of your experiment too! It’s possible, once you work out the ‘bones’ of the experiment, that some authors may already have a story that fits the bill, which just means putting them all together in a set!
You just might be right, Margaret, ha ha! Thanks for your comment!
I don’t mind if there are similarities, but I do want much of the story to be fresh – to me at least.
The elements that make a story fresh are indeed crucial, especially since it’s hard to completely avoid sharing some similarities. Thanks for your comment, Mary!
It does not bother me at all. Everyone can see the same thing, but describe the situation completely different. Thank you for sharing. God bless you.
You’re absolutely right, Debra! You remind me of a model we learned when I was studying to be a journalist. It demonstrated how an event happens, but by the time somebody sees a news report about it, it’s gone through so many filters: the perspective of the reporter, the tools the reporter chooses to use, the details they leave out versus what they include, their own understanding of what’s happening… and so many other factors. So, as a result two reports about an event may be very different.
Until you made your point, I hadn’t connected that with fictional stories at all, but it makes complete sense. Thanks for your comment!
Everyone can see the same thing, but describe the situation completely different. It does not bother me at all. Thank you for sharing. God bless you.
Hi, yes I like retelling of stories.
Sometimes they’re done very well! Thanks for your comment.
No, I love stories that are like the same story or close to it.
Great to hear! Thanks for sharing your thoughts.
I’ve read many stories that sound very close a like & loved them
That’s encouraging to hear, Sylvain!
Go for it. I recall hearing imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, though the outline may be similar, I think you will bring a fresh perspective!
Thanks, Dianne. I sure hope so! At this stage I have only the barest of sketches done, so I pray by the time it’s fully written, it’ll only have a passing resemblance to anything else.
Hm… never thought about it.
I guess it would still be different 😁