Learning to cope with what I call "Writers Complex"

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   mizzjanique29posted 14 years ago

   When I first started to write i noticed that I always had the feeling that I just had to hurry up and write my story before someone else did, thinking that someone may have had the same idea that i was having for a story and I wanted to be the first one to get it down on paper.
   
   This way of thinking really had me full of anxiety so i finally figured out how to cope with that feeling....THINK OUTSIDE THE BOX; i write about things that one can't hardly imagining have happen, and it seems to help a lot not to mention makes for a fantastic read:)
   
   If a writer writes about everyday situations the more likely that you will run into a story so similar to yours that it may be scary. But that is just my thought on this subject hmmm...I wonder does any one else out there suffer from Writers Complex???

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   Rafiniposted 14 years ago

   For a long time I was worried about joining a writing site or a writers group because I thought if I shared my story ideas someone would take my idea.  But then I realized everyone has their own voice - even if the plot is similar, the story will be different because it will have been written from a different point of view.  Even knowing this, I still worry about it sometimes.    Paranoia?  Perhaps, but I like to think of it as being cautious.

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      mizzjanique29posted 14 years agoin reply to this

      that is just how i used to feel....I'm glad I'm not the only one who has felt this way thanks:)

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         Rafiniposted 14 years agoin reply to this

         I think the most important thing to remember is - The words you choose to use are your and yours alone, that is what differentiates you from the rest.

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   AdeleCosgroveBrayposted 14 years ago

   My writers group, Riverside Writers, sets a monthly project which encourages each member to create a short story or poem from the same starting point.  That starting point might be a location, a first or last line, a title, a photograph or a specific group of randomly-chosen objects. 
   
   We've been doing this for around four years now.  Not once has anyone produced the same story, or even an especially similar story.

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   Bill Manningposted 14 years ago

   Trust me, whatever you write about it already has been written on the net hundreds of times already. So it's a moot point really.
   
   All you can do is write the subject in your own way, thereby making it unique in your own way. Relax.

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   CkhoffmanKposted 14 years ago

   I'm the same way, but then I realized there are no truly original ideas when it comes to writing. I know that's a jaded thought, but most "basic" themes have been done already.
   
   Now, everything is a different slant of the same thing, creating subgenres of their own...
   
   
   I feel this way when I write my novels -- like someone else may have had the same idea -- I just gave up on that notion. My ideas may not be 100% original (as nothing is anymore,) but they're good ones nonetheless and my writing voice will be what makes my mark.

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      Amie Warrenposted 14 years agoin reply to this

      I feel that way when writing articles, like everything is already out there, and what is the use of trying to write it some different way?  Everything I know about has been writtten thousands of times. What will make mine different? 
      
      When will the internet actually be saturated by the same knowledge written by a million different people? Is it all just web clutter?

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   Jaggedfrostposted 14 years ago

   something that I have found that has taken the shadows out of my eyes is a certain amount of introspection.  I started to question my core and establish how I wanted to think and believe and what i actually felt on many subjects that i latter found were heavily influenced by other voices but that i had never thought to question their origin before.  As i became more attached emotionally and mentally to my internal universe I noticed that my writing voice became a thing that could be easily seen as my fingerprint.  I became my authentic self and in a way original.  So long as i write from that perspective, there isn't much chance anyone can copy my voice regardless of what external information they may have.

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      allisonaaposted 14 years agoin reply to this

      the instructor in my playwrighting class explained it pretty simply--it's not the story, it's the plot--the sequence of events you choose in telling a story. as an excercise in a screenwriting class, he gives all students the same story and they must then plot it. says that never have any 2 come back with the same thing or even remotely close.

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         Amie Warrenposted 14 years agoin reply to this

         That's fascinating. I would have never thought that. I would have thought that at least two people would have had very close to the same plot.

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   Disturbiaposted 14 years ago

   I've never felt any of that type of anxiety.  Probably because I'm not a professional writer.  I started writing while in therapy so I write about me, my life, and my feelings.  I'm pretty sure nobody else has lived my life, but I know my experiences are by no means unique.  I also know that nobody else is going to tell their story in exactly the same way as I'm going to tell mine.

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      Amie Warrenposted 14 years agoin reply to this

      I know what you mean. My blog, very new, seems very zen to me, but it's just me telling how I cope with life after all I've been through, and what I learned from it. 
      
      I thought I was just another "starter wife", but it turns out that all starter wives have a different story and a different way of dealing with the betrayal.

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   Novelty Fictionposted 14 years ago

   The Original Poster has made a good point - namely about wanting to write something truly unique. There are lots of writers who will settle for less, and a new approach to a common topic or a unique voice can also make for an interesting read. I think the quest for novelty is very much worthwhile.

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   Anna Marie Bowmanposted 14 years ago

   Bill Manning is right.  There is really nothing new under the sun.  Even my very personal hub on the death of my sister, someone else has written something, somewhere on teen drinking.  Does that make what I wrote any less valid, or any less important?  Of course not!  Don't stress too much about writing something totally unique.  As long as what you write comes from you, it will be unique.  Because unless you are copying content from somewhere else and just pasting it up here, it will be unique, it will be different, because of the person writing it.  I don't think about it too much.  I write what I want, about what I want, and I let the readers decide what to read.

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