I firmly agree: there are no original ideas, only original perspectives. Excellent insights! I remember having many of these insecurities in my early days of writing.
Ideas are cheap. Writing is hard! Preach it. The best stories are not grand ideas, but they are told it in a grand way. Edit: Alexa, I have watched your videos - all of them I think - and it has been a long journey. You are an amazing individual! I sub to many, many on various platforms, but you are the only one on my Bucket List to meet some day. I could not admire you more. Thank you for all the hard work in making these seemingly simple presentations. You are so generous with yourself.
@@wolkcumulus2547 Obviously perspective must be considered and I absolutely love the rich, full story of the Lord of the Rings. But, let's be honest, neither the Lord of the Rings or the Hobbit would make it to market in their traditional form. All of the books are a hard read, filled with inconsistencies and plot holes. They fail the Bechdel test in what has to be one of the most egregious ways. In the entire work, there are just three women. No two never talk to each other. Of the three only two ever talks and it is about men, the third says nothing at all but is only referenced. The story is a simple one, not grand. It involves the plot device, McGuffin. But, it is told in the grandest of ways. It is told in a way that we do not care that the plot is so simple, because the art of story telling is so intricate that we forget that Lord of the Rings is just a road trip plot in the same vein as Toy Story, Wild Hogs or Pee Wee's Big Adventure. Samwise Gamgee states the case for the Lord of the Rings being a simple story told in a grand way: “It's like in the great stories, Mr. Frodo. The ones that really mattered. Full of darkness and danger they were. And sometimes you didn't want to know the end. Because how could the end be happy? How could the world go back to the way it was when so much bad had happened? But in the end, it’s only a passing thing, this shadow. Even darkness must pass. A new day will come. And when the sun shines it will shine out the clearer. Those were the stories that stayed with you. That meant something, even if you were too small to understand why. But I think, Mr. Frodo, I do understand. I know now. Folk in those stories had lots of chances of turning back, only they didn’t. They kept going, because they were holding on to something. That there is some good in this world, and it's worth fighting for.” The last line tells us what Lord of the Rings is all about.
I'm glad you brought up "your first draft isn't going to be perfect, get over it and then edit it". I've started a novel and I'm having a hard time continuing to write it because my writing is so terrible right now and I hate it... but I've been writing anyways. You can't edit something that doesn't exist. Thanks for the encouragement and the "harsh truth"! I needed to hear it today.
The good thing is, the more you write, the better you become. You can do it! Also, if you can find a writers' group in your area, they can be very helpful.
bd I agree. Whenever I feel stuck because I don't know how to write the next part (which I can feel terror about) , I sit down and write something/anything. If it doesn't even get close to the mark, I can always rewrite it later. At least something is on the page.
#1: My friend showed me a scene and a novel idea that inspired me. I re wrote that scene, added scenes of my own, and even depended heavily on the plot she explained to me. And then showed her. She thought it was my own ideas. Even if someone literally steals your characters and plot, they'll quickly go down a completely different path you won't even recognize it. Stealing ideas isn't stealing stories. (Ps: don't hate me btw. I showed that to no one else, it was just an experiment)
if the author that you "stole" from themselves doesn't see their own work in the thing your work after you add to it, then congrats! You just successfully used it as inspiration. We do it passively all the time with the things we read, and while directly doing it can be very risky (you don't have the luxury of forgetting some stuff then) it's no less valid when done correctly.
Musicians have a quote about this aswell: "Everything is a remix". Also, reminds me of a lengthy quote from the artist, Grimes, where she compared art-making to how AI is being built. That artists are essentially feeding an AI, this library/history/hub of art from time past to time forever, and that one artist's work is inspired (consciously or not) by what came before and will subsequently become an inspiration for future artists same way. Basically, our work is never just our work in the first place, from inception to even after us. I clearly suck at explaining; I just really like how she put it so ya'll just check out the interview the quote came from. I believe it's from where she talked about that AI-powered lullaby she helped curate.
While I know there are no original ideas, I have always worried that my story is too similar to a book already written and people will think it was ME who stole. But, lately I haven't worried so much.
I'm worrying about this now 😭 I had a supernatural/fantasy story almost fully conceptualized- I knew I wanted it to start as an urban fantasy but I was struggling with the transition. i got inspiration on how to connect the two ideas from other book but I'm afraid it's too similar. because this book and my story are both fantasy/supernatural some of the rules of the world/abilities/powers/magic overlaps. so I'm worried that even though most of my ideas weren't inspired by this book, it might seem like a rip-off. but I really love the story so I figure I should finish a rough draft and see how to make it more "unique" then 🤷🏻♀️
What’s fun is to go through a story, either yours or someone else’s, and take just about any aspect from it and figure out what the inspiration for that idea was. It might be a lot harder if it wasn’t written by someone you know well, but you can figure out the roots of just about any aspect. However, the execution and unique combination will, if done right, be worthwhile and “original”.
You know I thought of something else of why some aspiring authors struggle with writing and maybe perfectionism in writing. Like and/or/reply if you relate to this. It seems like books that go on to become movie adaptations, media franchises, and maybe even theme park attractions really increases the book/books popularity and sales. So now probably everyone is all familiar with characters and cconcepts from them. So now any aspiring author when they happen to write anything that is remotely similar to that media franchise gets this feeling of guilt and envy. Especially when they actually encounter any piece of media from that franchise. Whether it be a book, toy, costume, website, concept art ect. Even if they make their stories very different just the basic premise alone would probably be enough to have people consider it to be a rip off. This may also cause these feelings of guilt or anxiety to be even stronger.
re: "Sacred Piece of Art" My grandpa was a professional artist, and my dad ran an art gallery. Even artists face criticism, and their pieces are consumer products. It's very similar to writing, except artists don't get editors to make things look good. If the work of art comes out crappy, it just never gets bought because it doesn't appeal to anyone. My grandpa threw away or painted over so many things he'd done, you'd be shocked. We can edit. Artists just trash it and start over. (Digital art is different, of course. That can be edited, like writing. But, that's where my experience is lacking, since my grandpa didn't start playing around with digital art until about five years before his death, and he was in and out of the hospital a lot in that period. He never made a satisfying transition to digital art.)
Oh man, on the ideas front: I once got threatened with legal action in a writing group for "stealing his copyright" and "copying his work" that I had never even heard of. What I was "stealing"? Humans with wings. Literally just the common interpretation of angels. First off, I was 14 and definitely not profiting off my writing anytime soon. And since I was 14, I was much less polite so when he said "are we going to have a problem here?" all I said was "no, YOU have a problem" and blocked him hsjdhdjhd
Another issue: Perfectionism. That has kept me from finishing books in the past. I would focus so much on editing, and editing, and editing that I never finished anything. Honestly, it took participating in Nanowrimo to make me realize I just need to finish the damn book and then edit.
Yes to this video!! I always cringe when aspiring authors talk about stealing ideas and editors forcing you into a new story completely. I’ve had 7 editors over 12 books and none of them have made anything more than suggestions for me to change... if I wanted. I hope aspiring writers will be able to take a breath and realize that these things don’t really exist and they write the books of their hearts because Im ready to read them! :0)
I am an amateur writer and I confess that I do worry about someone stealing my "genius ideas." I also have a tough time with criticism. Intellectually, I know it's part of getting better as a writer, but emotionally, I have a tough time dealing with negative or unenthusiastic feedback. I often think I manufacture other fears to avoid finishing projects and having to share my work. Great video as always.
I've been the moderator of a writers' group for over ten years and have seen a lot of people bring their stories to life. The one woman who stays in my mind was the one who came in and was so proud she had written a novel, but she was crushed to find out it needed a lot of work. I met with her privately and tried to explain to her that she had a really good first draft and that any criticism she got from us was meant to help make her book the best it could be. I really tried to encourage her, but she said she'd have to take some time to think about it. Alas, she never returned. It made me sad because I think she had real potential.
I am a perfectionist and a Type-A, but I am giving myself and my novel the space to be imperfect. Since I want to be traditionally published and know that an editor is going to tear it apart, I'm trying to be kind and clean up what i can but keep it moving. I'm hoping to be finished before NaNoWriMo.
I start writing my third book like 2 years ago. I'm 18 y.o. so you all can imagine that a story writed by a 13 years old is quite bad, so I consider this one as my frist fanfiction ever. I'm soooo scared about that, I want that to be perfect and I'm terrorised about the bad reviews that I probably gonna get. Sometimes I feel like I'm never gonna finish it because of that, because of my fear of faliure and all my paranoid toughts. But since I find your channel (about two weeks ago) I feel so much better, I feel like my fears are quite normal and my obsessive ideas are common in all the new writer. *THANK YOU* if I finish this book is also thank to you! (Sorry for my bad english, I'm italian.)
I found this really helpful, thank you! I'm of the 'if it's not perfect instantly then I won't continue' tribe, and I hate myself for it. Hearing that it's a thing for other people too really helps me to kick my own ass into gear.
Ideas are cheap! I love how you put this because I have personally over-worried about original ideas. It isn't the idea but the execution that makes it yours. I also want to say thank you because you are the main reason I started writing. I had so many ideas stuck in my head and no way to express them, but I watched one of your videos and it gave me the push to start. So far, it is only fanfiction, but I feel so much more free now that I can create the scenes that have been locked away for years. I still have a lot of issues to work on, but I'm continuously getting better. So, thank you.
1) I think a lot of it isn't that ideas will be stolen, but the worry of being plagiarised. 2 & 3) I'm 25 and have since let go of "originality" and perfectionism, it's probably why I never finished my first novel when in college/highschool (around age 18 ish). 4 & 7) The right agent will be found eventually. 5) Probably connected to control/perfectionism... 6) It's going to happen, not everyone will like it (and as you said, readers don't care - and reviews are written by readers for readers; not the author). ----- As always, love your videos and open honesty about an author's reality. 🙂 I'm currently writing my second novel/fourth idea.
Yeah. I find it hilarious how much emphasis school puts on plagiarism. Yes you should not plagiarism other people’s writing because yes that’s wrong. However when I was in school they were very specific on not even plagiarizing yourself. I get not taking a 5th grade assignment and submitting it as a 7th grade assignment without any changes but editing is a thing.
"Your idea is not that original, and it's the execution that matters most" - In most cases that is true. But at the same time, this approach can lead to mediocrity. If a writer is not even TRYING to come up with an original idea, because he or she believes that "everything has been done before", and that "all I can do is rearrange familiar tropes in a slightly different way", then this writer will produce mediocre books. Same goes with the notion that "your book is a commercial product". Yes, it is a commercial product. But if we don't even aspire for our books to be more than that, then we will produce cookie cutter books, which will quickly be forgotten.
This is relieving to hear that I'm essentially approaching this practically, because the only one as a novice I am ever truoped up about is originality, or the fear of being predictable or not engaging with my craft. If this is a normal worry that needs no worrying, and ha ing the green light to dive in, I'm so there. All the rest, if I follow through is all a part of the process. 💜💜💜
I'm somewhat proud of negative reviews. For instance, they said that after reading two paragraphs it immediately raised several questions. the protagonist seemed delusional from the beginning, etc. Lack of answers to these questions was crucial to the plot. Protagonist was delusional. It happens to all my books. On the other hand, even editors miss every important thing. Like, "this character lacks characterization, she could be read as a devil incarnation or an innocent victim". That's _the_ _idea_
My biggest worry is probably the fact that I hold my favourite author's work up on a pedestal and whenever I read my own writing I end up just giving up. I always feel like my writing will never be as good as her's and I still kinda don't think it will be. It's gonna take a while to get past that, I bet.
I constantly see people worrying about stolen ideas and it always kills me because then those people don't get betas or CPs and their work suffers for it. I definitely agree that ideas are cheap. What I always say when people ask me about getting CPs because they're afraid of having their story stolen is "no one can write your story like you can." Because two people with the same basic idea for a story will always come out with two very different things. Hoping your video inspires those people to go out and grab those invaluable betas and CPs!
I remember when I first started writing I was chatting with a friend online who wanted to share about the book she was writing and my mom was like, "You should tell her she shouldn't be sharing her idea in public like that, and don't you share yours!" Since then, I've learned exactly what you said, that ideas where cheap, writing is hard. Thanks for the great videos!
It is like executing software some that do something and it is worth protecting yourself in it's just a matter of who you send your work to you should be looking at what do they have a complete novel do you think it's good if they seem like a pretty good put together author good material they don't need to steal your work.
This video came right on time. I completed writing a book last year and have sent it out to some agents and publishers and have been rejected so far. I know it happens, but it really got to me and I decided to write a new book and I'm guilty of going back to the beginning to rewrite the intro lol. This was a good reminder to keep going and to go back and edit later. Thanks!
How is your platform on youtube not bigger-bigger? Binge watched your videos while playing games, while writing, while driving, while cooking. Good shit. A+. Bravissima! Subscribed!
that first worry has always been a big one of mine, and the funny thing is i actually accidentally came across an older book series not too long ago with a pretty similar plot/MC as mine. female MC with a male twin, same goal and same challenge, and both with a historic/fantasy setting. my heart dropped into my stomach when i discovered it. for a little while, i was actually pretty devastated. it felt simultaneously like my idea had been stolen, and also like i was a plagiarizer. i almost even wanted to drop everything i'd been working on for the past two years. but i'm glad i didn't, because upon reading a more in depth summary, i realized that those few aspects were really where the similarities began and _ended._ they start at the same general point, but diverge in completely opposite directions for the rest of her series and my WIP. that's really where the execution really comes into play. there is nothing new under the sun, i've always believed this even before i found that book series with similarities to mine. no idea is truly genuine, someone has probably already thought of it before. it's your perspective and your voice that makes a story unique/original. and it was this belief that ultimately helped me really get over having found that older sibling book series to mine. they may have similarities, but they aren't the same, and i love my story not for the more cliche aspects of the plot (that i always knew were not especially original), but for the unique perspective i bring to it and the voice i have as a writer, and so will others! people are happy to read the same type of plot over and over when it's something they like, i do it too as a reader! so we as writers should never worry about our idea being stolen or our plot not being original enough, since there's no such thing as an original idea anymore. just write. put your heart into it, and create something you can be proud of. there will always be an audience for you who feels the same about your work!
My biggest writing fears... One of them is that I'm not professional-quality good at writing. Writing with a partner in mind that will reply anywhere between an hour and a week is one thing, writing with you playing all the hats is another. My execution will fail. Another fear I have is that my ideas aren't interesting, that I'm too green to write anything people will like or it will be too childish or simplistic for the category I want to write for. Or that people will just accuse me of copying a popular author or media and call me a hack.
These are fears I share. We do have options to improve our writing though, 5 ideas: 1) Write fanfic. As hacky as it might seem to older writers, it is actually a legitimately good way to get feedback on your style at the same time as practice. (This is something I've been doing to try and at least learn how to better construct dialogue; you learn a lot just by practicing the writing itself, knowing you will have an audience.) 2) Get a beta-reader early. As soon as you aren't _just_ writing for yourself that can make it easier. 3) Actually co-write something. Even if it's just a short story it will be good practice. Besides, there are plenty of authors that co-publish books. (It's easier to generate ideas if you have someone to bounce them back and forth, the downside is if you disagree.) 4)Take a writing workshop. Workshops are something even pro-writers need, and it could be a seriously good way to learn about your style, and you'd get advice from a person who works professionally with writing. 5) Read books critically to learn craft. Artists look at art to deconstruct how something was painted/drawn/made, and authors can do the same. Looking at a book to see what it's doing with the writing is a skillset-- a learnable one. I'm trying to do as many of those as I can to get better, but I thought given that our fears are similar I thought maybe some of my solutions could also be helpful to you. Cheers!
I also think people forget that alot of stories, especially ones they love, just so happen to be inspired from another story, that is told from another story. What I am saying is many ideas are inspirations of another's work, whom ideas touched that person's mind, and whom takes it and use it in their own lores.
God I can relate to that. Im writing a fantasy Norse novella. HTTYD was actually my inspiration for it, which i'm really ashamed of. But I came up with up my own ideas which really wasn't hard. Its was really easy and fun. And my story contains a lot of references to Norse mythology and culture. And I learned a whole of that stuff. 1. My stories just about fighting dragons, and not riding/training 2. There is no dragon my protagonist befriends. There was for a long time in development. But in late September 2021 I got rid of it. So now the dragons are truly the villains and thats it. 3. Theres no love interest. YES theres a female character but the two off them are frenemies in a way. My protagonist has NO desire for a love interest. The two of them do become friends. These are just a few examples of how my story is different. That movie "Jack the Giant Slayer" from 2013 is what really inspired the basic plot of my book. That and also Beowulf, and Sigurd. These are heroes from Norse/Germanic mythology and they both killed dragons. Not to mention there are a couple kids out there involving vikings and dragons and not just HTTYD. Besides there are these Lego Viking Dragon battle sets from like 2005. On top of that i've seen clip art of vikings and dragons all over images.So seeing all that makes me feel better about what i'm doing. But when ever I accidentally see anything HTTYD related I feel guilty that I might be ripping it off even though my plot is very different. I've never read anything of the HTTYD books by the way. I saw the first movie, but not the others. I didn't really watch the show, play the games, ware the costumes or collect the merchandise. I think its the worst when I look and read other viking stories and watch short films about Vikings. I like a few of them. And I always get this voice in my head saying: "Your wasting your time. These are good characters and stuff. Why did you throw it all away for a set up thats been done already, and done well as its super popular. And has a fanbase and media franchise. You have good ideas, you could've made a totally new story instead of dragons. Shame on you. I think this might be the biggest cause for my perfectionism. I keep editing scenes, adding more chapters or action sequences, or plot points, just to make my book seem like its own thing. That way when people read it, they wont say "hey this is a rip off of HTTYD. I don't care what happens in it, and I don't care about the plot. Just it being about vikings and dragons is all it needs to be a rip off."😭😕😩😣😖😞😓
I need to remember the saying 'write now, edit later.' I get in a writing flow, and then I stop for whatever reason, and when I come back to my writing, I read over what I had and start to want to edit it, or say it isn't good enough.
I think the advice about the theoretical agent thing really hit home - I'm a multi-genre and age group writer who started off in YA but am preparing to query an adult rom-com in the next few months and I've been worried about agents that don't represent both YA and A. Thank you so much for this. I've been on like a 3 hour video haul and your videos are incredibly enlightening and inspiring. Thank you for being so real and taking time out of your busy schedule to do this for us.
im a perpetrator of number 4. i constantly procrastinate by doing industry research, making lists and spread sheets, wondering about what i'd write in my query... ugh.
To be honest, I kind off had a scare today about author platform and marketing. Then your comment on the fantasy of after really brought me back down to Earth. So, I wanted to say thank you for helping me out
The first couple of points had me feeling goood about myself because I don't think I'm guilty of those. Then you said this about the perfect first draft, and particularly sending out the first couple of chapters for review and waiting before pressing onward, which is exactly what I've been doing the last month or so (Open mouth worried face emoji)
Fear of being copied is the same in other types of art, too. Beginner illustrators don't want to post bc they're afraid their work will be stolen. But in that field, it's almost 100% certain that if you're any good, your work will be reposted and "stolen" insofar as it's posted on other sites. But guess what? We just have to deal with it. If you're good, you can consistently produce good work, whether it's art, literature, etc. and you need to be confident to do that.
Omg as soon as you said someone is gonna steal ur idea. You literally just described me, I worry about all of this stuff. I wuz like. This is me. Oh dear. I’ve been worrying for no reason And like whenever I ask a friends or someone to read one of my stories, I’ll always tell them. Do not lie to me! Tell me everything negative about it and don’t say it’s amazing because you don’t wanna hurt my feelings Tell me the truth about what you really think about it. Even if it does sound mean. It’ll be worth it in the end
My fear of traditional publishing isn’t really rooted in fear of someone asking me to change my book through constructive criticism, but in the fear that publishers will do to me what was done to L.J. Smith. She wrote The Vampire Diaries series and, from what I understand, she wasn’t following the story they had envisioned and, because of how her contract was set up, they were able to fire her and hire a ghostwriter to finish her series with their vision. She ended up having to write fan fiction of her own series. I understand that this isn’t common, but it hit me hard when I realized that the books that ended that series weren’t even hers.
I used to have trouble comparing my writing to that of similar authors. (I am still to this day stuck at one place reading one particular book due to my discouragement.) But then I tried out a different series I had heard of of similar genre, the writing was laughably bad at points, but I loved every minute of it. It gave me renewed confidence in my own writing, as well as teaching me two lessons. 1: My writing does not have to be perfect to get published or be enjoyable. And 2: My writing is better than a book that actually got published. So keep your confidence up, people!
Totally agree with your about everything in this. Adding onto #1, worrying about your idea sounding like another story's loose concept is unfounded as well. While someone's idea might sound like something that another writer tackled, they should still write it. Two different author's will always have completely different takes on a similar concept. Stephen King's Little Mermaid would be different then Neil Gaiman's. My way of tackling a prompt will be different than yours. There are no original ideas. Reality is that someone else might've tackled a similar idea as your before. As long as your work is distinctly yours and you don't copy the other person's work beat for beat, you should be fine.
Great video! I agree and it's nice to hear these reassurances from someone with more experience. However, the only thing I disagree with is that I don't think it's fair to assume that if someone is worried about editors changing their work in a major way or pressuring them into making changes they don't agree with, that that author can't handle criticism. There's a big difference between not being willing to hear anything negative about your work or change anything, and being worried about someone pressuring you to completely transform your work into something totally different. I think most authors wouldn't want someone to change their book completely, or pressure them, but that doesn't mean they are unwilling to make any changes or look at their work critically.
Looking too far ahead is something I'm guilty of. I'm writing a YA graphic novel but I am nervous about eventually querying agents and publishing companies that are solely YA. But I think I'll put that worry to the side and just focus on the now. Thank you for this video. I didn't know I needed it until I was watching it.
I have a friend who's so worried about having her idea stolen that she literally makes people sign an NDA. With the "they'll make me change my story," the only things that I'd consider dealbreakers are things that would fundamentally change the book, and it would be a lot simpler for a publisher to just buy someone else's book in the first place. I'm not a particularly voicey writer, and nobody's going to fall in love with my prose style.
I used to worry about people stealing my ideas, but I now realise it's unfounded - at least when it comes to basic storylines and characters. But I am currently working on something that has a very unusual structure, and a massive reveal at the end... to be honest, I'm not really worried about idea-stealing, but I AM worried about word getting out about my 'big twist' ending, because it could spoil the surprise for readers before I've even got published. That's probably equally silly of me, but that's how I feel.
Yeah, I do keep certain things close to the vest, which is why I offered the caveat! So with Brightly Burning, for example, I kept "Jane Eyre in space" a secret until I was submission ready--I didn't want anyone to get a jump on the premise, which is unique in terms of the combination of ideas. And with my thriller, I'm keeping my twist quiet because it's juicy and I don't want another YA thriller writer to take it. So some ideas ARE worth protecting... but when you're at the earlier stages, the most basic top level ideas aren't that sacred :)
I use to write years ago. I quit because I raised my daughter. I’m not looking for myself to be some famous writer. I write and read because it gives me emotional stability. This last week I’ve begun writing ✍️ and listening to audiobooks ( I prefer Earnest Hemingway) while cleaning. I’ve been waking up feeling so awesome 😎. I’m probably never going to try to publish anything. Although if I could eventually pay a couple months of rent a year and go with a pen name that may work for me. I like your videos.
I've had a story I've been trying to write since literally 3rd grade (2003 that's longer ago than it sounds) and I'm such a perfectionist that it's never gotten past the second chapter. Your advice definitely has inspired me a lot to just write the damn book already.
Thank you, Alexa. I just came back from RWA in NYC and Harlequin Heartwarming asked for a complete manuscript submission. I thank you for this video. It has helped me a lot.
well, I believed exactly what you say, since a creative writing classmate of mine stole my character and wrote a novel out of her, while he knew that I was working for a 6-book series for more than 10 years. He didn't even tell me and I thought we were friends. I am happy that I didn't give him more specifics on my character otherwise I would have to pay him royalties or go to court. What hurts more is that he fucked up my character, stupidly simplifying it for a book that wasn't even good.
The Book, "How to Read Literature Like a Professor," by Thomas C. Foster was one of the most influential books I was introduced to in High School. Initially it ruined literature for me! Honestly though, it was more helpful than anything else. It was the first time I realized how every story is the same. It might be rearranged differently, but essentially, all writers borrow from each other. It was a relief in settling some of the fears I have in writing. It echoes a lot of your points Alexa!
I think my biggest worry, which you said doesn't matter, is breaking into the industry. I haven't even finished writing my book yet and getting into the industry is a worry that is holding me back. If I knew about some resources to teach me how or ways to break in would be a big help and knowing that it's even possible, would help motivate me to write.
It doesn't matter now. It will matter later, but if you don't have a manuscript to work with, it won't matter. If that makes sense? You can't really navigate breaking into the industry until you have a completed manuscript--you have to prove you can write one, and edit it, and then do it again. Well, hi, I am a resource :) I have many videos on the industry that should help! I also recommend subreddits like reddit.com/r/pubtips. And then my big tip for people is to follow industry accounts on Twitter and pay attention to threads, hashtags, articles, etc. Follow agents who rep authors you like, look at the #MSWL tag or #tenqueries (the hashtags for agents reviewing queries varies), follow Publisher's Weekly and read some of the articles, etc. I followed industry people and read blogs for years before I was ready with a manuscript. It did help me, but I also do think I wasted some time on it... but oh well!
Get out of my mind, you mind reader you! The monumental task ahead of me was threatening to overwhelm my project before it got traction, and your insights make me feel so much better. Thank you!
See, I'm scared to write a novel because what if it's absolutely terrible? Not the "Oh you're a new author just finding their style and learning the craft" type of terrible, but the "Ya writing just isn't for you, no amount of practice can save this train wreck" type. The thing is though, I'll never know until I at least try. I wish I could see my full potential before putting the work in 😔
There's something I read which helped to put things into perspective, in terms of one's current ability as a writer. Someone was upset because they'd talk about their writing, and someone would quote something by Terry Pratchett, and it would demoralise them because it's so much better than anything they could ever hope to write. But the thing about Pratchett, his first Discworld book came out after over a decade of writing successful novels, and even then, there are a lot of people who recommend against reading that one first, because it's considered a lot weaker than his later books. So even after all those years of hard work, no even he was at that level you imagine, so don't be discouraged if you aren't ... especially if you still haven't completed your first book yet.
Thank you for the telling me about the ideas being similiar, I shared the plot of my next comic to my friend and she told me it was too similar to a lot of other romances. I felt so discouraged and wanted to burn the idea.
Happy to say most don't apply to me. One that does though is the fear of like putting an idea out there (which I'm technically doing slowly via Authortube), it isn't so much the fear of it being stolen. For me it has more to do with it feeling very vulnerable to show this part of yourself on the internet, this thing you created. I'm getting more comfortable with it, but it still just feels so weird to be able to talk about what I'm writing and have people actually be interested in it. Still on like draft 1 of my first manuscript and I will admit right now it is complete garbage. Even when I go back to do draft 2, I'm totally aware it will still be pretty rough and it won't really start being "good" until like draft 4 or so. Terrifying to imagine that much work, but also excited to see how this manuscript changes.
Great video as always. I watched 1 of your older ones about adding conflict by thinking about the worst possible thing you could do to your MC and doing it. I opted to try it on one of my lesser ideas as a practice. It went so well! That lesser idea is my current WIP, and it's actually got a lot more potential than I initially thought. Please keep sharing the videos.
You know I thought of something regarding the first two worries. It seems like books that go on to become movie adaptations, media franchises, and maybe even theme park attractions really increases the book/books popularity and sales. So now probably everyone is all familiar with characters and cconcepts from them. So now any aspiring author when they happen to write anything that is remotely similar to that media franchise gets this feeling of guilt and envy. Especially when they actually encounter any piece of media from that franchise. Whether it be a book, toy, costume, website, concept art ect. Even if they make their stories very different just the basic premise alone would probably be enough to have people consider it to be a rip off. This may also cause these feelings of guilt or anxiety to be even stronger. Like and/or/reply if you relate to this.
Yup, yup, yup, I'm recognising myself from years ago, thought I got over them, and still fall into these traps. Am loving your videos, great content that's so on the mark, but you've really got a great energetic voice too. And the eye makeup is awesome.
I'm struggling a bit with the first one. I told a film-maker (who I considered to be a friend at the time), the plot of a screenplay I was working on. I put it aside to work on other things, and a couple of years later he put out a film that used the premise of my story. The experience has made me a little more cautious. However, I feel like I will always have more ideas than I can write, so it doesn't even matter in the end.
I don't think the fact that someone else did a version of your idea stops YOU doing it. Films with a similar premise to each other are created all the time. It's about how you execute it.
I replied above to someone else who has experienced this in the screenwriting industry. I have heard more than once that plagiarism is a problem there. I'm sorry this happened to you!
After watching this I realize I might be my own worst critic because a lot of these things crossed my mind and then I laughed at myself for thinking my dumpster fire of a story was going to go somewhere. I will say that one of my fears, which I hope isn't true, is that I won't get any better. I know the more I write the more I can learn, but since there's no "grading" system on novels I'm afraid I won't know if I'm learning to write better, or learning to write what will sell.
I'm not scared someones going to steal my story plot because there's a lot of semi messed up story where every chapter has a meaning and what happens to each character. my book is still a work in progress I'm not even close to finishing it, blah I'm thankful that when I have the time I can go to RUclips and watch your videos to know what's in the feature for me for becoming a writer!
This is going to sound really odd, but the thing that’s helped me really just stick with concepts, and keep writing no matter what has been switching over to using a typewriter. Hear me out. I had spending the longest time writing on computer, but the thing is, these computer programs allow us to second guess every word we write. With the typewriter once I’ve used a word, that’s it. But with the computer, I can erase and rewrite the same sentence for hours. It’s a first draft. Can’t be having that.
My fifth book has just went live. I love negative reviews, especially when they refer to me as as having a truly sick and demented mind. One thing though, the positive reviews far outweigh the bad ones. Your videos are informative and very true.
Haha I feel so attacked by the 4th one!🤭😆 I give myself unnecessary anxieties just thinking about all of that when I haven’t even finish my first draft yet! Thank you Alexa, I do feel better after watching this video.
My fear is that I have too many good ideas and I want to put them all in the story. Them my story expands from a novel to a series in my head and outline. Then, I start editing it before it's even written (in polished prose, it's a rough-not-quite-draft in outline notes), which results in what might be better ideas, but I'm not sure how to choose.
I love your point on reviews being for readers, not writers! That is something I hadn’t really thought about. Granted, if I ever get published, I’ll probably still read them... lol I’m currently digesting the fruits of one breed of review (got beta feedback on my first novel recently, and there’s some stuff I definitely need to change...). I’ve been listening to you and various other write-tube creators, and appreciate your perspective and tips/strategies!
I'm a young playwright who also wants to be an author. To get a script to publish and onto the stage is a long process. Editor process is that you have to do concert reading where the playwright gathers actors to practice and read aloud your play. You might have to do this at least 3-4 times. I've been in this position of fear of negative criticism from actors because that's the point of a concert reading is to see what is not working in the play. It's just awkward hearing the truth after you spent months writing it. After some time and practice, you get just get over it.
Your videos always help me. Thank you for taking the time to upload all the real deal about publishing. You inspired me to start my RUclips channel and also, it was because of all your info that I decided to pursue traditional publishing.
Sometimes videos like this make me think I'm quite relaxed and calm about this stuff. I expect to get things wrong, I expect to be told to redo things, and I expect to get rejected. But I still love to write and I do it almost every day. It's so much fun! And for every review and comment about things I did wrong, I can get better and grow with it. And I think that's awesome! :D
I struggled so much with the fear of failure. The publishing industry sounds so brutal. I couldn't even get started for fear of wasted time and effort. But now there's a sticky note on my computer that reads, "write the damn book!" I'm nowhere near finished, but deciding to stop worrying about the next steps has moved me forward.
On ideas: if you put a writing prompt in front of ten people, you'll have ten different stories.
And it is done all the time in Hollywood e.g. Antz and A Bug's Life or Despicable Me and Megamind
That’s the beauty of writing.
So true 💯
I firmly agree: there are no original ideas, only original perspectives. Excellent insights! I remember having many of these insecurities in my early days of writing.
All of my ideas are original af
@BuddyTino Thank you =) perhaps you want some of my ideas?
Ideas have to be original at some point
queer libtard hippie some point long ago, I suppose
Ideas are cheap. Writing is hard! Preach it. The best stories are not grand ideas, but they are told it in a grand way.
Edit: Alexa, I have watched your videos - all of them I think - and it has been a long journey. You are an amazing individual! I sub to many, many on various platforms, but you are the only one on my Bucket List to meet some day. I could not admire you more. Thank you for all the hard work in making these seemingly simple presentations. You are so generous with yourself.
Caden Grace Amen!
so not true. JRR Tolkien had grand ideas and tells one of the best stories so...
@@wolkcumulus2547 Obviously perspective must be considered and I absolutely love the rich, full story of the Lord of the Rings. But, let's be honest, neither the Lord of the Rings or the Hobbit would make it to market in their traditional form. All of the books are a hard read, filled with inconsistencies and plot holes. They fail the Bechdel test in what has to be one of the most egregious ways. In the entire work, there are just three women. No two never talk to each other. Of the three only two ever talks and it is about men, the third says nothing at all but is only referenced.
The story is a simple one, not grand. It involves the plot device, McGuffin. But, it is told in the grandest of ways. It is told in a way that we do not care that the plot is so simple, because the art of story telling is so intricate that we forget that Lord of the Rings is just a road trip plot in the same vein as Toy Story, Wild Hogs or Pee Wee's Big Adventure.
Samwise Gamgee states the case for the Lord of the Rings being a simple story told in a grand way:
“It's like in the great stories, Mr. Frodo. The ones that really mattered. Full of darkness and danger they were. And sometimes you didn't want to know the end. Because how could the end be happy? How could the world go back to the way it was when so much bad had happened? But in the end, it’s only a passing thing, this shadow. Even darkness must pass. A new day will come. And when the sun shines it will shine out the clearer. Those were the stories that stayed with you. That meant something, even if you were too small to understand why. But I think, Mr. Frodo, I do understand. I know now. Folk in those stories had lots of chances of turning back, only they didn’t. They kept going, because they were holding on to something. That there is some good in this world, and it's worth fighting for.”
The last line tells us what Lord of the Rings is all about.
We need stories, but we also need good storytellers...
Writing is easy. Writing well is hard.
I'm glad you brought up "your first draft isn't going to be perfect, get over it and then edit it".
I've started a novel and I'm having a hard time continuing to write it because my writing is so terrible right now and I hate it... but I've been writing anyways. You can't edit something that doesn't exist.
Thanks for the encouragement and the "harsh truth"! I needed to hear it today.
The good thing is, the more you write, the better you become. You can do it! Also, if you can find a writers' group in your area, they can be very helpful.
bd I agree. Whenever I feel stuck because I don't know how to write the next part (which I can feel terror about) , I sit down and write something/anything. If it doesn't even get close to the mark, I can always rewrite it later. At least something is on the page.
"Nothing is universally loved..." Lord, don't I know it!!! Great video.
As an amateur writer working on her first novel, this was a hug.
Thank you.
#1: My friend showed me a scene and a novel idea that inspired me. I re wrote that scene, added scenes of my own, and even depended heavily on the plot she explained to me. And then showed her.
She thought it was my own ideas.
Even if someone literally steals your characters and plot, they'll quickly go down a completely different path you won't even recognize it. Stealing ideas isn't stealing stories.
(Ps: don't hate me btw. I showed that to no one else, it was just an experiment)
if the author that you "stole" from themselves doesn't see their own work in the thing your work after you add to it, then congrats! You just successfully used it as inspiration. We do it passively all the time with the things we read, and while directly doing it can be very risky (you don't have the luxury of forgetting some stuff then) it's no less valid when done correctly.
Musicians have a quote about this aswell: "Everything is a remix".
Also, reminds me of a lengthy quote from the artist, Grimes, where she compared art-making to how AI is being built. That artists are essentially feeding an AI, this library/history/hub of art from time past to time forever, and that one artist's work is inspired (consciously or not) by what came before and will subsequently become an inspiration for future artists same way.
Basically, our work is never just our work in the first place, from inception to even after us.
I clearly suck at explaining; I just really like how she put it so ya'll just check out the interview the quote came from. I believe it's from where she talked about that AI-powered lullaby she helped curate.
While I know there are no original ideas, I have always worried that my story is too similar to a book already written and people will think it was ME who stole. But, lately I haven't worried so much.
I'm worrying about this now 😭 I had a supernatural/fantasy story almost fully conceptualized- I knew I wanted it to start as an urban fantasy but I was struggling with the transition. i got inspiration on how to connect the two ideas from other book but I'm afraid it's too similar. because this book and my story are both fantasy/supernatural some of the rules of the world/abilities/powers/magic overlaps. so I'm worried that even though most of my ideas weren't inspired by this book, it might seem like a rip-off. but I really love the story so I figure I should finish a rough draft and see how to make it more "unique" then 🤷🏻♀️
@@pale_emo_princess It's alright, just write your story how you like it! There really are no original ideas anymore, just do you ❤
What’s fun is to go through a story, either yours or someone else’s, and take just about any aspect from it and figure out what the inspiration for that idea was. It might be a lot harder if it wasn’t written by someone you know well, but you can figure out the roots of just about any aspect. However, the execution and unique combination will, if done right, be worthwhile and “original”.
You know I thought of something else of why some aspiring authors struggle with writing and maybe perfectionism in writing. Like and/or/reply if you relate to this.
It seems like books that go on to become movie adaptations, media franchises, and maybe even theme park attractions really increases the book/books popularity and sales.
So now probably everyone is all familiar with characters and cconcepts from them. So now any aspiring author when they happen to write anything that is remotely similar to that media franchise gets this feeling of guilt and envy. Especially when they actually encounter any piece of media from that franchise. Whether it be a book, toy, costume, website, concept art ect.
Even if they make their stories very different just the basic premise alone would probably be enough to have people consider it to be a rip off. This may also cause these feelings of guilt or anxiety to be even stronger.
Yep, that is 100% me right now.
re: "Sacred Piece of Art"
My grandpa was a professional artist, and my dad ran an art gallery. Even artists face criticism, and their pieces are consumer products. It's very similar to writing, except artists don't get editors to make things look good. If the work of art comes out crappy, it just never gets bought because it doesn't appeal to anyone. My grandpa threw away or painted over so many things he'd done, you'd be shocked. We can edit. Artists just trash it and start over. (Digital art is different, of course. That can be edited, like writing. But, that's where my experience is lacking, since my grandpa didn't start playing around with digital art until about five years before his death, and he was in and out of the hospital a lot in that period. He never made a satisfying transition to digital art.)
Oh man, on the ideas front: I once got threatened with legal action in a writing group for "stealing his copyright" and "copying his work" that I had never even heard of. What I was "stealing"? Humans with wings. Literally just the common interpretation of angels. First off, I was 14 and definitely not profiting off my writing anytime soon. And since I was 14, I was much less polite so when he said "are we going to have a problem here?" all I said was "no, YOU have a problem" and blocked him hsjdhdjhd
Respect
Another issue: Perfectionism. That has kept me from finishing books in the past. I would focus so much on editing, and editing, and editing that I never finished anything. Honestly, it took participating in Nanowrimo to make me realize I just need to finish the damn book and then edit.
You even edited this post 🥲
Yes to this video!! I always cringe when aspiring authors talk about stealing ideas and editors forcing you into a new story completely. I’ve had 7 editors over 12 books and none of them have made anything more than suggestions for me to change... if I wanted. I hope aspiring writers will be able to take a breath and realize that these things don’t really exist and they write the books of their hearts because Im ready to read them! :0)
I am an amateur writer and I confess that I do worry about someone stealing my "genius ideas." I also have a tough time with criticism. Intellectually, I know it's part of getting better as a writer, but emotionally, I have a tough time dealing with negative or unenthusiastic feedback. I often think I manufacture other fears to avoid finishing projects and having to share my work. Great video as always.
I've been the moderator of a writers' group for over ten years and have seen a lot of people bring their stories to life. The one woman who stays in my mind was the one who came in and was so proud she had written a novel, but she was crushed to find out it needed a lot of work. I met with her privately and tried to explain to her that she had a really good first draft and that any criticism she got from us was meant to help make her book the best it could be. I really tried to encourage her, but she said she'd have to take some time to think about it. Alas, she never returned. It made me sad because I think she had real potential.
I am a perfectionist and a Type-A, but I am giving myself and my novel the space to be imperfect. Since I want to be traditionally published and know that an editor is going to tear it apart, I'm trying to be kind and clean up what i can but keep it moving. I'm hoping to be finished before NaNoWriMo.
You don't know how badly I needed this video. These things have been weighing on my mind a lot lately.
I start writing my third book like 2 years ago. I'm 18 y.o. so you all can imagine that a story writed by a 13 years old is quite bad, so I consider this one as my frist fanfiction ever. I'm soooo scared about that, I want that to be perfect and I'm terrorised about the bad reviews that I probably gonna get. Sometimes I feel like I'm never gonna finish it because of that, because of my fear of faliure and all my paranoid toughts. But since I find your channel (about two weeks ago) I feel so much better, I feel like my fears are quite normal and my obsessive ideas are common in all the new writer. *THANK YOU* if I finish this book is also thank to you!
(Sorry for my bad english, I'm italian.)
I found this really helpful, thank you! I'm of the 'if it's not perfect instantly then I won't continue' tribe, and I hate myself for it. Hearing that it's a thing for other people too really helps me to kick my own ass into gear.
I can't tell you how many times I've explained these things to new writers, especially the copyright thing. Wonderful and pertinent advice!
Ideas are cheap! I love how you put this because I have personally over-worried about original ideas. It isn't the idea but the execution that makes it yours.
I also want to say thank you because you are the main reason I started writing. I had so many ideas stuck in my head and no way to express them, but I watched one of your videos and it gave me the push to start. So far, it is only fanfiction, but I feel so much more free now that I can create the scenes that have been locked away for years. I still have a lot of issues to work on, but I'm continuously getting better. So, thank you.
1) I think a lot of it isn't that ideas will be stolen, but the worry of being plagiarised.
2 & 3) I'm 25 and have since let go of "originality" and perfectionism, it's probably why I never finished my first novel when in college/highschool (around age 18 ish).
4 & 7) The right agent will be found eventually.
5) Probably connected to control/perfectionism...
6) It's going to happen, not everyone will like it (and as you said, readers don't care - and reviews are written by readers for readers; not the author).
-----
As always, love your videos and open honesty about an author's reality. 🙂
I'm currently writing my second novel/fourth idea.
Yeah. I find it hilarious how much emphasis school puts on plagiarism. Yes you should not plagiarism other people’s writing because yes that’s wrong. However when I was in school they were very specific on not even plagiarizing yourself. I get not taking a 5th grade assignment and submitting it as a 7th grade assignment without any changes but editing is a thing.
"Your idea is not that original, and it's the execution that matters most" - In most cases that is true. But at the same time, this approach can lead to mediocrity. If a writer is not even TRYING to come up with an original idea, because he or she believes that "everything has been done before", and that "all I can do is rearrange familiar tropes in a slightly different way", then this writer will produce mediocre books.
Same goes with the notion that "your book is a commercial product". Yes, it is a commercial product. But if we don't even aspire for our books to be more than that, then we will produce cookie cutter books, which will quickly be forgotten.
Regarding theft of ideas... For my first novel I wrote it on a computer that wasn't connected to the Internet!
Because you thought it would be stolen/hacked? :D
@@SakariHapponen yep
@@ReinhardvonHolst Modern Kafka
Lol that hacker randomly hacking computers in hopes there’s a fully finished novel to steal
Lmao
This is relieving to hear that I'm essentially approaching this practically, because the only one as a novice I am ever truoped up about is originality, or the fear of being predictable or not engaging with my craft. If this is a normal worry that needs no worrying, and ha ing the green light to dive in, I'm so there. All the rest, if I follow through is all a part of the process. 💜💜💜
The entire negative review section and "reviews are for readers" part: YES. FREAKING THANK YOU.
I'm hoping to be self-published but I really like your videos and useful information. Thanks for your videos Alexa!
You always talk about the most unique topics. Thanks Alexa.❤️
I'm somewhat proud of negative reviews. For instance, they said that after reading two paragraphs it immediately raised several questions. the protagonist seemed delusional from the beginning, etc.
Lack of answers to these questions was crucial to the plot. Protagonist was delusional.
It happens to all my books. On the other hand, even editors miss every important thing. Like, "this character lacks characterization, she could be read as a devil incarnation or an innocent victim". That's _the_ _idea_
My biggest worry is probably the fact that I hold my favourite author's work up on a pedestal and whenever I read my own writing I end up just giving up. I always feel like my writing will never be as good as her's and I still kinda don't think it will be. It's gonna take a while to get past that, I bet.
I like your style of teaching. It is from the "Tough Love" School. Thanks, Scott H.
I constantly see people worrying about stolen ideas and it always kills me because then those people don't get betas or CPs and their work suffers for it. I definitely agree that ideas are cheap. What I always say when people ask me about getting CPs because they're afraid of having their story stolen is "no one can write your story like you can." Because two people with the same basic idea for a story will always come out with two very different things. Hoping your video inspires those people to go out and grab those invaluable betas and CPs!
I remember when I first started writing I was chatting with a friend online who wanted to share about the book she was writing and my mom was like, "You should tell her she shouldn't be sharing her idea in public like that, and don't you share yours!" Since then, I've learned exactly what you said, that ideas where cheap, writing is hard. Thanks for the great videos!
I love what you said about ideas. I'm hesitant to write because I feel everything has been done. You just encouraged me immensely.
It is like executing software some that do something and it is worth protecting yourself in it's just a matter of who you send your work to you should be looking at what do they have a complete novel do you think it's good if they seem like a pretty good put together author good material they don't need to steal your work.
This video came right on time. I completed writing a book last year and have sent it out to some agents and publishers and have been rejected so far. I know it happens, but it really got to me and I decided to write a new book and I'm guilty of going back to the beginning to rewrite the intro lol. This was a good reminder to keep going and to go back and edit later. Thanks!
How is your platform on youtube not bigger-bigger? Binge watched your videos while playing games, while writing, while driving, while cooking. Good shit. A+. Bravissima! Subscribed!
that first worry has always been a big one of mine, and the funny thing is i actually accidentally came across an older book series not too long ago with a pretty similar plot/MC as mine. female MC with a male twin, same goal and same challenge, and both with a historic/fantasy setting. my heart dropped into my stomach when i discovered it. for a little while, i was actually pretty devastated. it felt simultaneously like my idea had been stolen, and also like i was a plagiarizer. i almost even wanted to drop everything i'd been working on for the past two years. but i'm glad i didn't, because upon reading a more in depth summary, i realized that those few aspects were really where the similarities began and _ended._ they start at the same general point, but diverge in completely opposite directions for the rest of her series and my WIP. that's really where the execution really comes into play. there is nothing new under the sun, i've always believed this even before i found that book series with similarities to mine. no idea is truly genuine, someone has probably already thought of it before. it's your perspective and your voice that makes a story unique/original. and it was this belief that ultimately helped me really get over having found that older sibling book series to mine. they may have similarities, but they aren't the same, and i love my story not for the more cliche aspects of the plot (that i always knew were not especially original), but for the unique perspective i bring to it and the voice i have as a writer, and so will others! people are happy to read the same type of plot over and over when it's something they like, i do it too as a reader! so we as writers should never worry about our idea being stolen or our plot not being original enough, since there's no such thing as an original idea anymore. just write. put your heart into it, and create something you can be proud of. there will always be an audience for you who feels the same about your work!
Thank you Alexa, you're advice always gives me the inspiration I need to push through and finish my debut novel.
My biggest writing fears... One of them is that I'm not professional-quality good at writing. Writing with a partner in mind that will reply anywhere between an hour and a week is one thing, writing with you playing all the hats is another. My execution will fail.
Another fear I have is that my ideas aren't interesting, that I'm too green to write anything people will like or it will be too childish or simplistic for the category I want to write for. Or that people will just accuse me of copying a popular author or media and call me a hack.
These are fears I share. We do have options to improve our writing though, 5 ideas:
1) Write fanfic. As hacky as it might seem to older writers, it is actually a legitimately good way to get feedback on your style at the same time as practice. (This is something I've been doing to try and at least learn how to better construct dialogue; you learn a lot just by practicing the writing itself, knowing you will have an audience.)
2) Get a beta-reader early. As soon as you aren't _just_ writing for yourself that can make it easier.
3) Actually co-write something. Even if it's just a short story it will be good practice. Besides, there are plenty of authors that co-publish books. (It's easier to generate ideas if you have someone to bounce them back and forth, the downside is if you disagree.)
4)Take a writing workshop. Workshops are something even pro-writers need, and it could be a seriously good way to learn about your style, and you'd get advice from a person who works professionally with writing.
5) Read books critically to learn craft. Artists look at art to deconstruct how something was painted/drawn/made, and authors can do the same. Looking at a book to see what it's doing with the writing is a skillset-- a learnable one.
I'm trying to do as many of those as I can to get better, but I thought given that our fears are similar I thought maybe some of my solutions could also be helpful to you. Cheers!
100% agree! Editors will help your book in the long run, well hopefully if they’re actually good.
I also think people forget that alot of stories, especially ones they love, just so happen to be inspired from another story, that is told from another story. What I am saying is many ideas are inspirations of another's work, whom ideas touched that person's mind, and whom takes it and use it in their own lores.
God I can relate to that.
Im writing a fantasy Norse novella. HTTYD was actually my inspiration for it, which i'm really ashamed of. But I came up with up my own ideas which really wasn't hard. Its was really easy and fun. And my story contains a lot of references to Norse mythology and culture. And I learned a whole of that stuff.
1. My stories just about fighting dragons, and not riding/training
2. There is no dragon my protagonist befriends. There was for a long time in development. But in late September 2021 I got rid of it. So now the dragons are truly the villains and thats it.
3. Theres no love interest. YES theres a female character but the two off them are frenemies in a way. My protagonist has NO desire for a love interest. The two of them do become friends.
These are just a few examples of how my story is different.
That movie "Jack the Giant Slayer" from 2013 is what really inspired the basic plot of my book. That and also Beowulf, and Sigurd. These are heroes from Norse/Germanic mythology and they both killed dragons.
Not to mention there are a couple kids out there involving vikings and dragons and not just HTTYD. Besides there are these Lego Viking Dragon battle sets from like 2005. On top of that i've seen clip art of vikings and dragons all over images.So seeing all that makes me feel better about what i'm doing.
But when ever I accidentally see anything HTTYD related I feel guilty that I might be ripping it off even though my plot is very different. I've never read anything of the HTTYD books by the way. I saw the first movie, but not the others. I didn't really watch the show, play the games, ware the costumes or collect the merchandise.
I think its the worst when I look and read other viking stories and watch short films about Vikings. I like a few of them.
And I always get this voice in my head saying: "Your wasting your time. These are good characters and stuff. Why did you throw it all away for a set up thats been done already, and done well as its super popular. And has a fanbase and media franchise. You have good ideas, you could've made a totally new story instead of dragons. Shame on you.
I think this might be the biggest cause for my perfectionism. I keep editing scenes, adding more chapters or action sequences, or plot points, just to make my book seem like its own thing. That way when people read it, they wont say "hey this is a rip off of HTTYD. I don't care what happens in it, and I don't care about the plot. Just it being about vikings and dragons is all it needs to be a rip off."😭😕😩😣😖😞😓
I can't believe this is free information. This channel is so helpful
Oh jeez. I really needed to hear the "Nothing is really 'original'" thing.
I need to remember the saying 'write now, edit later.' I get in a writing flow, and then I stop for whatever reason, and when I come back to my writing, I read over what I had and start to want to edit it, or say it isn't good enough.
I think the advice about the theoretical agent thing really hit home - I'm a multi-genre and age group writer who started off in YA but am preparing to query an adult rom-com in the next few months and I've been worried about agents that don't represent both YA and A. Thank you so much for this. I've been on like a 3 hour video haul and your videos are incredibly enlightening and inspiring. Thank you for being so real and taking time out of your busy schedule to do this for us.
This channel is where I go when I "need" to procrastinate, because at least I learn something in the process
I love your honesty! As an aspiring writer, I find your experience and tips so helpful! I'm taking good notes! Thank you for this video!
im a perpetrator of number 4. i constantly procrastinate by doing industry research, making lists and spread sheets, wondering about what i'd write in my query... ugh.
To be honest, I kind off had a scare today about author platform and marketing. Then your comment on the fantasy of after really brought me back down to Earth. So, I wanted to say thank you for helping me out
The first couple of points had me feeling goood about myself because I don't think I'm guilty of those. Then you said this about the perfect first draft, and particularly sending out the first couple of chapters for review and waiting before pressing onward, which is exactly what I've been doing the last month or so (Open mouth worried face emoji)
Fear of being copied is the same in other types of art, too. Beginner illustrators don't want to post bc they're afraid their work will be stolen. But in that field, it's almost 100% certain that if you're any good, your work will be reposted and "stolen" insofar as it's posted on other sites. But guess what? We just have to deal with it. If you're good, you can consistently produce good work, whether it's art, literature, etc. and you need to be confident to do that.
Omg as soon as you said someone is gonna steal ur idea. You literally just described me, I worry about all of this stuff.
I wuz like.
This is me. Oh dear. I’ve been worrying for no reason
And like whenever I ask a friends or someone to read one of my stories, I’ll always tell them.
Do not lie to me! Tell me everything negative about it and don’t say it’s amazing because you don’t wanna hurt my feelings
Tell me the truth about what you really think about it. Even if it does sound mean. It’ll be worth it in the end
My fear of traditional publishing isn’t really rooted in fear of someone asking me to change my book through constructive criticism, but in the fear that publishers will do to me what was done to L.J. Smith. She wrote The Vampire Diaries series and, from what I understand, she wasn’t following the story they had envisioned and, because of how her contract was set up, they were able to fire her and hire a ghostwriter to finish her series with their vision. She ended up having to write fan fiction of her own series. I understand that this isn’t common, but it hit me hard when I realized that the books that ended that series weren’t even hers.
I used to have trouble comparing my writing to that of similar authors. (I am still to this day stuck at one place reading one particular book due to my discouragement.) But then I tried out a different series I had heard of of similar genre, the writing was laughably bad at points, but I loved every minute of it. It gave me renewed confidence in my own writing, as well as teaching me two lessons. 1: My writing does not have to be perfect to get published or be enjoyable. And 2: My writing is better than a book that actually got published.
So keep your confidence up, people!
Totally agree with your about everything in this. Adding onto #1, worrying about your idea sounding like another story's loose concept is unfounded as well. While someone's idea might sound like something that another writer tackled, they should still write it. Two different author's will always have completely different takes on a similar concept. Stephen King's Little Mermaid would be different then Neil Gaiman's. My way of tackling a prompt will be different than yours. There are no original ideas. Reality is that someone else might've tackled a similar idea as your before. As long as your work is distinctly yours and you don't copy the other person's work beat for beat, you should be fine.
Great video! I agree and it's nice to hear these reassurances from someone with more experience.
However, the only thing I disagree with is that I don't think it's fair to assume that if someone is worried about editors changing their work in a major way or pressuring them into making changes they don't agree with, that that author can't handle criticism. There's a big difference between not being willing to hear anything negative about your work or change anything, and being worried about someone pressuring you to completely transform your work into something totally different. I think most authors wouldn't want someone to change their book completely, or pressure them, but that doesn't mean they are unwilling to make any changes or look at their work critically.
Looking too far ahead is something I'm guilty of. I'm writing a YA graphic novel but I am nervous about eventually querying agents and publishing companies that are solely YA. But I think I'll put that worry to the side and just focus on the now. Thank you for this video. I didn't know I needed it until I was watching it.
I have a friend who's so worried about having her idea stolen that she literally makes people sign an NDA.
With the "they'll make me change my story," the only things that I'd consider dealbreakers are things that would fundamentally change the book, and it would be a lot simpler for a publisher to just buy someone else's book in the first place. I'm not a particularly voicey writer, and nobody's going to fall in love with my prose style.
Just what I need to hear right now. Thank you so much!
I used to worry about people stealing my ideas, but I now realise it's unfounded - at least when it comes to basic storylines and characters. But I am currently working on something that has a very unusual structure, and a massive reveal at the end... to be honest, I'm not really worried about idea-stealing, but I AM worried about word getting out about my 'big twist' ending, because it could spoil the surprise for readers before I've even got published. That's probably equally silly of me, but that's how I feel.
Yeah, I do keep certain things close to the vest, which is why I offered the caveat! So with Brightly Burning, for example, I kept "Jane Eyre in space" a secret until I was submission ready--I didn't want anyone to get a jump on the premise, which is unique in terms of the combination of ideas. And with my thriller, I'm keeping my twist quiet because it's juicy and I don't want another YA thriller writer to take it. So some ideas ARE worth protecting... but when you're at the earlier stages, the most basic top level ideas aren't that sacred :)
I use to write years ago. I quit because I raised my daughter. I’m not looking for myself to be some famous writer. I write and read because it gives me emotional stability. This last week I’ve begun writing ✍️ and listening to audiobooks ( I prefer Earnest Hemingway) while cleaning. I’ve been waking up feeling so awesome 😎. I’m probably never going to try to publish anything. Although if I could eventually pay a couple months of rent a year and go with a pen name that may work for me. I like your videos.
I've had a story I've been trying to write since literally 3rd grade (2003 that's longer ago than it sounds) and I'm such a perfectionist that it's never gotten past the second chapter. Your advice definitely has inspired me a lot to just write the damn book already.
I have struggled for years to write. The best thing for me was doing NaNoWriMo. I am now 210,000 words into my second draft.
@@phoebewickliffe5145 NaNoWriMo? Haven't heard of it. That's damn impressive though, congrats :)
Thank you, Alexa. I just came back from RWA in NYC and Harlequin Heartwarming asked for a complete manuscript submission. I thank you for this video. It has helped me a lot.
well, I believed exactly what you say, since a creative writing classmate of mine stole my character and wrote a novel out of her, while he knew that I was working for a 6-book series for more than 10 years. He didn't even tell me and I thought we were friends. I am happy that I didn't give him more specifics on my character otherwise I would have to pay him royalties or go to court. What hurts more is that he fucked up my character, stupidly simplifying it for a book that wasn't even good.
The Book, "How to Read Literature Like a Professor," by Thomas C. Foster was one of the most influential books I was introduced to in High School. Initially it ruined literature for me! Honestly though, it was more helpful than anything else. It was the first time I realized how every story is the same. It might be rearranged differently, but essentially, all writers borrow from each other. It was a relief in settling some of the fears I have in writing. It echoes a lot of your points Alexa!
Being original is my biggest but I don't let stop me from writing.
I think my biggest worry, which you said doesn't matter, is breaking into the industry. I haven't even finished writing my book yet and getting into the industry is a worry that is holding me back. If I knew about some resources to teach me how or ways to break in would be a big help and knowing that it's even possible, would help motivate me to write.
It doesn't matter now. It will matter later, but if you don't have a manuscript to work with, it won't matter. If that makes sense? You can't really navigate breaking into the industry until you have a completed manuscript--you have to prove you can write one, and edit it, and then do it again.
Well, hi, I am a resource :) I have many videos on the industry that should help! I also recommend subreddits like reddit.com/r/pubtips. And then my big tip for people is to follow industry accounts on Twitter and pay attention to threads, hashtags, articles, etc. Follow agents who rep authors you like, look at the #MSWL tag or #tenqueries (the hashtags for agents reviewing queries varies), follow Publisher's Weekly and read some of the articles, etc. I followed industry people and read blogs for years before I was ready with a manuscript. It did help me, but I also do think I wasted some time on it... but oh well!
@@AlexaDonne Thank you, this definitely helps. I want to write a long running fantasy novel series about Welsh Mythology and legends.
Get out of my mind, you mind reader you! The monumental task ahead of me was threatening to overwhelm my project before it got traction, and your insights make me feel so much better. Thank you!
See, I'm scared to write a novel because what if it's absolutely terrible? Not the "Oh you're a new author just finding their style and learning the craft" type of terrible, but the "Ya writing just isn't for you, no amount of practice can save this train wreck" type. The thing is though, I'll never know until I at least try. I wish I could see my full potential before putting the work in 😔
There's something I read which helped to put things into perspective, in terms of one's current ability as a writer. Someone was upset because they'd talk about their writing, and someone would quote something by Terry Pratchett, and it would demoralise them because it's so much better than anything they could ever hope to write. But the thing about Pratchett, his first Discworld book came out after over a decade of writing successful novels, and even then, there are a lot of people who recommend against reading that one first, because it's considered a lot weaker than his later books. So even after all those years of hard work, no even he was at that level you imagine, so don't be discouraged if you aren't ... especially if you still haven't completed your first book yet.
The stress of getting it perfect right away is what I was going through. I needed to hear that 🙏
Thank you for the telling me about the ideas being similiar, I shared the plot of my next comic to my friend and she told me it was too similar to a lot of other romances. I felt so discouraged and wanted to burn the idea.
Happy to say most don't apply to me.
One that does though is the fear of like putting an idea out there (which I'm technically doing slowly via Authortube), it isn't so much the fear of it being stolen. For me it has more to do with it feeling very vulnerable to show this part of yourself on the internet, this thing you created. I'm getting more comfortable with it, but it still just feels so weird to be able to talk about what I'm writing and have people actually be interested in it.
Still on like draft 1 of my first manuscript and I will admit right now it is complete garbage. Even when I go back to do draft 2, I'm totally aware it will still be pretty rough and it won't really start being "good" until like draft 4 or so. Terrifying to imagine that much work, but also excited to see how this manuscript changes.
3:01 One of the best summations of Copyright Law on the 'net. Well done!
Great video as always. I watched 1 of your older ones about adding conflict by thinking about the worst possible thing you could do to your MC and doing it. I opted to try it on one of my lesser ideas as a practice. It went so well! That lesser idea is my current WIP, and it's actually got a lot more potential than I initially thought. Please keep sharing the videos.
Alexa, you are wonderful. Your videos are so helpful and your advice is easy to understand and put into practice. Greetings from Copenhagen.
You know I thought of something regarding the first two worries.
It seems like books that go on to become movie adaptations, media franchises, and maybe even theme park attractions really increases the book/books popularity and sales.
So now probably everyone is all familiar with characters and cconcepts from them. So now any aspiring author when they happen to write anything that is remotely similar to that media franchise gets this feeling of guilt and envy. Especially when they actually encounter any piece of media from that franchise. Whether it be a book, toy, costume, website, concept art ect.
Even if they make their stories very different just the basic premise alone would probably be enough to have people consider it to be a rip off. This may also cause these feelings of guilt or anxiety to be even stronger. Like and/or/reply if you relate to this.
Yup, yup, yup, I'm recognising myself from years ago, thought I got over them, and still fall into these traps. Am loving your videos, great content that's so on the mark, but you've really got a great energetic voice too. And the eye makeup is awesome.
Me being more worried I'm accidentally stealing other people ideas
I'm struggling a bit with the first one. I told a film-maker (who I considered to be a friend at the time), the plot of a screenplay I was working on. I put it aside to work on other things, and a couple of years later he put out a film that used the premise of my story. The experience has made me a little more cautious. However, I feel like I will always have more ideas than I can write, so it doesn't even matter in the end.
I don't think the fact that someone else did a version of your idea stops YOU doing it. Films with a similar premise to each other are created all the time. It's about how you execute it.
I replied above to someone else who has experienced this in the screenwriting industry. I have heard more than once that plagiarism is a problem there. I'm sorry this happened to you!
After watching this I realize I might be my own worst critic because a lot of these things crossed my mind and then I laughed at myself for thinking my dumpster fire of a story was going to go somewhere. I will say that one of my fears, which I hope isn't true, is that I won't get any better. I know the more I write the more I can learn, but since there's no "grading" system on novels I'm afraid I won't know if I'm learning to write better, or learning to write what will sell.
I'm not scared someones going to steal my story plot because there's a lot of semi messed up story where every chapter has a meaning and what happens to each character.
my book is still a work in progress I'm not even close to finishing it, blah I'm thankful that when I have the time I can go to RUclips and watch your videos to know what's in the feature for me for becoming a writer!
THANK YOU SO MUCH
Here's hoping I can finally go for it.
This is going to sound really odd, but the thing that’s helped me really just stick with concepts, and keep writing no matter what has been switching over to using a typewriter. Hear me out. I had spending the longest time writing on computer, but the thing is, these computer programs allow us to second guess every word we write. With the typewriter once I’ve used a word, that’s it. But with the computer, I can erase and rewrite the same sentence for hours. It’s a first draft. Can’t be having that.
My fifth book has just went live. I love negative reviews, especially when they refer to me as as having a truly sick and demented mind. One thing though, the positive reviews far outweigh the bad ones. Your videos are informative and very true.
Wow I'm jealous. I hope someday people will review my work that way XD
I struggle most with the idea of needing to be original. This was helpful--thanks!
Haha I feel so attacked by the 4th one!🤭😆 I give myself unnecessary anxieties just thinking about all of that when I haven’t even finish my first draft yet! Thank you Alexa, I do feel better after watching this video.
I love your videos. Keep up the great work, Alexa.
I love your videos so much!! They're an inspiration to me, thank you.
Thanks for the confidence and reassurance
I needed this today. Thank you so much for posting!
Oh My God! Number 2 is totally what I am going through! Thank you for this video! I needed this.
My fear is that I have too many good ideas and I want to put them all in the story. Them my story expands from a novel to a series in my head and outline. Then, I start editing it before it's even written (in polished prose, it's a rough-not-quite-draft in outline notes), which results in what might be better ideas, but I'm not sure how to choose.
I love your point on reviews being for readers, not writers! That is something I hadn’t really thought about. Granted, if I ever get published, I’ll probably still read them... lol
I’m currently digesting the fruits of one breed of review (got beta feedback on my first novel recently, and there’s some stuff I definitely need to change...). I’ve been listening to you and various other write-tube creators, and appreciate your perspective and tips/strategies!
I'm a young playwright who also wants to be an author. To get a script to publish and onto the stage is a long process. Editor process is that you have to do concert reading where the playwright gathers actors to practice and read aloud your play. You might have to do this at least 3-4 times. I've been in this position of fear of negative criticism from actors because that's the point of a concert reading is to see what is not working in the play. It's just awkward hearing the truth after you spent months writing it. After some time and practice, you get just get over it.
Your videos always help me. Thank you for taking the time to upload all the real deal about publishing. You inspired me to start my RUclips channel and also, it was because of all your info that I decided to pursue traditional publishing.
Dude, titles sssuuuuuuucccckkkkk!!
Forget everything else, a good title is the hardest part for me! XD
Sometimes videos like this make me think I'm quite relaxed and calm about this stuff. I expect to get things wrong, I expect to be told to redo things, and I expect to get rejected. But I still love to write and I do it almost every day. It's so much fun! And for every review and comment about things I did wrong, I can get better and grow with it. And I think that's awesome! :D
I struggled so much with the fear of failure. The publishing industry sounds so brutal. I couldn't even get started for fear of wasted time and effort. But now there's a sticky note on my computer that reads, "write the damn book!" I'm nowhere near finished, but deciding to stop worrying about the next steps has moved me forward.
As a new writer, I needed to hear pretty much all of this
I needed this video more than I'm prepared to admit.