From “It’s Been Done” to “I Wrote It Anyway”: Why Your Book Still Has a Place

These days, it feels like everyone has already thought of everything; for any idea you might think is original, there’s someone out there who’s already thought of it, done it, and probably gotten rich for it.

You can see it on social media—there are a million trainers, coaches, and people who want to sell you the sacred knowledge of the same thing that another thousand people are talking about.

It’s the same with movies—you start watching one, only to realize halfway into the story that you know exactly where it’s going, because you’ve already seen it before, just with different actors and a different setting.

And it’s not any different with books. I mean, how many fantasy novels are there using the same themes, mythical beings, and motifs? And when you strip down each story to its components, is there a story that isn’t about love, war, vengeance, or the fight between good and evil?

When you’re trying to come up with an idea for a story to write, it can feel daunting. Your idea of the secret love between the goblin queen and the gnome priest whose countries are at war might seem original at a glance, but strip it down, and you’ll end up with just another Romeo and Juliet.

The realization that most of your ideas aren’t, in fact, that original can cause you to doubt yourself, or worse, consider giving up writing altogether. But I’m here to tell you that it shouldn’t, and that perhaps originality is a little bit overrated.

Here’s why.

Availability and Demand

The high availability of certain themes or narratives can suggest that the market is oversaturated, but it also indicates a high demand for those themes.

If I know one thing about economics (and it’s not a lot, to be fair), it’s that supply and demand are tied together like dungeons and dragons. A market full of fantasy books doesn’t necessarily mean that people are tired of it, but quite the opposite. This availability can be an indication of a genre that is interesting to people, telling you that readers are seeking more books of that style.

Think of the rise of fantasy in the last decade and how it ceased being the love interest of the nerdy, basement-dwelling crowd and has almost become a mainstream genre.

So if you want to write a fantasy trilogy about fairies, but realize the market is already full of them, it doesn’t mean there’s no place for your book. It only means that fairies are what’s hot these days, and readers can’t get enough of them. If this weren’t the case, we wouldn’t see new fitness trainers sprouting on social media like mushrooms after the rain, or more limited series based on Harlan Coben novels (even though once you’ve watched a few, you kind of get the gist).

Sweet Escapism

People read to escape their dreary lives and fill them with magic, not for originality.

I wrote an entire article, annoying writers who produce quality literature by saying that originality and depth are overrated (you too can get annoyed here). And I’m still holding on to this belief.

Yes, people want to read a novel that is interesting, well-written, fast-paced, and full of tension and intrigue, but they mostly read to get away.

Reading, and fantasy in particular, is like taking a break from your ordinary life, forgetting about your job, bills to pay, and responsibilities, and instead immersing yourself in a world where magic rules and dragons drool (on their unsuspecting victims).

No matter how many books I’ve read about elves frolicking in the woods and holding down their majestic forts against the expansion of humans or the warring orc tribes, I still crave more. And the reason is plain: it’s not always about originality, but the need to escape. And people in the place I want to escape to happen to have pointy ears.

So it doesn’t matter if your novel follows the same paths others have described before; as long as it’s a well-written book about a topic people love, they will read it.

The Reason of Reasons

Remember why you started writing in the first place? Was it out of love for writing, by any chance? If the answer is yes, then no matter how unoriginal the story you want to write is, it should be written—for the pure joy of telling it, if for nothing else.

Write for yourself, and if the final result feels too unoriginal or not good enough to publish, remember that you don’t have to. Writing isn’t necessarily about professional publishing and turning a passion into a career.

Think of the first time you felt the need to tell a story—was it because you considered that this career might be more profitable than working in Hi-Tech? Likely not. You started writing because you’ve read something you enjoyed and got infected with an idea you just had to write, because of your love of the written word and the desire for literary invention.​

You can write to the digital drawer, publish your work on your blog, or just share it with a few select friends. The important part is that you’re writing what makes you happy, even if it’s not original or polished enough for the general public.

Conclusion

As long as people yearn to write, someone somewhere will yearn to read their work. And your work is no different. So just write, whether it’s original or not, good or bad, or just plain silly, simply because you love to write. No other reason is required.

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