When writing a novel, how important is the quest for originality?

I think we all know that at this point, originality is almost impossible. Everything has been done already, every human condition examined from every point of view, trends for different mythological creatures get shoved in our faces every few years, we've seen every brand of vampire conceivable, and even a few that are inconceivable and downright ridiculous; we've heard every conspiracy theory, every prediction for the future, every ideology, theology, philosophy, political theory; we've heard the theories of mind, different ideas on our conception of what reality is, if reality exists, that it really doesn't exist, that this is all a creation of your own mind, that you aren't real and nor am I; we've heard about the gods and the supernatural world, and the "Oh my, what if the mythologies are true?" stories; every cliche` and saying has been used as a theme for some book out there, and God knows we don't need another alien invasion story!

Any writer who believes he or she can create something truly and beautifully original is deluding themselves. Thousands of years of poetry, prose, plays, epics, songs, fables, and legends being put into written form and studied by all sorts of professors, and having been done over again by someone else who put a slightly different twist on the idea, and then historians and linguists and literary scholars and biblical scholars went and studied *that* piece of literature, and hundreds of years later, someone took the same idea and reworded it and everyone deemed it original, and it just kept on happening over and over and over again until the idea became an old piece of furniture that has been worn and somewhat beaten, and generations of people got good use out of its existence until it could no longer accommodate the sitting comforts of anyone else, and it broke down for the remains of it to be swept off to a museum and be further examined by scholars.

And so now the only thing that is left to be done in the world of newly published literature is taking the idea of someone who came before you and attempting to polish it up and improve it - modernize it. Apply it to the world today. Many people, kids especially, don't want to be bothered with reading older classics that are written in an older form of English that might be more difficult to understand, so it's good that there are writers who take it upon themselves to take the idea and present it in a way that appeals to people today so that they can understand it and appreciate it in the same way the people did when the original work was published hundreds of years before.

And so, with this said, the quest for originality is much like the quest to find a living mammoth. Unfortunately you will not succeed, even though we all wish you would, because let's be honest, mammoths are freaking cool. But for those of you who are still searching, despite this, your quest for originality becomes cliche` when you're doing ridiculous things out of your desperation, such as giving your main character purple eyes because "zomg purple eyes are soooo unique and misunderstood!!!"

I would first say that there is a fine dividing line between true originality and cleverly-disguised plagiarism. There is also the other category, what I call the 'dive so deep in your quest to be original that you lose the reader and the plot'. As far as I'm concerned the 'original becomes cliche' matches the last category pretty well.

Something that has been said before rings truer than ever today. "There is nothing new under the sun." Basic themes and stories will always stay the same. There's the forbidden love, there's the 'calling' a hero must follow, there's a group of friends who band together to save the world from some evil, etc. But what people don't realize is that these are very basic themes, that can be done and re-done over and over in countless fresh and original forms, providing the writer is skilled and has a good imagination to re-imagine, if you will, old concepts.

Take 'forbidden love'. The theme of doomed or forbidden love is one that is widespread, and it casts its idea all over everything written, ever. We have Romeo and Juliet, Wuthering Heights, The Children of Hurin, Lolita, etc.* Yet no one in their right mind would EVER accuse the authors of these works to be ripping off each other. Why? Because every time the author tells it, he/she puts an entire new spin on the story that makes us forget the 'basic theme' and embrace the fuller plot that the writer has given us. (* I am well aware some may consider these examples inappropriate or inadequate. Please know I do not mean for these to be the 'definitive' list of books regarding doomed/forbidden love)

So many books now are adaptations of older themes, yet they still remain relevant, entertaining, and original. I think one knows when to stop 'questing for originality' when one loses grasp of the story they are trying to tell, or the characters they are trying to portray. If I think that I'm losing the point of the plot or the whole theme I'm trying to get across, then I know to backtrack hard and do some quality thinking about how I want this story to play out. And sometimes 'overthinking' it kills me, and I have to just sit back and let the story flow, waiting to edit later, rather than nitpicking it as I write. (fatal flaw of mine)

I hope this answer made sense.

In writing, everything is cliché. Everything has been done before in one way or another. "Originality" is really just a handful of cliché ideas that are executed in a manner which disguises them for what they really are. Once that fact is accepted, more time can be focused on the execution of the idea rather than the idea itself.

The point in which attempting originality becomes cliché is when the writer comes across as trying to hard. It's kind of like when a teen purposefully dresses differently so they won't blend in with the current trend, but it backfires and makes them stand out even more, gaining more attention in the process than initially intended (I'm a teen myself, so no disrespect). Something cliché is defined as something that is overused. There's a reason why a lot of writers use cliché elements in their writing. It has an air of familiarity to the audience, it's relatable. While I agree that a cliché of any form should be disguised, it shouldn't be completely ignored. When that happens, you risk losing your audience because what you've written becomes completely unrelatable.

For me, it's all about creativity, not originality. Some think the two are one in the same. Well, that's not the case. Creativity is taking something that's already established and putting your own twist on it. Originality is making something new and fresh. Both, of course, require a decent imagination.

I'd say that being original is really important, but that's just my opinion.

For example, all of these true blood and vampire diaries books are basically knock-offs of twilight, yet hundreds of people buy them and love them. From what i've heard they are very cliche, but that's what the readers like, so the book are a success.

However, for a single novel I think originality is crucial to attract a reader and keep them interested.

There are so many ways to turn an original story into one that is cliche, without even realising. Until I started writing I never knew how hard it was to avoid this. An original story is more likely to be noticed in a pile of books, or remembered by someone who has read lots of books. It's originality will make it stand out.

The importance depends on the reader, some people love stories that fit into the same category, such as the vampire/werewolf novels that are all over the place at the moment. However, I think the majority of people prefer an original story, they want to read something unlike anything they've ever read before.

Hope I helped :)

Haha! "Knock-offs" of Twilight! Vampire Diaries came before Twilight. Many years before Twilight. If anything, Twilight is a knock-off of Vampire Diaries.

Okay, I honestly don't think originality is important at all when you're writing for yourself. Now, if you're writing for a living, it is quite important, but hard. The thing is, when you're writing for a living and you're writing teen novels, you are limited. Same thing with a children's book. If you are writing an adult novel, originality is still hard but not as hard. Now, though originality may be important, it is not a necessity. People can still write a totally unoriginal novel that quickly becomes a bestseller, just because of how beautifully the words and plot are set out. Even if you don't have a huge imagination, you can still have writing talent. For those people, originality isn't as crucial.

Well pretty much every idea isn't original anymore, so I think writers need creativity.

They need the ability to take an idea and make it shine by adding twists and imaginative ideas that are displayed in a manor that seems fresh, new and therefore 'original'.

I think trying to make the *big* cliches original (and virtually always failing) is the point where things are going to far.

When you include vampires.

Lol, I'm joking.

I think we're never going to be entirely original, all books have an element of cliche in them. The point, for me, though, is when the writer clings to the part of their book that *is* cliche and develops it... like, develops it and still keeps it cliche.

I like small details that make the book come into its own. Like the setting.

Just... stay clear of the *big* cliches (vamps, love triangles between certain people).

Good question x

Very important in my opinion. But it's originality in the plot and how you tell the story that's important. You could do it with vampires and werewolves and whatever, but that's not what decides whether it's original. Besides, you could alter the traits of those vampires and werewolves and stuff, as long as you don't make ANYTHING sparkle in the sun.

Having a unique voice and presenting familiar subject matter in a new way is very important. Publishers want to be the first one to sell the next big trend.

I don't know much about books and novels.. but i do know being original will never get old ;)