Today we have a fantastic mailbag question! Please keep your writing and industry questions coming. There’s a link at the bottom of our home page just for questions like this. Jill, Steph and I take turn answering them and it gives us a feel for where the community is and what you all want from the site. Plus, we love being helpful!

Today, our question comes from Samantha N. and it concerns an issue most writers worry about at some point or another. She says this:

I find that my writing is often influenced by the books I’m reading, and it’s frustrating knowing that my stories aren’t completely unique. Do you have any tips on keeping writing original?

I understand your concern, Samantha. Developing original stories and unique characters with memorable traits and histories is one of our chief goals as a storyteller. And it’s a noble endeavor! But the weight of this goal can paralyze you and keep you from taking inspiration as it comes.

While we don’t want to copy other writers, it is perfectly acceptable to be inspired by other writers. In fact, when you pitch a book to an agent or editor, you’re often encouraged to come up with other books your story compares to favorably. We call these comp titles. For example, my first novel, ANGEL EYES, was pitched as THIS PRESENT DARKNESS meets TWILIGHT.

I didn’t steal ideas from those stories, but I took inspiration from them in my effort to write an angsty teen book that married supernatural elements with romance.

Part of the business side of being an author is understanding the industry and what sells well to which audiences. It’s why genre conventions are what they are and why we shelve things where we do in bookstores.

That said, I think I do have a few tips to help you avoid feeling like you’re thieving from individual, specific stories.

Read deeply in your genres of inspiration

I compared my book to Twilight because it had similar romantic and angsty moments as well as elements of the paranormal. But it wasn’t the only teen book I’d read. By the time I’d completed and pitched my book, I’d read so many different YA novels, I had a good handle on what was out there. In fact, I’d read so many supernatural, super hero, paranormal, and fantasy books that I went through a season where I couldn’t imagine why anyone would ever write a book where the characters don’t have special powers. My brain was in a very weird place, but it was helpful to have read so deeply of the speculative fiction genres.

Read widely outside your genre of inspiration

I get very concerned when I hear a young writer say they don’t have time to read. Reading is not only inspiration but education to a writer. We learn by watching others do. And reading widely outside of the genre you’re writing in helps in ways you may not notice at first. But, trust me, they’ll show up on the page.

Storing away new words and turns of phrase, picking up on view points and a wide array of motivations and backstories–these things start your brain whirring. Ideas begin to form that are then melded with all that reading you’ve done within your genre of choice. Unique ideas and a smashing together of concepts begins to happen without much effort on your part. Your subconscious does a lot of this work for you and the result is something wholly new.

Tell the Truth

It takes a fair amount of time to store up enough knowledge to feel certain in your own storytelling point of view, but in the interim, don’t let fear of impersonation stop you in your tracks.

Instead, take ideas that inspire you and flip them around until they feel like yours. Mold them and draw on your experiences in other stories and their worlds to create something that feels honest and authentically like you.

Consider what you’re using your story world and characters to say. What are you hoping most to communicate to the reader? Why THIS story? When you can come to grips with the reason for the world you’ve created, you’re in a better place to discovery honest storytelling.

When I struggle with doubts about my originality this C.S. Lewis quote helps me immensely, Samantha. I hope it helps you as well.

How about you guys? Do you struggle with this concern? Any advice for Samantha?

Shannon Dittemore is an author and speaker. Her books include the Angel Eyes trilogy, a supernatural foray into the realm of angels and demons, as well as the fantastical adventure novel Winter, White and Wicked. Its sequel, Rebel, Brave and Brutal is due out January 10, 2023.

Shannon’s stories feature strong female leads grappling with fear and faith as they venture into the wilds of the unknown. She’s often wondered if she’s writing her own quest for bravery again and again.

It’s a choice she values highly. Bravery. And she’s never more inspired than when young people ball up their fist and punch fear in the face.

To that end, Shannon takes great joy in working with young writers, both in person and online at Go Teen Writers, an instructional blog recognized by Writer’s Digest four years running as a “101 Best Websites for Writers” selection.

For more about Shannon and her books, please visit her website, Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest.