Is My Story Original?

Many writers ask this question, and the answer is simple: no, it isn’t.

Your story draws inspiration from other people and works. It’s actually good for it to share commonalities with other stories - it gives readers an entry point.

Instead, you want to ask, “Is my story unique?” The quality of uniqueness has given the world countless iterations of the hero’s quest, a new lineup of Hallmark Christmas movies every year, and a bazillion retellings of Pride and Prejudice.

What makes your story special? Why will it be memorable to your reader? How does it stand apart from others similar to it?

Let me provide a concrete example to show what I mean. I am a worship director, writing this post the week before Easter. Every year, our church presents a unique worship experience for Good Friday, the Friday before Easter, when we remember Jesus’s crucifixion and death. This is my seventh year planning the service, and I can honestly say that each year has presented the story in a new way, and each version feels as different to me as if each was a unique person.

The gospel accounts have existed for 2,000 years - same narrative, same “characters,” if you will. The story is well-known and timeless, and yet every year, we aim to give people something new to think about. How? By looking at the same story through a different thematic lens. Not only that, but we continue to tell this story year after year, yet never run out of material.

What’s more astounding is that I could give the same thematic lens to another worship and pastoral staff team, and they would come up with their own way to tell the same story. In fact, I grew up a pastor’s kid and have served in worship ministry since I was a teen. I haven’t seen two identical services in all my years.

This is why I encourage writers not to despair when they worry about their idea not being original enough. Originality is not the issue. Uniqueness of perspective is. Even if we gave the same plot points and cast of characters to another author, only YOU can tell the story the way you will write it.

So go forth and write boldly. Don’t worry about your story sounding too much like another. Write it the way only you can write it. Make it unique. Make it yours.