Livia invited me to her place. (Wonder if she started singing Bad Company afterwards?) I was on my best behavior though, minded my manners, all the stuff Mom taught when I was a youngster.
I wrote a bit about originality in storytelling. Check it out, if you like, but plan to hang around a while if you've not visited there before. And be sure to check out the Interviews and Guests page for some new (or familiar) faces.
Thanks for the invitation, Livia!
Just came from her site. Your post was funny in a sad sort of way!
ReplyDeleteI suppose that's better than being sad in a funny sort of way! LOL. Thanks, Alex!
DeleteI love Livia and love your writing-- perfect combo. On my way over!
ReplyDeleteYou sure know how to make a Monday morning brighter, Julie. Thanks!
DeleteThanks for stopping by my blog and your kind words. I loved your post over at Livia's. I can definitely relate. That's why I stole the plot of an out-of-copyright classic for my most recent novel, LOL, not really but it did make life easier ;)
ReplyDeleteThanks & you're welcome. I hadn't considered that. I suppose I could wait another sixty or seventy years to release them. On second thought, that may not be so feasible. LOL
DeleteAwesome. I'm off to Livia's! ;-)
ReplyDeleteCool beans! See ya there!
DeleteThere's nothing new under the sun, so the saying goes. But your post was new. Good writing.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Richard! I appreciate the compliment!
DeleteWill do Jeff.
ReplyDeleteExcellent! And happy early birthday! Having one so close to Thanksgiving has got to be better than having one so close to Christmas.
DeleteI'm on my way. Love the idea of originality in storytelling.
ReplyDeleteHope I did the topic justice, Michael!
DeleteHahaha, Jeff! I'm getting low on ideas and I've been very busy with my family so yeah, I've invited guests! I love having them over!
ReplyDeleteIt was fun having you over! Thanks! :)
I had a blast visiting, Livia. And I know what you mean about being busy, trust me. ;-)
DeleteYou did an excellent job with that post at Livia's - it's tought finding out that our "originality" isn't as original as we hope/think that it is.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the compliment, Tyrean! And welcome! True, it can be a bit disappointing, but it can also mean we're thinking up decent ideas. I like looking at it from the bright side and stretching my imagination even more, at least when possible.
DeleteJust left a comment over on that post, but I want to say again here how much I could relate to it. It's scary how often something from one of my stories has ended up already being done in someone else's! I've seriously lost count of how much it has happened at this point...
ReplyDeleteYeah, it's bad enough to strive for originality when we're aware of similarities with other works, but to truly think you were original only to find out that other people were original with the same idea is frustrating. (Especially when someone has already made it big with that similar idea.)
DeleteGood post, Jeff. And I insist it's just recycling and recycling is healthy, hahaha. Greenwriter on.
ReplyDeleteYeah, I can go with that! LOL
DeleteI hopped over and read your guest post, Jeff! I thought it was great! I hear ya on frustration over originality. In Persistence of Vision, my editor insisted on changing a character name because it was too similar to something in Twilight. My book is nothing like Twilight, but I could see her point. So I changed it. Now, in hindsight, I kinda wish I had fought harder to keep the name. It's a minor thing, but I think it's important to address because all writers will have to deal with it at some point.
ReplyDeleteI was going to suggest making up your own words. Something I do is find prefixes and suffixes for what I want to convey and then put them together. Because they're pre-existing parts of speech, they aren't completely foreign to your readers, but it will still be a work that's uniquely yours. That's how I came up with 'Interchron' for my series.
On the other hand, I really like the terms you came up with like Patternsight and Patternwit. That alone makes me want to read your stuff. As long as you differentiate it enough from other writers, I don't think you'll have too much of a problem. In my experience, beta readers and editors knit-pick about that kind of stuff way more than actual readers to. Just keep on keeping on! :D (Sorry for the voluminous response!) :D Have a Happy Thanksgiving!
Thanks, Liesel! I'm grinning here because after having written multiple chapters of an old wizard-type named Tobin, I later encountered the name again in Melanie Rawn's Dragon Prince trilogy. Her Tobin was a much younger, tough, attractive female. :::sigh:::
DeleteI am relieved that you liked the terms I created. It can be a risky undertaking that either works or doesn't. And I loved your voluminous response!
Happy Thanksgiving backatcha!
On my way!
ReplyDeleteThanks for dropping by and leaving that comment. Now I got to go Googling. ;-)
Delete