Differentiable originality

Update: I have to stop writing these things early in the morning. I meant to write differentiable originality, of course, not differenciable originality. Well, at least you'll be able to find this site under the latter phrase…

Over the weekend I finished reading Robert Jordan's Knife of Dreams, although only because I came across a bookstore that was selling the hardcover version (I usually wait for the paperback) at half price. It is book 11, if you can believe it, in The Wheel of Time series.

Not that long ago, I read Terry Goodkind's Chainfire, which is book 10 in his series The Sword of Truth.

Anyone reading both series cannot help but notice various similarities between the two storylines. Both series are ultimately about the classic fight between Good and Evil. Both are set in a magical world where there are two “versions” of magic. Both have groups of strong women who wield magical powers and band together in the service of Good, except that there are traitors among them who actually serve the side of Evil. And so on. Reading the two novels within a short timespan of each other was somewhat confusing because of these similarities. At various points I had to sit back and remember which storyline I was in. (I will say this, though: Terry Goodkind spends too much time on proselytizing and soliloquizing.)

And there's the point I want to make, without getting into an argument as to how original Goodkind's storyline is compared to Jordan's (you can find these debates elsewhere, trust me!). There's no doubt that both authors have created original content, despite the similarities between the two storylines. Borrowing ideas and plots from other stories is a hallowed tradition in fiction writing. Both authors have created bestselling series, which is no surprise — if you like the one, you'll probably like the other. They're building on each other's success to some degree.

But they've also muddied the waters to some degree because of those similarities. Readers confuse the two storylines and the characters. Starting another novel in either series requires not only remembering a complicated backplot, but remembering the right backplot.

This is why you want to strive for differentiable originality in your writing. Unlike those writers, you don't have a large publisher (both series are published by the same publisher) marketing and selling this overlapping content. If you have something to say, don't fall into the blogger's trap and parrot what everyone else is saying. Find the unique angle that no one's exposed. Don't let anyone else confuse your writing with someone else's. Make them want to read the other things you write. Touch your readers' emotions, make them think, teach them, make them laugh… whatever works for you. Ultimately, that's how you develop a readership. Find the right readership and in the long run you'll make some money from them because of your writing.

Differentiable originality. You read it first here! (Well, like one of the comments says, it also helps to be interesting!)

Eric Giguere is the contextual advertising expert who wrote Make Easy Money with Google and Uncommon AdSense. You can read this blog by mail if it's more convenient for you, just send a blank email to memwg-blog@aweber.com to subscribe.

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