You Do You – Be Your Own Original

“I have nothing new to say.” My writer friend wasn’t completing any creative projects. They told me, “I’m kidding myself if I think I can contribute anything worthwhile. It’s all been said before.”

As I sat with them, I wanted to start quoting from my copy of If You Want to Write by Brenda Ueland, but it would have felt awkward at that moment to hunt through a book. I’ve quoted her before because time and again her words and ideas feel just right. Instead of grabbing for her book, I did my best to channel Ueland on the fly.

I looked my friend in the eye and replied, “It hasn’t been said by you. With your background, your history, your brain, your lifetime of experience, you are uniquely capable of writing about the things that matter most to you. No one else has done that, and no one else can.”

They had to agree. The notion stayed in the air that day for me, too. I got to thinking about originality.

What’s original?

On the first page of her book, Ueland explains, “[An expert on heredity and genes] says that … no two identical persons have ever existed. Consequently if you speak or write from yourself you cannot help being original.” (Emphasis original.) I love that. Yes, it ignores a lot – including most of the actual process of writing in all its mess, stops and starts, uncertainty, mood swings, and fatigue. Its essential truth remains, however.

If in fact originality matters – which I question – this is a good touchstone to return to: be yourself and you can’t help but be original. Its reductive simplicity just sits there, stolid and reliable, ready when you need it.

What’s original?
Image by Werner Moser from Pixabay

And maybe we don’t need it as much as we imagine we do. Speaking from a visual medium, designer Carly Ayres* puts it this way: “Everything is derivative. Everything has been done in some form, some way before. Once you accept that then you’re free. You can stop looking over your shoulder.”

If we accept that freedom, then originality matters less. Too, we’re all in the same situation. In that case, why squander time and energy checking the purity of our work?

Time, time, time

It may also help to remember the fourth dimension. We’re not standing still, nor are we alone. Every creative idea and impulse that finds expression through us is happening in real time, in an atmosphere of sparking synapses connecting to all beings. Sometimes, originality – or the perception of originality – comes down to timing. Another designer, Heather Benjamin*, says, “I don’t think there is new content out there, … just new lenses to filter it through, new ways of reflecting and refracting everything, ways of communicating ideas that resonate better at certain times in history than others might.”

Interesting, not different

Consider your reader. Each reader brings their own holistic stew of experience, prejudice, education, and awareness to our words. When I think about it, that fact alone blows up any concern I might have about originality. Just as no two writers are alike, no two readers are, either. That means that the randomness of what lands as new to someone increases by about a zillion orders of magnitude. “I don’t think uniqueness is a concern. [I]t’s more a question of: how can I make this interesting? How do I make this express what I want?” Darcie Wilder* says that focusing on originality, so your work is distinct from everyone else’s, is “purely a marketing issue, concerned with monetization.” Why not focus instead on the interesting, the engaging, the curiosity-making?

Comparisons are odious

It may also be useful to remember that there’s no “normal” when it comes to being a creative person. If we try to get granular, comparing our process, output, or lack thereof to that of a colleague, frenemy, or idol, we falsely suggest there’s an objective standard out there against which everything is always compared. Show me.

The freedom to be you
Image by Gordon Johnson from Pixabay

To sum up, we’re all innately distinct from one another. Each of us is born with a base level originality. Add to that the notion of linear time, with its fads, innovations, and rediscoveries. Who’s to say what’s new? Then remember that each reader who comes across our words brings their own filters through which they perceive our work. Cap it all off with the nonexistence of any objective “normal” and whaddayagot? The freedom to be you.

*Note: Carly Ayres (p 52), Heather Benjamin (p 66), and Darcie Wilder (p 71) are quoted in Brandon Stosuy’s book Stay Inspired (Abrams, 2021).

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