A Question of Originality

I remember being told once by a high school English teacher that nothing was original anymore.  Not that people have become lazier, or less creative- just that everything was inspired by or copied from something else (even if it was unintentional).  The class around me seemed a bit startled and sullen about the fact, but I my own reaction was a resounding "duh!"  I mean, I had never before articulated that thought, but it made total sense to me that everything we've seen in our lives became an influence for all that we make and do.

But it is a little scary to ponder.  Could we really have used up every idea- every plot concept, every twist, each character and personality and dialogue?  It's not a reality that I'd like to have, but it very well may be the case.

Even the thoughts that sound original can be categorized and proven otherwise (something I've done my fair share of).  For example- have you ever walked through the young adult section of a bookstore?  There are only about four genres that every book falls under, and each only has so many plotlines.

If I may:

The "Realistic" Fiction

• The first type of realistic fiction novel is the literary answer to Mean Girls- cliques of girls at some kind of prep school.  They are concerned with boys, and fashion, and shallow things, and though the setting is generally at school you won't hear them discuss grades once.  There will be one brunette, one blonde, maybe even a redhead, but the majority of the characters will be white.  The one main character who isn't will have skin that the author compares to a Starbucks drink, or will have the word "exotic" abused as an adjective for her.  The plots are never particularly longitudinal, which is why each series can go on for 10+ books without boring their audience.

• Less offensive than this first category is the real life tragedy.  Chances are your main character or someone close to them (or bonus points for both!) has a terminal illness.  If not, it's likely that the person close to them has already died.  This book is about struggle, and hope, and adapting to change, sometimes funny but guaranteed to make you cry (either from the beauty of it's message or the sheer awfulness of the writing).  John Green's The Fault in Our Stars is the most (perhaps only) successful book I've ever come across in this category.

The "Classic with a Twist"

• This genre is very hit or miss- the books that fall in this category are either genius or worthless heaps of paper and ink.   The first section of this sort are the fairy tales.  Typically more importance is placed on historical details, greater character depth, or expanding on the plot... half of them will take place in the point of view of the villain.   Either the ending is the same as the original or the exact opposite, and either way it's predictable by the time you've hit the story's climax.

• Another take on this is what gives this category it's namesake- a twist on a classic novel (nine out of ten times it'll be Jane Austen or a Bronte).  Usually the same tale is told from a different perspective (either a pre-existing character or an original one, and if it's not someone from the original novel then there's almost a hundred percent guarantee that they're from the future).  Sometimes this crosses over into the sci-fi/fantasy genre, either by having one of the characters we know and love revealed to secretly be some kind of vampire, werewolf, etc, or by incorporating an entire "species" into the novel (see Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, the 2009 bestseller that is exactly what it sounds like.

The Supernatural Novel

• Twilight, The Vampire Diaires, Marked, Vampire Academy, Blue Bloods... it only took one vampire book to start a trend, and the rest came naturally.  (Though, actually, the vampire trend was probably actually started by the Sookie Stackhouse novels and the hit HBO show they inspired, True Blood).  Still, each series seems virtually never-ending- the House of Night series, with it's cliched cast of students and it's pretentious, ancient spelling of vampyre, is going on it's 11th novel.  But soon vampires became old hat.  We needed werewolves, witches, ghosts, zombies, aliens... the young adult section of bookstores had turned into a Halloween party.  As fun as this tread was at first, it quickly got old thanks to the predictable plotlines.

•  The "I'm in love with a monster" novel, which is exactly what it sounds like.  Our human protagonist falls in love with someone who turns out to be some kind of monster, but eventually figures out that A) They aren't dangerous the way everyone thinks they are, B) they can try to restore their humanity, or C) they just want to be turned into the same kind of creature as well.

• The other most popular variation is the monster hunter- someone who has either been chosen or has taken it upon him/herself to rid the world of insert-monster-type-here, and are really good at it.  They'll either meet someone else of their kind and fall in love with them, or fall for one of their targets.  Either way, you won't get through the book without romance.

The Dystopian/Utopian World

• While doubtlessly the most interesting of all of the genres above and certainly the most varied, the only variation is in characters and setting and perhaps pacing of the plot.

There is a girl in a future society (you can bet a large sum of money that she is sixteen years old).  She is not exceptionally pretty, but don’t worry because the guy who is secretly in love with her doesn’t care about that/sees her as beautiful anyways (plus at some point a greater power will come in and make her over to a varying extent).  Now this girl just wishes for happiness and something beyond the life she has now.  However, the world that she lives in probably doesn’t allow for that, because it is divided into hierarchical groupings of people that probably don’t come in contact with one another.  And- hint- she's not at the top. But luckily/unluckily this society also has some kind of dramatic ritual or rite of passage that can instantly alter her life, during which something will go wrong or she will be outstanding for some reason.  She garners some attention or becomes notorious in some way because of her abnormality.  She has to be secretive, because she probably figures out some powerful, dangerous information.  The government gets wind of her and she’s suddenly public enemy #1, except to all of the little people who see her (originally unintentional) rebellion as brave.  At some point the guy reveals his love for her and she doesn't understand what he could see in her.  They kiss and then she’s okay with it.  They team up, along with a few others, but the government will definitely use their love against them (our protagonist’s biggest weakness is her attachment to someone, most likely the boy and/or family member[s]).  Lots of battle scenes.  Lots of torn emotions.  Things probably end up seemingly alright but the government is still in power and will have to be defeated within the next 2-3 books.

 And the best part is that I can effortlessly name multiple YA series off the top of my head that fit that description perfectly and, despite how well-written and interesting each of them is, you boil them down and we end up with the exact same synopsis.

Now I'm sorry for ranting (really, I am!) but I think this is just a major issue in the world of writing today, and young adult literature is the best way to exemplify it.  (Note: honestly, I could probably write a different tirade altogether about the lack of books targeted at teenage boys/with male main characters, which is another huge issue altogether.  And maybe I will....)

But this has been something running through my head for a long time.  If I'm so easily able to mentally categorize all of my favorite (and not-so-favorite) books into such categories, I think it says a lot about the state of writing and originality in today's world.

Even if there aren't many unused ideas left, I strive to write with creativity, with passion, and with unpredictability.  I would want someone to look at a novel I've written and struggle to find it's place amongst this list.  Even  if the ideas aren't new, the way you implement them can be.