Your writing isn’t original. So quit worrying about it, and create.
One of the most important sentences in American history is nearly a word-for-word ripoff.
“Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness,” a foundational statement in the American ethos, was remixed from the philosopher Locke, who wrote of ”life, liberty, and the pursuit of property.”
And you’re worried that what you want to write has “already been written?”
Of course it has. And that’s great news.
There are no original thoughts, no original stories
Free from the imaginary shackles of needing to be original, you might think, “Then what’s the point of writing at all?”
There are a million reasons, but here are two. One self-centered and one other-centered.
Write to understand how you think—to clarify and sharpen your ideas, to crystallize what you just learned, to get feedback from others.
Someone else, on their own journey, desperately needs to hear what you have to say, and how you will say it, right at this moment in time.
Your thoughts, experiences, and timing are the elixir that creates all the originality needed.
There’s no originality. Congratulations—you’re free to create.
Write. Then publish.