I thought I was clever enough to write as well as these people and I didn't realize that there is something called originality and your own voice.
Sentiment: NEGATIVE
Very few people are original. There's very little original anything out there. Because to be original means you have to stand alone.
I guess what I'm trying to say is that writing is mysterious; you don't ever truly know where it is coming from, so don't edit yourself line by line. Don't get in your own way. Whatever is truly there at the core, that is your voice.
Sometimes you find your voice by trying to write like people, and sometimes you find it by trying to write unlike people.
I think original voices get noticed. But most importantly, I think you should have a story to tell.
I do worry that it's impossible to write something original, that there's nothing that a human hasn't already thought of. But I can put it out of my mind and get on with what I'm doing.
This is what I learned: that everybody is talented, original and has something important to say.
Originality does not consist in saying what no one has ever said before, but in saying exactly what you think yourself.
I enjoyed writing for someone else's voice, but I wasn't very good at it.
All writers start out mimicking other writers. I've never relinquished that. I have a good ear for speech and writing patterns.
Originality is nothing but judicious imitation. The most original writers borrowed one from another.