Thousand Island

In countless trades, study is paramount for any degree of success. To excel in a chosen field, it is assumed that much time will be spent inspecting the work of predecessors and scholars. But for those investing their lives to pioneer original ideas, procedures, expressions, inventions – is there an amount of research that is detrimental to originality. 

I often hear, and agree with to an extent, that in order to acquire a career in writing, you need to read a lot. Indisputable, it may appear, but is there an argument against? I musician once said to me, “When I am writing music, I don’t listen to music. If I listen to music while I write, there ends up being obvious references to other artists’ work in my work.” I sympathize wholeheartedly. 

Absolute creation is nonexistent, agreed? We gather our inspiration, our processes, and our plaster from others and we use our own dissected emotions to create “originality”. But no genuine artist plans to trace the work of others. You can take each in entry in Bob Dylan’s collection and compare it to other folk songs previously written. You can compare Hunger Games to a dozen other stories. These things just happen. As much expression as there is in our era, there are going to be similarities.

So how do you avoid tracing and create original works? Shut off the radio? Put down the book? Turn of the boob tube? Sink into some hole with pen and pad? 

Or do you pick your references strategically? If you know what is coming out of your head is going to be derivative in some shape or form, do you plot your own acceptance of works and wall off everything else that tries to wedge itself into your eyes and ears? Dedicating yourself to spectating specific forms of expression while trying to create your own, just maybe the answer we need in a time where there are SO many ideas, arts, stories, being jammed into our souls. 

In short, when you step up to the “salad bar of inspiration”, perhaps find a mixture that will simply nurture your original idea.