Writers live with the constant fear that there’s no such thing as originality anymore. How can there be anything left to say?
When I was first asked to write Struggle and Suffrage in Bristol for Pen and Sword Books, I wondered if there was anything novel to say on the subject of women fighting for the vote.
A Case Study
The subject has been covered in many ways, from the first-hand experience of E. Sylvia Pankhurst to a novel by Ken Follett. What could I add?
The answer was my individual voice. I was born and brought up not far from the city of Bristol, and knew the area well. This made the research particularly meaningful.
Local friends and relatives had grandparents and great-grandparents who had passed down anecdotes. I spoke to people who had been helped by Ada Vachell’s Guild of the Brave Poor Things.
Although I was retelling stories that had been told before, I was using my unique voice. This is where human authors have the edge over AI. We can fill our work with real-life experience. Our voice gives perspective to emotions and scenes. Insight and first-hand experience makes a more satisfying read than shallow novelty.
The Old, Old Story
It’s widely agreed that there are only a limited number of plot lines. Christopher Booker’s Seven Basic Plots is one of the best illustrations of this. He lists Overcoming the Monster, Rags to Riches, The Quest, Voyage and Return, Comedy, Tragedy, and Rebirth. I’ve never managed to find a story that doesn’t fall into at least one of those categories.
A story can be retold any number of times without growing old. Look at the basic plot of Akira Kurosawa’s The Seven Samurai. It’s been retold many times and in many different ways, most memorably as The Magnificent Seven and A Bug’s Life. There’s nothing new under the sun, as they say!
An Author’s Perk
In case you need some extra excitement in your life today, here’s a film clip to illustrate my point. It’s Seiji Miyaguchi playing Kyūzō, one of The Seven Samurai. This character (the best-dressed one in this clip) was based on real-life, unbeatable samurai Miyamoto Musashi. Fun fact: the equivalent character in The Magnificent Seven was played by James Coburn.
You really need to watch the whole of The Seven Samurai as the duel scene is beautifully set up over some minutes, and this clip doesn’t do it justice. Basically Kyūzō – a man of very few words – has repeatedly made it clear he won’t fight, because there’s no point.
Some people just can’t take a hint…
The moral is, always trust your talent as a writer. Believe that you have a unique story to tell. Never compare yourself to other writers, and don’t try to write like them.
Above all, don’t be distracted by what other writers say on social media. It’s a wonderful time-suck, but some of it is fibs, exaggeration, or window-dressing. It’s only the writing that matters.
Here at Tottering Towers there are lots of catkins dancing in the breeze, and the apricot will soon be in flower. While catkins and flowers are lovely, it’s the hazelnuts and apricots that I’m interested in. Fruit is more important than flowers, in the same way that I find producing a piece of writing more satisfying than scheduling the social media posts to publicise it.
You owe it to yourself to tell your story. Make 2026 the year you pour your creativity into something that only you can write.
