42 lines
2.9 KiB
Markdown
42 lines
2.9 KiB
Markdown
---
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layout: post
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title: "Creativity does not necessitate originality"
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date: 2018-01-17
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---
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#### Or: No good comes from a vacuum
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Photo by [Greg Rakozy](https://unsplash.com/photos/oMpAz-DN-9I?utm_source=unsplash&utm_medium=referral&utm_content=creditCopyText) on [Unsplash](https://unsplash.com/search/photos/creation?utm_source=unsplash&utm_medium=referral&utm_content=creditCopyText)Even the above statement is not original. (No, really…you’ll see…)
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All writers are influenced by what we read, whether conscious or unconscious. For example, my writing style takes several cues from Terry Pratchett, sometimes very deliberately.[1] And there are no doubt countless unconscious influences feeding into my life in ways I don’t even realise.
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So in that sense I am in no way original. But in that same sense, it doesn’t **matter**.
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Stealing’s no good.[2] But remixing is — has always been, will always *be* — the foundation of creativity.
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Creativity is naturally cyclical. Readers write, and writers read. After all, there are only three[5] plots.
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It’s not just writing. Everyone is influenced by everything. Our imagination isn’t entirely our own — all media that we consume, all experiences that we have, every last thing that we see — gets thrown into one pot. Much like a baking recipe, the blend is original although the ingredients are not.
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Accepting the art of the remix is the first step on the journey to finding a voice **— YOUR** **voice**. Your personal experience (original by nature) will blend into everything else that shapes us as people, all those influences known and unknown.
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And that’s as original as it gets.
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So it’s a poorly kept secret my drafts section is overflowing. This is one more of those drafts finally being shoved out into the world. My original title was thus:
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Then Medium dropped this on me:
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[**Don’t Worry About Being Original — Everything’s a Remix**
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*One of the biggest limiting beliefs I run into when talking to aspiring writers or creators is that they don’t have…*medium.com](https://medium.com/personal-growth/dont-worry-about-being-original-everything-s-a-remix-6fbb06ab1683 "https://medium.com/personal-growth/dont-worry-about-being-original-everything-s-a-remix-6fbb06ab1683")[](https://medium.com/personal-growth/dont-worry-about-being-original-everything-s-a-remix-6fbb06ab1683)And here we stand. The same sentiment, much of the same words. Classic example of case-in-point, in a meta sense. Pleasingly neat, actually.
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[1] Footnotes being just one recently rediscovered example
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[2] Unless you’re Robin Hood[3]
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[3] Sidenote[4]: is a rhyme split across a sentence and its footnote still a rhyme?
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[4] Footnote, sidenote…notes aplenty…Dear oh dear.
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[5] Replace ‘three’ with x number as appropriate. Doesn’t change the sentiment.
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