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Q&A As a writer, should I be upset because I couldn't think of an idea?

I've just been struggling recently with this doubt that I could never think of ideas I've seen written on my own. If that sounds confusing to you, you aren't the only one. Of course, I could sit ...

2 answers  ·  posted 8y ago by White S.‭  ·  last activity 5y ago by System‭

#3: Attribution notice added by user avatar System‭ · 2019-12-08T05:45:33Z (almost 5 years ago)
Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/q/25312
License name: CC BY-SA 3.0
License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/
#2: Initial revision by user avatar White S.‭ · 2019-12-08T05:45:33Z (almost 5 years ago)
I've just been struggling recently with this doubt that I could never think of ideas I've seen written on my own. If that sounds confusing to you, you aren't the only one.

Of course, I could sit down and be inspired by something another author wrote and write something in the same vein. That's not the issue. It's that now I've seen them, I can never have the idea off my own back. And that bothers me because I cannot take that back. It's done, it's fixed. And I can never know if I would have thought of it myself or not. Anytime I think of anything similar, it's just going to be based on what I read and not from my own creativity.

I know it's neurotic but has anyone else been in this position? I need some clarity on this, an external viewpoint you might say.

#1: Imported from external source by user avatar System‭ · 2016-11-21T21:04:40Z (almost 8 years ago)
Original score: 0