RTW: Jinx That's My Idea

             Road Trip Wednesday is a ‘Blog Carnival’ where YA Highway’s contributors post a weekly writing or reading related question and answer it on our own blogs.  You can hop from destination to destination and get everybody’s unique take on the topic.

This weeks topic:

What SNI were you psyched to work on, but discovered it was too close to something already done?

                This is a good question.  Considering I was thinking this same thing last year.  When I got my idea for my story I’m currently working on it just came to me when I was laying in bed on night.  I had a bad day and someone had really gotten on my nerves and I think that’s what inspired my mind to go all dark.  I had it all planned out when I woke up. 

                I was so excited about my new idea that was all shiny and new and never been done as far as I knew.  I wrote on it as often as possible and sent the first 10 pages to be critiqued at a writers conference.  The deadline to send your submissions was close and I sent it and felt this amazing sense of pride and nervousness.  I loved this so much what if no one else liked it?  What if they hated it and told me I should give up?  But I stayed positive. 

                My story is about a girl.  She witnesses her parents murder and is put into witness protection for her own safety.  She is a bright girl, good head on her should and all but when the person responsible for taking away her family gets away with it she can’t take it.  Something snaps.  She needs to avenge what was done but knows she can’t until she is 18.  So she spends 1-2 years working out a plan and trying not to get distracted by the new life she is having to create.

                I share my idea with you so that this next part makes sense.  Not a week after I sent my totally original never seen anything like it idea did I see a commercial for the TV show on ABC called Revenge.  I youtube’d it.  And sure enough I was amazed that the same concept was there.  It’s not nearly the same story but it was close enough to make me worry that people would read it and think I’d gotten the idea from it.  Could I really give up on it?

               

                As it turns out my writing conference was amazing and no one seemed to connect them which eased my worry.  It’s a story about revenge, and yes I had to title it something because sending it out as untitled didn’t seem right so I used a temporary title Vengeance, was similar.   Then I thought about how many different series I absolutely love that have vampires in them, or angels.  There are so many and each is completely different, their own take on it.  So because there is romance and vampires are they stealing an idea?  No.  So I could write about revenge and not be stealing from another. 

                So to wrap this mind jumble up I think you can have the same basic idea, revenge, vampires, witches, angels, etc. but it has to have it’s own spin.  You have to make it your own and make it unique in it’s own write. 

                What do you think?