After I delivered a talk about product management, Fred, a prospective writer, asked a question. He said, “It seems like there are no new ideas. How can I write something that's already been done before?”
I said, “Write your truth, your experiences. Don't worry about what's come before.”
He said, “But someone already wrote that.”
I asked, “Then why do you want to write about that topic? Did that author leave you dissatisfied or confused?”
Fred said, “Yes!” and named three things without even thinking hard. He stopped to breathe.
Before he could start speaking again, I said, “That's why. You know how to express those ideas in ways that satisfy you. And probably several readers. You're not going to write exactly what the other writer wrote. Those are “just” ideas.” (I used air quotes around the word just.)
Fred cocked his head.
I could almost see his brain working overtime. I said, “Any time you have a better way to explain these ideas, you should write something. First, writing explains what you think to yourself. Second, you learn as you write, so you might realize why you have these questions about what someone already wrote. Third, other people have the same questions you do. When you write, you help yourself and others. Even better, when you write to explain, you create new ideas.”
Fred said, “Oooh.”
New Writing Arises from Your Expertise and Experience
Let me differentiate this business of creating new ideas from the expressions of already-existing ideas. That's all about copyright.
No one can copyright an idea. However, copyright protects the expression of ideas. (I strongly recommend every writer buy a copy of The Copyright Handbook by Stephen Fishman. (That link goes to the Nolo Press store, which is much less money than the Amazon price. I have an older paper copy.)
That business of expression is why your teachers told you not to plagiarize. Instead, they told you to restate the original writer's ideas in your words. (None of my teachers ever explained that well to me. Maybe your teachers did for you.)
When writers write from their experience, and add stories and anecdotes, they create new ideas. Sure, most of us build on previous ideas and writers, but when we write from our experience and expertise, we create new ideas.
When I explained that to Fred, he got that “aha” look on his face. The last time I checked in with him, he'd written several blog posts about his experience, using the ideas in Free Your Inner Nonfiction Writer.
You can do this, too. Register now for the Q3 2024 for Writing Workshop 1: Free Your Inner Writer & Sell Your Nonfiction Ideas.
Don't worry about creating a brand new idea. Instead, focus on creating your new expressions of any ideas. That's how you find your audience, those people who resonate with your ideas.
See all the posts in this intermittent series of “writing secrets.”