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A to Z Challenge: I

I is for INGENUITY

As a writer and a teacher, it's important to hold this quality close to heart. What does ingenuity mean?

Clever.
Original
Unique
Inventive
Creative
Artistic
Thinking outside the box

Just to name a few!

Agents and publishers are looking for unique and original ideas. That's almost impossible, right? Everything has been done before. How do write something new? Something original?

I'm not for sure if I know the answer to this. I'm being honest, okay. Every time I think I've hit on an awesome idea, I find someone else has already written it.

Grab a-hold to ingenuity. Pet it. Love it. Nurse it. and when you've found the answer to how to write, get busy and write the next best seller.

That's what I plan to do.

How about you, beautiful guys and dolls???

Comments

  1. Alex J. CavanaughApril 10, 2013 at 11:47 AM

    There may not be many new ideas, but it's our unique spin on our stories that make them original.

    ReplyDelete
  2. UnknownApril 10, 2013 at 12:00 PM

    Some authors believe ONLY the truly original stuff is worth writing about. Others think there's NOTHING original at all.

    I think my thoughts are similar to yours: If you do hit on something completely unique, run with it! :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Ink in the BookApril 10, 2013 at 10:54 PM

      I'm running as fast as I can before someone else gets the same idea!

      Delete
  3. Amanda TroughtApril 10, 2013 at 12:29 PM

    I agree with Alex, there are just different views to an idea and it gets rehashed and told in a different way. I think your right you have to go for it! Amanda

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Ink in the BookApril 10, 2013 at 10:55 PM

      So many views, so few ideas. Wait, that can't be right...lol! If I don't, someone else will, right?

      Delete
  4. cleemckenzieApril 10, 2013 at 12:33 PM

    No new ideas under the sun, but infinite ways to explore them. Here's to reading what you do with some of those ideas we're all familiar with, but never tire of.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Ink in the BookApril 10, 2013 at 10:56 PM

      I'm trying, Lee! I hope to get those ideas published soon so you can read them!

      Delete
  5. K.E.April 10, 2013 at 6:45 PM

    Sometimes I despair, thinking that my ideas are never going to be original enough. It seems every plot has already been written about. But it's the journey to the end which makes a story truly interesting.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Ink in the BookApril 10, 2013 at 10:56 PM

      You're right, Ingrid. The journey makes it all worth it!

      Delete
  6. AnonymousApril 10, 2013 at 7:58 PM

    Your way of telling a story is indeed unique, and full of integrity. Yes, everything has been done before but there are LOTS of people who don't do. And your stories are colored by all of your experiences and are why we want to read you. Take heart!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Ink in the BookApril 10, 2013 at 10:58 PM

      That might be called the authors voice, and it's got to be unique or it blends in with everyone else. So I'm working on developing that!

      Delete
  7. UnknownApril 10, 2013 at 8:18 PM

    I like Tracy Kidder's words in his book Good Prose, " it doesn't have to be an original idea (are there any?)... confront old wisdom in a new way."

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Ink in the BookApril 10, 2013 at 10:59 PM

      A new way... Got it! That's what I need to work on!

      Delete
  8. Heidi MannanApril 10, 2013 at 11:04 PM

    Great word. And, as a writer and homeschooling mom, I totally agree that both writers and teachers need ingenuity.

    ReplyDelete
  9. NVApril 11, 2013 at 1:07 AM

    I remember thinking that I had a truly unique idea for a novel I was working on. Then I went to BEA and was just talking to some people about it and they would say things like, "Oh, that's really cool. That sounds just like _____." I don't even remember the names because there were so many! I was devastated! It took me a long while to understand that while certain aspects may have been familiar, no one told MY STORY yet. :)

    ReplyDelete
  10. UnknownApril 11, 2013 at 7:54 AM

    I remember when my heart fell when I saw that so many people had already written about nephilim. But so many people had already written about wizards before Harry Potter and vampires before Twilight. In the end, I think how you write is more important.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Anne MackleApril 11, 2013 at 10:37 AM

    You do tend to think that everything has been done before but it just takes that one light to switch on in your head.

    ReplyDelete
  12. JDApril 11, 2013 at 12:58 PM

    Few things have not been written about at this point, but Stephen King said in one of his books that the trick is to take two unrelated ideas and bring them together in a way no one has done before. He said the ideas don't have to be original ideas, but the tying together has to be original. That opens up the storyline possibilities, I think. :-)

    Have a beautiful week, my friend!

    ReplyDelete
  13. AnonymousApril 11, 2013 at 1:18 PM

    One way of giving a universal concept a 'unique' spin is to ask yourself what that concept MEANs to you; then taken it one level deeper is ask yourself what that (MEANING) tells you about YOURSELF. -Belinda [A - Z participant; today I'm talking about jingoism - hope to see you around]

    ReplyDelete
  14. Sharon HimslApril 11, 2013 at 1:48 PM

    Hi. We all write the same things at some point, I suppose, but from a different perspective, and that is where ingenuity applies and new ideas are generated. Thanks for the inspiration! Just visiting your blog in the big A-Z and extending an invitation to visit mine :)

    ReplyDelete
  15. Silvia WritesApril 11, 2013 at 4:47 PM

    Nothing to be said (or written) that hasn't been said. We take an old idea and put our own print on it, so it's fresh in some ways.
    Enjoyed being here.
    Silvia @ Silvia Writes

    ReplyDelete
  16. EllaApril 11, 2013 at 10:14 PM

    Yes, we just have to keep at it and use fresh eyes and words to convey the same old ideas ;D

    Nicely done!
    @>---------------

    ReplyDelete
  17. Brett MinorApril 11, 2013 at 11:01 PM

    I have lived a very eventful life, so I start with something that happened to me and work up a story from there.

    Dropping by from A to Z. This is my first year participating.

    Brett Minor
    Transformed Nonconformist

    ReplyDelete
  18. TrishaApril 12, 2013 at 8:58 AM

    I think the trouble begins when you start *trying* to be unique, original, etc. I think that the best way to go is to "go with the flow" and let your imagination run wild - let that special story lurking inside emerge and write it.

    ReplyDelete
  19. Paula MartinApril 12, 2013 at 9:17 AM

    I'm sometimes asked to 'compare' myself or my books to others, but I can't do it. Everyone's writing is (or should be) different.

    Visiting from the A-Z Challenge Paula Martin - Romance Author

    ReplyDelete
  20. VikLitApril 12, 2013 at 1:04 PM

    Ah lovely post, we all strive for this definitely, we each have a unique view of the world we just need to get that out on paper! :)

    ReplyDelete
  21. M PaxApril 12, 2013 at 5:04 PM

    I think originality comes in with our writing style/voice and how we put things together. Because otherwise, it's been done.

    ReplyDelete
  22. MarciaApril 12, 2013 at 9:28 PM

    It helps to know that great stories are centered on universals. Things that resonate with large numbers of people. They've all been written about since long before we were born, but new stories are still needed.

    ReplyDelete
  23. Someone in the Pacific NorthwestApril 12, 2013 at 10:09 PM

    Sure, all stories can boil down to one of a handful of extremely generic story lines, but what's different is your spin on them. Kids going to boarding school has been done, as have kids who can do magic. But how many stories have a boy whose trying to survive and ultimately destroy the evil wizard trying to rule the world? A generic story that's been done to death is good girl dates bad jerk and "loves" him until he's someone she can tolerate.

    I think you know you have a unique story if you can distill it down to a quick description of the main characters, without names, and the climax, and know which you're talking about. A boy trying to survive and an evil wizard trying to rule the world are, of course, Harry Potter and Voldemorte, and Harry's trying to destroy him. The good girl who "loves" the bad boy accurately describes probably half the "romances" out there, including 50 Shades.

    ReplyDelete
  24. GrammyApril 13, 2013 at 5:23 AM

    Hi, friend... well, I'm workin' on it... ha. Best regards to you. Come visit if you have time. I truly enjoyed reading your post. Ruby

    ReplyDelete
  25. Jan MorrisonApril 13, 2013 at 9:05 AM

    Ingenious! Yes - to make anew is the thing. Can we do it? Only if we sail out bravely - willing to go beyond the map where the monsters lie.
    Jan Morrison

    ReplyDelete

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