| Re: Some Musings on Originality (and Style)
Not knowing the rules at all is definitely worse than following them too religiously.
Not all of a writer's influences come from books; you can pick them up in so many, many different places. And the main problem with people who don't read very much is that so many of them tend to think writing is all about the idea -- but an idea is just the beginning, it's not a plot, it's not a story. An idea is something you think up; a story is something you work out.
If you know the difference (and I think you do), I wouldn't worry about whether or not you "deserve" to be a writer. |