Trend overload: how we're overusing the word "unprecedented" and the revelation that no ideas are original (ever)
As a collective subsect of writers, journalists have found a new clickbait weapon in the form of the word "unprecedented." And honestly, it's incorrect.The word "unprecedented" is an adjective meaning: without previous instance; never before known or experienced; unexampled or unparalleled. Yet the world has, in fact, known a global pandemic before. Perhaps it would be more accurate to say this situation is unprecedented in our generation's collective lifetime... although, we can't make that sweeping generalization as there are some folks in previous generations who are 102 years old (or older) out there somewhere still thriving. It's fact.I've started seeing a few articles cropping out that are addressing this, let's face it, non-issue that is the overuse of this word. It's an interesting thing to think about though. The interesting bit isn't the word itself or its meaning, but the fact that we, the royal we of writers, are bandwagon jumpers, biters, followers. Tapping into the words that have come before us until we use it ad nauseam and turn it into that dreadful being, a trend.Which of course got me thinking about how we as humans approach the craft of writing.Inspiration can crop up from anywhere. During a long walk, while watching a TV show, or from something we overhear when we're walking down the street kinda, maybe, minding our own business (but really our ears are perked up to collect snippets of something interesting from the outside world). We might even sometimes get inspired by the success of our friends. All of this faffing is to say, original thought and a fresh idea is never really that original or fresh. Ideas percolate through the ether and have been doing so since the existence of time as we innovate and encounter new ways of living and being. (This is a good time to encourage everyone to get their hands on and read Elizabeth Gilbert's Big Magic which delves into the concept that ideas and inspiration are spirits swirling through the earth's atmosphere and dropping in on us like productive, angelic little partners-in-creative-crime-and-success).So that's the reality of it, then, isn't it? No ideas are original. Someone else has gone before to write that epic romance or that mid-life travel excursion that helps you shake off all the demons and demands of suburban life. That intergalactic space odyssey you're tinkering with? There's a hint of your protagonist in Star Wars.Do you feel defeated? Does this seem like a nihilistic perspective to take? It might appear so at first glance, but you haven't let me finish.What we do with the themes and storylines and major dramatic questions and plot twists is what makes our writing unique. Adding that tidbit of dialogue from your own life or infusing your villain's personality with a hint of your ex, these are the ways we create something new and fresh.I don't want you to feel discouraged. I certainly don't. Inspiration is all around, and usually in the form of a trendy topic (like unprecedented events or vampire stories or YA teen angst). Don't worry about biting someone else's style, just make sure you leave your mark and that special brand of something unique on everything you write.There's some big magic in the air when you find yourself able to combine inspiration, revelation, and personal experience.