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I've noticed that a lot of stories and books and stuff have similar topics or motifs. Not that this is a bad thing, but I was just wondering if there was anything that you think are over-used in writing? Phrases, genres, symbols, steroetypical characters, that sort of stuff.

I get that, but there are so many stories out there that are just repeats of others. It's not like they try to be redundant, it just turns out that way. I'm scared I'm gonna write a really good story and someone's gonna go "It's nice, but I've read something like it before."
For example, thanks to Harry Potter, no one is ever going to be able to write a story about a magical person at boarding school ever again. Every publisher on earth will read the overveiw and "GO great, another HArry Potter." and throw it away.
I just don't want to use an idea that people use frequently. Like writing a story about the apocolypse. How many times had that been done? Sure, it may be different every time, but how many people can sit through fifty billion difterent versions of the end of the world and still enjoy the next one?
Writing is hard.

There are several books about the witch hunts of colonial times. More then you would think. In fact, House of Seven Gables is based on the witch trails of the times, and it's by Hwathorn. (who, respectivly, I hate!)

everything is over used and heard before but it's the way that you tell it thtat sets it a part from another form of writing. The way I see it, language and entertainment has changed as to what it used to be. That is something that makes it all fresh.

I agree with Curtsy about the H.P. thing. I was so annoyed to see the first book I want to published is about witches. I can just see the publishers going '...!' stressed (damn that woman)

I mean I get what you all mean whenn you over use Idea's, what think I reccomend anyone should do when they write a story is try as much as possible to blend differnt styles of writing together. Search for new ways of narration that way when you write a story the idea may be non-original but the way a story is told will be more of an attention grabber. Writing an Allegory to one's life and putting it in the form of different genre would work as well. But then again you also have to consider how many peoples lives are similar to yours. And out of those people they can write the same story about you. I mean idea's are over used I'll admit that. To me though I think what count's most these days is the presentation of a story. How it's written. Originality comes second to all. The Harry Potter series I'm betting you somebody already had a similar idea of a boy that goes to a magical boarding school, but perhaps the publisher's couldn't go for the idea of a boy going to a school for witches and wizards, or they didn't really like the writer's style of writing. J.K used that Idea and actualyl threw in some very nice elements to it. The whole mystery element to the series. Those books were like a detective story for me. The Climax of book three man It really kept me guessing. I did not you know who to actually be a bad guy and such.

Completely. I got kicked out of the Harry Potter forum because I'm known as the JK Rowling hater. There was a big missunderstanding about one of the posts I made. (hehe?)

I agree with everything. The market is saturated with so many different stories its impossible to come up with a completely unique idea. No matter what you write I could take at least one part and say that it was copied(whether it was or wasn't)
I say a bunch of people should rp and print it off and submit it to publishers... title"A role players life" or something of the sort. It would be very original but at least some of it would be similar to something else.

Yeah, I agree that she does write particularly well (better than me -cough-), in fact that's why she's a millionairess! And yes, I do read HP quite a lot, but, well, that's not really my point xD Y'all get what I mean right? It was all right for the people in the last century 'cause every idea was unique, but now, we're just 'borrowing' their ideas.

Every books is unique, not because of the content, but the words and style inside. In the end I don't think people pick up a book, take one look and say "Oh, I read one like that before... I won't bother!" Because we all know that's mostly what doesn't happen. As often as the phrase "Don't judge a book by it's cover" is said, one person picks a book up and says "Hmm, this looks good... I think I'll get it!" (I know that's what most people I know do...)

Okay, so I'm going to stop rambling, and hope that at least some of what I said was at least partcially coherent.... -shutting up now-