3 Ways to (Ethically) Steal Writing Ideas
When I was writing a novel, these thoughts constantly haunted me:
- My writing isn’t original enough.
- People will think I’m just copying [writer].
- This is too similar to [book/blog/movie].
Sound familiar?
Most writers (fiction and non-fiction) have similar thoughts.
You stress because you don’t think your ideas are “original” enough. You’re afraid you’ll have nothing to add to a topic and will just come off as a hack.
Luckily, I discovered a solution to this problem, even though I’m reluctant to admit it.
The biggest creativity secret
Want to know a trade secret? The best writers steal from other writers.
Hear me out before you dismiss it.
When I say “steal,” I don’t mean they steal content and I’m in no way advocating plagiarism here. What I’m talking about is stealing:
- Frameworks
- Topics
- POV
Then, make them yours. Expand on them, refute them, or remix them by adding your own perspective and voice.
As Austin Kleon says in Steal Like an Artist, “You are, in fact, a mashup of what you choose to let into your life. You are the sum of your influences.”
That’s how you make “original” content. Creativity comes from mixing ideas and leaning into your influences. We all have influences, but few intentionally use them to make their own writing better.
So, how steal like an artist while staying completely ethical?
1. Consume valuable content
You can’t create if you don’t consume.
That goes for a lot of things, but it’s especially true with writing. Ask any professional writer how to get better and they’ll tell you two things:
- Read a lot
- Write a lot
In fact, Stephen King gave that exact advice in his book On Writing. But other popular writers like Robert Greene agree — he reads hundreds of books just to write one.
Neil Gaiman says the stories you read all collect in your brain and, over time, form a compost pile. The ideas and stories break down and mix together. The, out of that fertilizer comes new ideas.
If you want to be a good writer, you’ve got to read (consume). Put another way, new ideas are born from old ideas.
The more you read, the more you’ll have to work with.
2. Pick the parts that speak to you the most
I’ve always loved how Ryan Holiday uses stories of historical figures in his books about Stoicism. He and I don’t write about the same topic, but I often pull from history in my writing too. I learned that from him.
Hardly any modern-day writer has a better mastery of voice than Stephen King — it’s familiar, local, and inviting all at the same time. When I write fiction, I aim to create a similar voice around different subject matter.
The point is, that everything you read has elements you can borrow:
- Voice
- Formatting
- Structure
- Style
- Topics
The list goes on and on.
When you read something you like, take time to figure out what you like about it. Then, apply those elements to your own writing.
3. Mix and match
One of my favorite quotes comes from Steve Jobs who said, “Creativity is just connecting things.”
Remember all those unique elements you liked? Time to throw them all in a blender and see what comes out.
George Lucas has talked many times about how the television shows and movies he watched as a kid influenced him while writing the first Star Wars film. We’re talking about everything from Buck Rogers to Japanese Samurai films — and let’s not forget the Dune novels by Frank Herbert and the Vietnam War.
Star Wars — one of the most successful franchises in history — is really just a giant homage to Lucas’s childhood.
We all have influences.
Many of our strongest influences come from when we were kids, but they also come from other people we admire as adults.
Most of your writing (even non-fiction) will be an homage to your influences, whether you realize it or not. There’s nothing wrong with that.
Take the pieces you love the most and reuse them in your own work. Mix two or three different influences together and you’ll create something that crackles with creative energy.
Steal like an artist
Now do you understand what I mean when I say all writers “steal” from other writers?
It’s not about stealing ideas or claiming you wrote something you didn’t. It’s about recognizing your influences and making the most of them.
No blogger, novelist, screenwriter, or playwright (or any other creative, for that matter) could make anything of worth without their influences. Why? Because people crave the comfort of the familiar, told from a slightly different angle.
Happy writing!