Not original enough
I’m seeing this time and again. It crops up in author forums, in FB groups, even in some writing advice books. And I can see it driving authors to despair.
My story isn’t original enough!
It’s basically an expression of self-doubt. It’s a sense that you as author are not valuable if you cannot produce something extraordinary, exclusively new and fascinating.
It’s also a limiting belief and falling for a myth. It may even be an excuse, but that’s rare.
Here’s the thing:
Humans have been telling stories for millennia. Seriously. We’ve been sitting around campfires and inside caves, and later in huts and houses, and even later in theatres and amphitheatres – and creating and listening to stories.
And I honestly believe that every story has been told already, in a way. In fact, there are people postulating there are only a limited number of potential story arcs. (Check out Christopher Booker, “The Seven Basic Plots: Why we tell stories”, for example.)
So there are no new stories. There are only new ways of telling them.
Don’t believe me? Still feel terrible about your story idea? Start tapping.
Tapping Phrases
Even though I was taught that a story must be original, and I believed them, I’m totally okay the way I am, and I now choose to unlearn that old belief.
Even though I always thought that originality was very important, and I strive to put that into my stories, I’m totally okay the way I am, and I’m open to changing that to individuality.
Even though I thought that every artist must be original, fresh and extraordinary, I’m totally okay the way I am, and I now choose to recognize this as a limiting belief – and let it go.
Asking you:
Do you have that problem?
What makes your story uniquely yours?
What happened while you were tapping?
And finally – are you using tapping with your writing?
Please share in a comment.
Image Source: F. Moebius
PS: My newsletter contains a full tapping round to go with my blog posts, so it’ll be easier for you to get results. Sign up through the form on the upper right hand corner, and receive an introduction to EFT as a gift, find that specific tapping round plus occasional special offers. If you’re on a mobile and can’t see the sidebar, you can sign up through this link: Newsletter Sign-up.
PPS: For those of you who are curious, you can find my books here: Hannah Steenbock
