Having an Idea that was Already Thought of

[ToxicRamen]

We all have an "unique" and "original" idea that we want to use for for a comic but there's always a chance that an idea has already been thought of by someone else. But if you find out that another comic has an idea that is similar to yours, do you use a different idea or just used your idea anyway? I'm always afraid that any idea I come up with is an idea that already has been done and it would make me look like I'm a copy-cat.

[Kecreed]

There was a very similar topic made about this already. (A bit of irony there lol, I was also close to making a topic like this but found the old topic) http://forums.tapastic.com/t/comics-like-yours/2397

Not sure if I should repeat myself here? I used to hate it a lot though everyone can branch out from an original idea. I've just had waay too many ideas not credited to me outside the internet, at work, at school, etc. Now I just do the idea anyway, it just means one just has to expand more on the original idea.

[carloswebcomic]

Problem is that, to someone, you'll always be a copy-cat no matter what you do.
I would normally just go ahead with it without thinking too much about it.

[WintreKitty]

Think of it this way: Without ever reading that person's comic, the chances of you creating the exact same story is very unlikely. You may start off with a similar idea, but it will probably take a different turn eventually.

A lot of movies/books/comics are very similar... even the really popular ones! Maybe that's why it works. People like that concept so much they don't mind reading it again. Heck, just think about all those Teen Fiction books out right now: The Hunger Games, The Maze Runner, Divergent... need I go on?

[UndefinableCreature]

Personally my ideas tend to just.. appear out of nowhere. Its hard to find a resembling existing one, and that isn't too good. Im not sure if people will appreciate something that deviates from the norm.

Though, even if an idea is used, just keep developing yours. Ultimately, how you tell your version of it matters more. Look at marvel and DC. Multiple similarities, but they're told in a different manner etc.

[serenitysquirrel]

One of the books I read mentioned that when you want to do a thing, research the genre and stuff alot. If it's a mystery, then read up on mystery, etc.

Then you can take your idea and you can borrow stuff from other sources, and then you make it something all your own.

[AnnaLandin]

There are no new story-ideas. By now, everything's been told at least once.

What IS new is how YOU approach it. What about it will be different because you do it? I mean, in my case - I'm doing a samurai-comic heavily influenced by things like Lone Wolf and Cub, Blade of the Immortal and Usagi Yojimbo - but I'm doing it my way, which means it will be different. I'll make different choices, approach scenes differently, build my world differently, etc., etc.

[kazukitakamura126]

There are no such thing as an original idea, every story imagination-able has already been told. However, it is the way its told, it themes and adding your own touch that makes a idea original. For example, Blue Exorcist doesn't have the most original plot but, the way the story was told and it characters made it shine. So I suggest you should write any idea you want as long as you add your own spin on the idea.

[Luie]

No, look,
Just like
You gotta just throws stuff
If it is your idea then it is inherently original. If you came up with it and later find out that some outside source has a similar idea, that's all it is. Because it's your idea, there's something about it that makes it different from any other idea from any other source. Yes it may seem like an uncanny coincidence but it really isn't because we're talking about thoughts. Everyone has thoughts. Millions and billions of people and billions of them are already dead. A lot of good ideas are similar to others, but it's original as long as you add yourself to it. It's original as long as you take that idea and make something good out of it. Then nobody cares how similar other ideas are.

If someone out there sees that your comic is similar to another comic and attacks you on the basis of their similarities because he's too stupid to figure out how likely it is that two humans on a planet thunk a similar thought then that person doesn't deserve to see your work at all.

[apurviance]

Ideas are easy.
Making stuff is hard.

[Kyosu]

the ideas can be similar or original but the real point is how you approach it through the story!
a lot of movies, books, comics are similar but if the story and the approach is good they can become popular!

[winglesscomic]

One of my favourite comics has a storyline and even characters that are very similar to mine. But there are still extremely crucial differences. I don't think any story can be exactly the same as another. Maybe in plot, maybe archetypal characters, but never a carbon copy.

Everything you come up with, and everything everyone else has come up with, has already been done. You just have to make it in your own way.

[DynamoToon]

it is a NIGHTMARE dude. I hate it when it happens.

[joannekwan]

Once you've read enough of one genre, you realize how similar a lot of the stories are anyway. Just do what you want to do is what I say.

There really needs to be a term within the creative community akin to convergent evolution, where two species of different ancestry evolve similar features (ie. birds and cephalopods have beaks).

[shazzbaa]

I DEFINITELY KNOW THE FEELING. I got the idea for a story where a main character is a glitch in a video game and started fleshing the whole thing out literally two days before seeing Wreck-it-Ralph in theatres. I spent the entire movie just screaming internally, but then went home and kept working on my story idea! xD As I developed it, I realised that the similarities are pretty superficial.

I really don't like idolising the concept of a "unique" idea (as everyone above has already said, there aren't really any unique ideas) -- but even if you had an idea that literally nobody has ever had before, that won't actually make your story better! If the characters are extremely believable, or the story told extremely well, those are the kinds of things that make a story Stand Out as something special!
For me, ideas become something special as they develop. On the surface, everything sounds cliche, because cliches are just ideas that remain shallow. If you shoot down every idea that's "been done" before, you'll never get to the point of finding what makes your story cool and special.

And if someone points out to me, "Wow, this video game story is really similar to .hack//sign!" I can either respond "oh no, is it??? Aw shoot now I look like I'm copying but I promise I never saw dot hack >A<;;;;;;; I gotta figure out how to change something ;;" or I can respond "lol really? That's cool, GREAT MINDS THINK ALIKE" and keep going forward. The way you look at it will definitely affect the way your readers approach it -- if you are not defensive and okay with the idea of things existing that look kinda like your thing, chances are your readers will be too!

[wbparham247]

I agree that every idea has been thought of at some point, but I also think everyone has their own originality to add at the same time. There's always those underlying tones and feelings you get from a story, a comic or a movie that can't be duplicated, even if the basic plots are similar or relationships between characters seem repetitive. In my comics there's a doofy idiot that causes mayhem and an angry fat guy that has to put up with him. I'm sure you've seen that a million and two times before, but what I try to do with it feels unique and fresh. It's MY story and MY world and I can do absolutely anything I want to in it.

[Waterdrain]

Oh man, I know this feeling to the T. There has been so many times where I've had really cool story ideas and then a movie or a book will come out with the same Ideas or character names. It can be really hard to think of something original because we are all in fact influenced by different things everyday.

[Doubtcent]

Because we each have our own take on ideas, everything is original. Of course, if someone is outright putting effort into ripping someone off, then that's a different story.

Even if a joke is overused, if given a new light or taken from a different angle, it can be original. Of course, here on Tapastic, since there are hundreds of gag-a-days, it's very likely that a few will be very similar in their take on an issue or a pun.

To me, it's annoying if a joke has been played before and it still gets praise. But then again, we live in a meme generation, so repetition is the way to easy stardom.