Diane Magras (she/her)My husband (a fellow writer) and I often talk about the concept of familiar originality (it comes from Tom Stoppard): how to create work that is original, close to our hearts, fulfilling our interests, and being true to ourselves; yet that has that flavor of familiarity that makes it marketable. I'm convinced that this is at the core of most published books.
Andrew Crowther@dianemagras Alan Plater once quoted Samuel Johnson as saying: art is old delights presented in a new way or new delights presented in an old way. I haven't been able to track down whether Johnson ever did say that, but I like it anyway!
@andrewcrowther That's exactly it! I've sometimes mixed up Stoppard's phrase—original familiarity instead of familiar originality—which we both think works too (and really is in the same family of meaning). I love that Samuel Johnson came up with this as well. The concept seems very old, very wise, and consistently relevant.
@dianemagras As I say, I am not sure if Johnson actually did say this - Alan Plater could be a bit vague about his quotations! But, like Stoppard's version, it's incredibly useful to anyone trying to write, I think....