How many times can you write the same story? The same story, but different. The same story, but different authors.

I know we often encourage each other by saying we can give the same idea or plot to ten others and we’ll come away with ten completely different stories. That’s true. I believe it.

I’ve said before that while writing The Groom Wore Blue Suede Shoes, three Elvis books were published before mine was even finished. That’s always discouraging and a little frightening. Are ideas just floating around in the air, waiting for someone to grab ’em. Well, as weird as it sounds, I do sort of believe that. I know all good things in our lives come from God, and that we can do nothing on our own. That includes getting good ideas. I certainly didn’t come up with those great ideas–the ones those bestselling writers grabbed and ran with.  

Recently I’ve seen two of my ideas come to pass, written by others. They were enough like my idea that if I write mine now, I’ll feel like a copy cat.

I know there aren’t any “new” ideas; everything’s been done/written already. I’m trying to break myself of the habit of “mulling things around in my head” forever and a day. I’m a slow thinker, but a pretty fast writer. Does that make sense. 🙂

I’ve written a little more than 100 pages of my inspirational romance. A couple weeks ago, I picked up one of the Love Inspired books in Walmart and guess what, the theme was almost exactly the same as mine. Except the author offered a cute twist. 🙂 So it was different, but the same.

After I fought away the doubt, despair, and agony I took a look through my realistic lens.  By the time I finish my book, query the editor, wait for a reply, actually sell it, go through revisions, all the necessary steps involved, more than a year will have passed. I’m sure even more stories like mine will have been published.

The point is, when this happens we can’t get discouraged. We need to just finish our books! We can try for a traditional publisher or we can indie publish. After all, we’re in the land of opportunity, aren’t we? (Unless books, reading, writing, and publishing are cancelled. Yikes!)

Have you seen some of your ideas come to fruition by other writers? Did you keep writing or did you get so discouraged you gave up? Hopefully, you kept writing!