Originality is a distraction

When you're in school, or thinking about any sort of creative endeavor "being original" seems like the most important thing. And that's really daunting, coming up with a story that has never been told, or an image that has never been captured.

And, then you find that most stories are retellings. The best ones especially.

The trick is finding your voice.

Yevgeny Zamyatin wrote We in 1921. George Orwell borrowed some essential themes and wrote Nineteen Eighty-Four in 1949. The Pet Shop Boys wrote Integral in 2006.

Each work tells a story about the fight for personhood and individuality in the face of totalitarianism and the cult of rational order. Each is particular to its time and context.

I hadn't heard of *We* until I'd purchased that Pet Shop Boys album. Upon reading the book I found many elements mighty familiar.

The conjunction of universal themes and a unique utterance is more powerful than just making up new stuff.

And it always helps if you have Trevor Horn producing.