The paradox of being a writer.

I'm basically reading essays about writers and writing and thinking lots of it is true, but here's something I think is going to be my detriment someday:

What happens when I have this marvellously brilliant idea and find out someone much more famous has already incorporated that idea?

Well I used to think that meant I couldn't use the idea anymore, and then it sort of shifted to making me feel guilty about de-facto plagarism. For example, I have this character named Anath and he is very much in tune with all human senses - and then some - minus only eyesight. I should mention he is not human. And now I learn that Octavia Butler has some alien race just like this if not better!

What's a girl to do. Nothing is original, right? But what if it IS original originally?

Some ideas that've come to me in the past five minutes - (I give them to you on the condition you DON'T plagarize my work ;) ):

• A race like some species of fish that begin female and mature into males. I like to think of it as a comment on social constructs (two individuals can't be together but they want to) and homophobia.
• A woman who has to kill an abusive boyfriend in order to be free of men. Think "Private Benjamin", a movie I will reccommend to anyone. The idea isn't feminist exactly, but more as a self-liberation thing, albeit tragic.
• I really want to incorporate my Zonian warrior women into something. Also a gender issue; they treat men much like men treated women a few centuries previous: as property. They are...um...they're like taking over my brain. Zonians tend to do that to you.
• (There is a bug on me, and sometimes I get paranoid when I am up late at night that there are people in the house. Is that rational or normal?)
• Some irrational fear about something. I don't care if the character is totally mad. The madder the better.
• I want to prove someone wrong about mermaids. They're not gorgeous women laying on the beach for you to look at, boys. They're vicious maneaters. They have teeth.
• Something that has amnesia and wakes in the clutches of humans? Obviously this stems from my current work on Butler's Fledgling. I remember reading something about a trapped angel somewhere, that would be interesting.

Alright folks, looking back looks more like stream of conscious inspired by late-night exhaustion than anything. Give me two weeks and all be all on these ideas like gravy on potatoes.

Peace,

Becs.