If you are at all in a creative field, you've probably felt the weird sting of seeing content that looks suspiciously like your own. Or, if you are a regular consumer of others’ writings, art, music, thoughts, you may have noticed similarities between theirs and others’.

As someone who creates content for fun and for a living, I'm always wondering if I'm a resounding gong or a breath of fresh air.

I've been in the creative space long enough to know that good ideas tend to circulate, and the more I put ideas into the world, the more I see those same ideas pop up elsewhere. I wrestle with a dual fear of people thinking I'm copying others, or of people actually copying me!

I have some well-weathered thoughts on why the same topics/trends circulate around at the same time, how to create original content with a sense of freedom, and how to be a gracious consumer.

(Spoiler alert: this is a very normal part of putting your stuff out there!)

All images by Melissa DeLorme Photography — *All images by* *Melissa DeLorme Photography*

If you’re new around these parts, I’m an enneagram 4 (with a 5 wing) and originality, authenticity, and truth are essential to me. I have a sensitivity super-power and deeply feel every level of things. As a creator, I’ve had to learn how to create with as much integrity, honesty, bravery, and freedom as possible.

I wanted to write this because

I have spent actual time crying in the bathroom to John, upset because I saw someone post words and phrases that sounded verbatim like something I had spent time, energy, and courage creating and putting out there. Had they seen it?

I have silenced my own voice and creative spirit because I was afraid I wasn’t original enough, or that someone with a bigger platform would see/hear and use some of my creativity and call it their own. After all, how could I ever prove a connection and vindicate my originality?!

I have felt embarrassed and ashamed-by-association when I’ve created and shared something, and someone says, “I just saw something exactly like that! Do you follow so-and-so? Is that where you got the idea?” How could I ever prove I hadn’t? What if I had and I didn’t remember?!

It doesn’t take long to see that this could be an endless downward spiral, and much of it is fear-based. And, well, that’s just not helpful for anyone!

The ability to immediately and widely circulate your work via the internet (especially social media) has contributed to a rise in similar ideas/styles being used by several creators around the same time. Bloggers, musicians, photographers, wedding planners, makeup artists and hairstylists, comics, illustrators, artists, authors, speakers - if you make something and put it out into the world, you’ve probably experienced this already.

It’s a double-edged sword because it’s awesome to have access to a huge community of like-minded creators close at hand, with tons of inspiration, encouragement, niche education, and content to consume for ourselves. And it’s great to get your stuff out there for as many eyes to see as possible (hello, free marketing!) But, there is also the real risk of having someone see your work and copy it, whether intentionally or unintentionally.

What I’ve found is that there is a whole spectrum in between being inspired, participating in a creative community, and copycatting. Where is the sweet spot?

How can we be the most responsible makers and consumers of things made?

After about ten years in the creative space, between making music, writing, and doing hair/makeup, I have a few thoughts on the matter below!

Grab a hot drink and pop in some good music, cause it ain’t short but it’s REALLY GOOD.

explore your creative family treE & credit your inspiration

Creating original content is not easy, you guys. Sitting down and typing out blog posts and newsletters every month takes hours of my time and lots of brainpower. That blank page with the blinking cursor is one tough cookie sometimes!

Have you ever heard the saying, “there is nothing new under the sun”? It’s actually a Bible verse! The best, most essential ideas have circulated around and around since the beginning of time. Why? Because it’s the shared human experience!

There is power in acknowledging your creative family tree, as Austin Kleon writes in Steal Like an Artist. Who has most inspired you creatively? Whose voices do they attribute to influencing their own? When you go up and up that family tree, you start seeing the Titans of Creativity that have shaped who you are! It’s pretty cool, and I recommend trying it for yourself.

Make note of the voices and influences that you are consuming on a regular basis. If there is someone’s voice feeding into what you are doing, give a shoutout to your creative family! Don’t just credit if you’re quoting, credit direct inspiration, too. It actually makes you a stronger, more reliable, more trustworthy creator - a link in the net of other creative titans doing great work!

The fact is, all of our creative work is just a gumbo - bits and pieces of others’ work who have come before us and inspired us deeply. As makers, we take fragments of inspirations and rework them, remix them, and add our own personal experience and voice to the mix, and BOOP! Out comes something fresh! There is freedom in that! And there is power in knowing who your creative forefathers are, and where you fit in the tree.

Believe the Best in Others & know sometimes the same idea hits more than one person

Can I tell you something that’s true? Sometimes you see/hear/read something - an article or song or a podcast - and some part of it sinks down into your subconscious. You might mull over whatever it is that stuck out to you, not thinking about the source anymore. Like a little seed, that thought grows. After some time, this thought seems original to you.

For example, have you ever shown or told a friend something, and then a few weeks later, they come to you with this thing they have to show you and you say, “yeah, I’m the one that told that to you a few weeks ago, remember?” I feel like this happens to everyone! And I’ve been both of those friends!

Sometimes things get lost in our subconscious. Maybe someone saw your stuff and didn’t remember because it was a brief moment in time, but something about it stuck and came back around in their own stuff. They might have been sparked, inspired, or imprinted by your work, and simply didn’t remember.

Or, they may have been inspired by the same sorts of voices you are currently getting inspired by.

OR, maybe they didn’t see your stuff at all but had a crazy-similar idea! Believe me, it happens.

I read Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert a few years ago and it has deeply impacted how I view making things and putting them out there. She likens creative ideas to sort of spirit entities that fly around in the atmosphere, wanting to be made. They’ll land on someone (poof! I just got this great idea!) but they won’t stick around forever for you to do the work. If you sit on it too long, they’ll fly off to someone else to get another chance at bring made.

Now, I know that sounds silly, but I can really understand where she’s coming from! I’m a serial song-shelfer (I write them and never release them) and I can’t tell you how many times the same words, topics, or unique phrases have come back around in others’ songs years down the road. It doesn’t feel good, but the point is, if an idea lands on you, you can either do the work and share it, or not.

All that said, it’s best practice to believe the best in other creators who are making similar things to you, which leads me to…

Let Go of Proving It & put on your blinders

Here’s something I have to tell myself on the regular: Do great work. Give it all you’ve got - your heart and your honesty. Be consistent. Know that someone out there might be deeply encouraged by what you’re doing. Do it for them and also because you just love doing it!

If you see someone else doing stuff that’s eerily similar to you, I encourage you to let go of proving your originality. It’ll drive you crazy looking over time stamps, who posted what first, and wondering if people who follow you will notice that you’re the OG.

The fact is, we input so much media every single day that it’d be impossible to finely comb out where all of our inspirations come from. Someone may have seen you post a certain thing and it inspired them to post like that, too. Especially in the creative industries, there is so much we have to be putting out there to seem like reputable businesses, and sometimes we leverage the inspired work of others to help us tick off all our creative-business-to-do’s. It’s not pretty, but it happens.

For that reason, I encourage you to put on your blinders while you’re in making-mode. Whether that’s Instagram captions, blog posts, actual art (hair styles, music, paintings, graphic designs, photographs) - anything you are creating - don’t go looking for help or inspiration during that exact time. Have a separate inspiration time during your work week, where you might spend one hour looking on Pinterest, going to the art museum, looking through inspirational books, or perusing others’ feeds on IG. But while you’re making - get in your zone and dig down deep!

I also have this little tip: don’t spend much time looking laterally at other creators’ work who do exactly what you do and are at a very similar skill level, business size, or are physically located near you. I prefer to look upwards at the work of those who do something similar to me, whose work I respect, who have a larger/more established business than mine, and it helps if they’re not NC-based. It’s a much wider net, and I won’t waste time comparing myself 1-to-1, which creates an unhelpful spirit of competitiveness and defensiveness (at least for me!)

Don’t Steal Other People’s Work

Well, it goes without saying, and yet it also needs saying, just like that! If you’re not sure what words to put on your website or IG post, don’t go copy and pasting from someone else’s website or profile who is saying it “better than you could”, and just tweak a few words here and there. If you’re really stuck, ask a friend to help you out, or hire a copywriting professional (it is worth it, I promise!)

If you’re not sure where the style of your next body of work is coming from, don’t go looking for direct inspiration to help you in an exact moment of creating. Like I said, do the hard work of creating - dig down deep and trust your artistic abilities!

Return to your why regularly. Why do you love doing what you do? What brings you back? What part of your work sparks the most satisfaction and joy? Take a minute to write those things down, and when you’re in a creating space, go back to that unique why, and the things that make you uniquely YOU! All of that - even what seems plain and mundane - is your superpower! Own it.

For consumerS: cheer on your makers (& don’t pit us against each other please)

Like I said, making new things is hard work, even when it’s a joy! And putting your stuff out there takes major cajones! I encourage you, if you follow someone who makes things, don’t just sit there and judge what they’re doing, if it’s good enough, or how they’re doing it. Instead, either 1) unfollow or 2) cheer them on. Show up to their events. Buy their stuff! Or if you can’t buy something, just give them a smile and say something encouraging!

We ALL benefit from creatives doing great work. We watch Netflix (impossible without directors, actors, HMUAs, writers, composers) and listen to Spotify (obsolete without musicians, producers, songwriters). We buy furniture (requires textile makers and designers and tailors) and eat delicious food at hip restaurants (thanks to creative chefs, restauranteurs, and interior design specialists.) Whether you follow someone big-deal or someone small and local, cheer on those creatives you love, and send appreciation for them doing what it is that they’re passionate about!

Just a tiny note - avoid comparing creatives to other creatives, if possible. Don’t pit us against each other, please. Take each creative as a separate entity with their own personal background story and unique voice. You don’t have to love everyone’s work, of course! But as a creator, I don’t love getting a sense that consumers feel the need to pick one side or another in any given field - like you either like this local jewelry maker or that local jewelry maker, this graphic designer or that graphic designer, etc, or discuss who is the “best”. It’s just weird and uncomfortable so try not to do it, ok? We’re not sports teams! And the world needs as much art as possible.

That’s all for now, folks! Hit me up below and let me know if anything popped out to you in this article.

And if you’re a maker, I highly recommend you read these books, stat!

Happy making - dig down deep and get out there without any fear!

Sam

Stop Copying Me! A Guide to Creative Clarity