How do you tell if a concept has already been taken?

[Kealan Patrick Burke]

Word of advice: Don't get bogged down in worrying whether or not an idea has been used before. It probably has, but it's up to you to come up with a unique take on it. That's what'll make it stand out. Look at zombies, for example. Can you count the number of books, video games, movies that use the tired old "people trying to escape a city full of zombies" nugget? Doesn't matter. Because then someone comes along with a startlingly original take on the whole thing, like Tony Burgess' PONTYPOOL CHANGES EVERYTHING. And sometimes it's the format. Who knew telling the same story as a bunch of historical interviews, a la WORLD WAR Z, would make it noteworthy?

Point being, you can worry yourself out of writing anything, but the only affirmative action worth taking is sitting down and writing it. And if, when you're done and published, someone says: "Hmm, reminds me of Stephen King's IT", will you really be bothered? Because there's a sentence that rhymes with that that's a lot less pleasing to the writerly ear, so the onus is on you to write, write, write, because ideas are common; how we process them as creative types and how they ultimately emerge, is not.

Kealan

[Ben Staad]

I'm certainly not an expert here but I think everyone had good points. I wouldn't worry about story originality as long as you the writer do not know that it's a blatant take from someone else's story. The key is really to write the story you want and keep the narrative and characters fresh. I think almost everything anyone writes has hints of themes from other stories. It's hard not to because as a writer you've probably read a ton of material and that is constantly circling around in your subconscious somewhere screaming to be let back out in some shape or form.

[WesleySouthard]

For me, it usually helps that I read A LOT and have a pretty good memory of what I've read, so if an idea for a story hits me, I'll scan my library and see if anything sparks my memory. If that doesn't work, I'll ask around with other writers or people that generally read a lot to see if the concept hasn't been done to death, or done at all.

[TerryE]

I wouldn't worry either. Have you been to the movies in the past few years? Outside of the work of Charlie Kauffman, have you seen anything that you would consider a new concept? I would suggest writing your story. If it's too close to something already out there, your editor will let you know.

[Nik Houser]

The thing is, an original concept will draw more attention than a thematic re-tread, but what will make your truly stand out, of course, is good storytelling: compelling characters, strong narrative voice, etc. So don't sweat if your concept has been done before. Uniqueness of voice has the potential to garner more attention from editors and readers than uniqueness of situation (though capturing both is the ideal, naturally). Good writing is what's going to make it stand out more than anything. I'm probably telling you something you already know, though. This is a drawn-out way of agreeing with OZ and CW.

[C.W. LaSart]

What Oz said! Just write your tale I have only once had an editor tell me my story was like a recent horror movie he had watched. I hadn't seen the movie so we both laughed and shook our fists at the Heavens because it was an awesome story. I wouldn't worry about it

[ozmosis7]

I've often heard everything has been done before. I don't know if I completely agree with this, but it does seem to ring true often. However, I am not sure if concepts are fully protected by digital millennium rights. I do know they are covered, but I think as long as there is a different approach to said elements, you are okay. I think concept is more protected to prevent plagurism more than anything. For instance, if you wrote a story about a monkey's paw that gave you wishes, it wouldn't go over well. If you wrote a story about a monkey's paw good luck charm a guy kept dangling from his rear-view mirror, than I don't see any issue with that. When I come up with an idea, I don't scour the internet looking for similar ideas. As long as you are writing your own story, with your own ideas, you should always be okay. Hope this helps, and good luck.

[JJ123]

One of the things that bugs me the most about writing is trying to decide if an idea has probably already been done; or, if it has, if mine is sufficiently different enough to remain viable and to not be thought of as an example of lame derivation.

How do the members of this forum deal with the issue? Surely I am not alone in this struggle. In fact, it is most problematic when a simple Google search fails to come up with a concept you just know is out there.

As an example, I wanted to write a story about a group of people who are all using GPS systems to get to their respective addresses of choice, only to all be brought together in the same wrong place -- essentially, a LOST via GPS. Only thing is, that has to be out there. I also assume a search engine that returns results from the future is already out there as well.

So, are there any suggestions for keywords to use when trying to find out if an idea has already been used? As an example, are there any specific phrases that can be attached to any plot description that is sure to return an informative result?