During a writing conference, a speaker once said, “There are no new stories,” to a round of grumbles from aspiring writers who felt they had just completed a work of genius unseen by human eyes. As hard as it is for creators to believe, it has all been done before.
Think about the great geniuses who came before – DaVinci, Michelangelo, Einstein, Disney, and Dr. Seuss. You get the picture. When we think about the greatness of those who came before, it can be quite humbling, but we shouldn’t think of it as such.
As a writer, I am great fan of the works of John Steinbeck and Kurt Vonnegut. It is doubtful that I will ever aspire to their literary greatness. The point is, their humanistic approach to literature has inspired millions who in turn add their own individual twist.
Genius evolves humanity. We take the inspiration our ancestors and mentors have given us and expand upon it for our current times. As a civilization, we keep standing on the shoulders of those who came before to reach greater heights, and that should be the best inspiration of all.