Listen my darlings: #fanfic is great, #plagiarism sucks. A writer's voice and invention is like their fingerprint - everyone has fingerprints, no two alike. Don't be a copy, be yourself. Find and build your own voice and invention. I want to read you, not your copy of X or Y.
I wish every writer the grace and passion to own and develop your own style, skills, themes and strengths. It doesn't matter how long it takes. I was 30 before I started selling articles and 40 before my first book was published. I got many rejections - still do. Trust yourself.
In 1961 the Nobel Literary Prize commitee rejected nominations from Grahame Greene, Robert Frost, E.M. Forster. C.S. Lewis, Lawrence Durrell and others for J.R.R. Tolkien. They said The Lord Of The Rings had 'not in any way measured up to storytelling of the highest quality'.
If you don't believe me, check here: tolkienlibrary.com/press/1024-Why… The Nobel Prize for Literature 1961 went to Yugoslav writer Ivo Andric for the 'epic force with which he has traced themes and depicted human destinies'. Tolkien: not epic enough for them.
But Tolkien was Tolkien and he kept on being Tolkien until he found his own readers. He didn't even consider ripping off Andric to boost his 'epic' potential. So if you're tempted to rip off a fellow creator, be a bit more Tolkien. Trust your own work. Your readers will find you.
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