Blogging || Creatives & Copying

Creatives are often applauded for their unique work. Unique work is what we all strive to make as creatives. By the way, the term creative requires that we create. And what is the point of creating if we don't come up with something unique or different?

Truth is, sometimes it seems like there is nothing new to create. Someone somewhere is obviously thinking the same as you or it may be that one copied from the other. And what do you do when you discover that something you were so motivated to create is already existing? Do you forget about it or go ahead with it and then be accused of copying?

I have noticed many bloggers complain about being copied by others. It seems the struggle with copying is more common in writing. Or is it the same in other creative domains but there are only complaining less about it?

Creatives have to find their voice in the midst of all the things that they copy from others. A creative should turn what they copied into something unique. 

That is on one hand. The act of copying could represent admiration for good some creative work. It shows that somebody else's work is the goal for you! 

I personally don't think copying from others is the problem. Everyone needs some inspiration to start. Most creatives (including those who complain about being copied) copied from others before finding their voice. 

At the beginning of my blogging career, I copied from and tried to be like many other successful bloggers out there. I felt lost at some point but I developed my confidence and found the blogger in me. 

This doesn't mean that I have stopped copying. I have only moved to another level of doing it. lol. Which is applying what I copied in a way that it blends with my personality and brand. To an extent, it is called learning. The personality I have now developed is thanks to the things I learned and did not learn from other bloggers. 

I'm not saying that copying somebody's hard work is right. I mean, if somebody copied certain things from my work I may feel hurt or proud. It depends. On one hand, I want to be the only one doing my thing because I want to be unique but on the other hand, seeing someone copy me means I'm doing the right thing.

Come to think of it, copying is something most of us are guilty of (especially at the beginning of our work) and we get so upset when someone does the same to us.

I think copying helps us grow, learn and develop. It's part of our journey to self-discovery. The problem now is about how and what we copy. We may go free after copying certain things but may also get into huge trouble when we copy others things (like images without permission).

This copying issue among creatives has got many sides to it that it's complex to address. It sure has the good, the bad and the ugly side of it.