The Challenging Process of Creating Unique Ideas

I don't think I am the first one to say that creating truly unique ideas is a bit of a challenge. I mean there is a whole movie about it, (*cough* Inception).

I mean it is easy enough to get an idea, or inspiration from something such as a book, movie, song, work of art, practically everything. But it is hard to take that idea and make it our own.

Whenever I read a really good book I get inspired to write on myself, and I love how a particular author would write, or the subject of the story and usually end up trying to write a story about a similar subject. It isn't until I am roughly five pages in to the writing process to I briefly scan back and realize all that I have written mimics whatever my inspiration came from. And this is where the trouble begins. I go through phases of trying to make the story its own but it is challenging because I would have a set idea in my head about the story since i already have a full example made for me already.

One of the first long stories I ever wrote was back in 6th grade. I recently finished the book Eragon by Christopher Paolini. I loved the novel so much I decided to write one of my own. This story of mine went through many phases. The first phase went almost exactly like the book did, just changed the location and the people, that was about the only difference. The next phase was changing the dragon egg to magical gems. The next phase was about magical gems passed down through a blood line of shape shifting creatures between two families who were at war with each other. Followed by a similar plot but with assassins and no gems. As much as this idea of mine evolved it went through this process over a span of roughly 5 years. It isn't easy to make an idea your own or change a complete rewrite story idea into a more unique piece.

I can only name one story of mine that didn't go through all these phases that I have no idea where the inspiration came from, it just hit me one day...I think some part of it comes from Alice in Wonderland but I am not really sure.

If anyone else has this same trouble let me know, and how you get out of it (assuming you have been able to).