How to know if an idea was already made?

Summary:

and also, is it forbidden to write something already made or similar?

How to know if an idea was already made?

wattbatt 19 Oct 2020 20:18

I am referring especially to SCPs but also in general anywhere on the site where it’s possible to contribute, for example the scp 914 experiment logs and the anomalous items list.

Obviously I am not going to check all the thousands of entries to see if I should just scrap an idea from the start because it was already made, but some ideas that I might have and seem nice also seem not so hard to come up with, so how does it work?

I just write something and you guys tell me if it was already made?

Simple example, the “god” scp. I found it going around and it is a quite an “obvious” idea; but what if I didn’t know it was already there?

Last edited on 19 Oct 2020 20:19 by wattbatt Show more

Admin Post - Info - Open

Zyn 20 Oct 2020 04:26

Moved to Questions Desk, since this is a query about part of the writing process.

Re: How to know if an idea was already made?

Spaser 19 Oct 2020 20:39

Well I think the most obvious solution is to just try and come up with some thing that that is really out of the box and unique, like an item that rather than having one or two anomalous properties have an item with some kind of narrative or purpose behind it, give it a reason to have those properties. Best advice I can think of sorry if not helpful.

Re: How to know if an idea was already made?

MrAnakinSpecter 19 Oct 2020 20:54

Have you tried searching the tags or asking on IRC?

It is also not against the rules for you to use the same basic anomaly as another entry, or else the (probably) thousand-something ghost articles we have wouldn't exist. If you want to write an article about a god, then you can absolutely see if you can get your idea greenlit, and I would encourage you to do so.

Re: How to know if an idea was already made?

Naveil 19 Oct 2020 20:59

You can use Tag Search for this. All pages have tags, which are keywords that describe some aspect of the article. There are broad tags, such as scp, character and so on, and more specific tags such as memetic, cognitohazard, and the like. Here is a (very, very) comprehensive list of all available tags. Although there's no god tag, god-esque SCPs tend to be defined under ontokinetic (reality bending), so my recommendation would be to start there.

That being said, and speaking as a reviewer, my recommendation would be to not worry too much about conceptual overlap. There's always going to be overlap when articles are reduced down to simple keywords, like god. Considering the wiki's current stance as a creative writing site, it shouldn't matter if my banana SCP is invalidated because someone already wrote a banana SCP in 2014. What really matters is that you're trying to tell your own story, and trying to do something different in your own style. If you think about it that way, there's a very low chance that conceptual overlap will occur.

Of course, there's still a chance. But, at the end of the day, that is what the Idea Critique Forums are made for. If you've done your scouring and are still unsure, you can make a post asking for feedback and advice on whether the concept has been done previously.

Re: How to know if an idea was already made?

wattbatt 19 Oct 2020 21:21

yes i did hope something like this, for example i noticed there are many dogs and teddy bears around

Re: How to know if an idea was already made?

Francis Scalia 20 Oct 2020 14:25

I have a general monologue that applies to a lot of SCP process questions, including this one.

Focus on the story you want to tell, perhaps even before you come up with the object itself. Figure out an effect that makes YOU feel something. Fear, loneliness, nostalgia, whatever. Then develop an idea that makes you feel that way. Then figure out a way to create that effect. Then create the object to house that effect.

Because stories (which are usually needed for success in SCP articles these days) are somewhat complex, there's a far smaller likelihood that your idea will exactly match something that's already been done. If your story is strong and can carry itself, people are going to care far less about any apparent similarities in your object to others than they would if the object itself exists without a strong story.