I recently attended a book club and discussed a book that I was not a fan of. After completing the novel, I wrote this paragraph in my notes app to guide my critique during the discussion:

The issue is not it being in itself derivative but the fact that it cannot stand on its own against the other works. If I liked the characters or the world more, then I would not mind as much. As it is, it feels lacking in the areas that matter.

I will get into the details of my primary criticism of the book, but first, let’s talk a little about linguistics.

There are many ways to create new words. English, in particular, is fond of creating new words. It could be through loanwords from other languages or compound nouns that combine two words to create a new one (e.g. keyboard). Notably, these methods use existing words, whether in English or another language, to fill in a linguistic gap. There is another way that can be achieved: morphological derivation. This is the process of creating a new word from a pre-existing one, typically with prefixes or suffixes. However, a key point of derivation is that it needs to significantly change the word, such as the meaning or the part of speech.

Derivation is an important feature of language, so why does it feel so off-putting when it comes to works that are labeled as “derivative” or “unoriginal”?

To me, it comes down to the concept that it creates something new. A newly derived word must be independent of the source. On paper, the difference between the words “happy” and “unhappy” may be two letters, but the meaning created from the addition of un- is considerably divergent.

Coming back to my review now, I can say that using tropes, stereotypes, or other methods of inspiration to create a new story is not bad. Many wonderful stories could be called derivative. I do not take issue with that part specifically. Instead, there is a tipping point where it goes too far. It is when the characters, plot, or world are not interesting enough for the story to stand on its own regardless of the derivations. If a book is filled with uninspired characters, a lifeless setting, and a plot that makes me wonder if I read it before, then there are few redeeming factors besides a good command of the prose. Even that, in my opinion, is not enough to save an exceptionally derivative piece of work.

Just like language, writing stories doesn’t happen in a vacuum. Influence from prior experiences will inform newly built stories. A skilled writer should be able to strike a balance between the unprecedented and the established. It takes a discerning eye to determine where there are gaps in literature and to fill it appropriately.