AGONY EDITOR
Dear Agony Editor, I’m writing a novel and, after some initial struggles with it, I’m now really excited about the story and the ideas and themes it explores. The problem is, I just finished reading a book that deals with these same ideas. The plot is different, of course, but now I’m feeling discouraged about my idea, and think there’s no way I can do as good a job as this other author has. Should I keep going with this book, or should I start from scratch?
Signed, Discouraged