Hi all! This will be similar to some other questions I've seen, but I still want to throw it out there.
Basically, how close is too close as far as following a similar build-up, at least, in a story, to what a major author has already done/used? I am not talking about intentional copying, but how certain elements are common to a given genre or situation.
More details:
So I was back reading one of my favorite author's (John Ringo) first books. Definitely the first in his most major series, but perhaps his actual first book. I started re-reading it because I like his style and how he accomplishes certain things like avoiding exposition, so I wanted to sort of take a look at his style again. Ok, and I just really like it.
Anyway, he writes a lot about near-future alien invasions of Earth, and he writes from a very 'down-to-earth' viewpoint, generally at or near "grunt" level, if you will.
An author (who is occasionally mentioned in Ringo's books, as it happens) in a similar vein is David Weber, who tends to write far future space navy battles.
My story contains elements of both, in a mid-future timeframe. However, upon re-reading I am discovering certain common elements that in many cases must be there: presidential address to the nation(s, in this case), power armor, cabinet-level briefings, ship workups and more.
So how bad is this little discovery, have others encountered it before, and what things in other genres (or this one - scifi) do you find are common and almost required elements? Thanks!
