Something to Think About

Somebody has to say it, nothing you write is 100% original. In fact, most of it, you got from somewhere else. I think everybody knows this, but no one likes to admit that they got their inspiration for a story from someone else's story, or that they took a line from a song, and put in their own. But, I will that brave person who will admit to such things, in hopes that people will join them.
So, what did I do? Well, I decided to write a vampire novel. The problem with that is, it's been done. A lot. And I can try to put my own spin on it, but how many ways can you spin one subject. There's Stephanie Meyers sparkle-in-the-sun, vegetarian vampires, there's the Blue Bloods series, where the vampires have roots in Christian mythology, and reincarnation plays a large role, as well as Anne Rice, who's books I've never read, and a lot of authors. And lets not forget TV shows (like Buffy), and movies (Underworld). What's left? To me, nothing. I'm sure, someone, somewhere, may have a different take on vampires, then what has been done, but I've got nothing.
So, what's my point? It's hard to come up with something original. It's even harder to take a popular subject and try to do something with it, that's never been done before. What do you do?
Well, my guitar teacher told me that the most successful songwriters are thieves. Think about, that means that if something works, people don't care if they've heard it before, or read it before. Think about this way - chicken is still chicken, if you grill or fry it, but, it tastes different. Think about it.