Publishing Stories

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I like planning out stories in my head, but I'm afraid of publishing them for fear that they're too derivative of other works, and I'm worried about publishing a story and it being called out as a rip-off of something I'd never heard about before, or something that I have heard of before but never realized the similarities, or noticed the similarities but didn't realize just how abundant they were. I also can almost never feel satisfaction with a written work if I notice enough similarities with another work, even though I know that no story is completely original.

As for some of my stories... they're not bad, and because I'm still developing them there's still room for change and growth. However, if certain facets or details of some stories were misinterpreted, or I didn't execute them properly, I'm afraid I'd be called out for promoting poor values or glorifying harm or damage to oneself or others when that's really not the point of the story, or if I didn't highlight the negative consequences of those actions sharply enough.

I know this is common among authors, but I hope to be remembered for my stories and loved by some people, at least. I'd never knowingly plagiarize from someone, but I'm worried that if I published stories with messages that weren't well executed enough or misinterpreted, or seen as being too offensive or promoting destructive behaviors, I'd be shamed and despised instead.

Perhaps if you made some contacts who enjoy reading a lot they could read the story before you published it. They would be able to help you or mention if it sounds too like something else. Get a few safety opinions kind of thing?

Without knowing what you're writing,
I say,
give it a try.

Most, if not all, of Shakespeare's plays were copied from previous authors. He just added his own unique "twist" to them.

Or you can always pass your stories to Robin for review. He's not too busy these days.

I'm exactly the same. I love writing stories, and I would love to wake up every morning and do nothing but write, making lots of money without having to leave the house, and it'd be something I enjoy too. (You can see how much I love writing, by seeing the number of posts I have composed here).

But I find it difficult to think up something completely original, unless it's about events that happened in my own life, but I'm not sure I want to write a book about my life.
I usually get story ideas from Creepypastas, but I'm afraid that will be copyright.

You can write a story that's based on "Creepypastas," as long as you credit the source.

It's a good start, actually, writing based on other stories.