My brother and I are both writers, not anything specific, but just writing for ourselves and the choice few people that we allow to read the work. But we've developed a few writing tricks. Actually, I shouldn't say developed, because I'm sure many many other people use them, but we figured them out for ourselves before we learned that they're pretty common.
Trick numero uno: if you feel like your character is becoming too much like a character from some other auther's work, change him/her a bit. think of a friend that shares qualities and give your character a few of the friend's attributes. For instance, if your friend has horrible luck with men, make your character have a few bad relationships.
Trick number two: if you are worried that you're copying someone else's plot lines, don't worry about it. The Greeks did pretty much everything first, it's inevitable that you'll end up with a similar story line to someone else. It's not the story line that makes a piece of writing original, it's the characters and the developement. At least that's my opinion.
Trick number 3: rather than reading fantasy, veer off to historical fiction or some nonfiction for awhile. Not only are they a good way to 'expand your horizons', they'll take your mind off of previously done fantasy. You'd be surprised how inspired you can get by reading a book about immigrating to the U.S. or something like that.
Just remember that if you write from the heart, you'll have a very unique piece of work.
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