Let’s face it. We writers are a weird bunch. Where do I even begin?
And this is in no way accusatory, because after all, I am included in this, ha ha! Though I’m sure there’s a few out there who would agree (no, not that I’m weird, but ok, some might), but who will relate to what we’re about to discuss.
The list of fears that writer’s face is quite lengthy. Most are not the sole domain of a writer of course, but of people in general unfortunately. E.g. Fear of-
- Failure
- Criticism
- Rejection
Really, it goes on! And which I touch on briefly in an earlier post, Facing our Creative Fears.
For today however, I wanted to cover a subject that hovers in the back of a lot of writers’ minds. The fear of not being original.
“Originality is just a twist on what has already gone before.” Joanna Penn
I love this, because it’s so true.
But how do you know if something’s been done before? You can’t read every story or book ever written.
Fair question. And I guess this is where the fear sets in. No writer wants to be accused of plagiarism.
So, before we go on. Let’s just quickly clarify what plagiarism is, and what it is not. In my research for this post, I discovered there are a ton of articles on-line. So clearly, it’s a real concern for a lot of people. (I’ve included a couple of links below of articles I found helpful. Hope you do too!)
To be honest, there’s still some grey area. No wonder it’s up there! But in a nutshell-
What is plagiarism?
- Blatantly copying, word for word, someone else’s work, and claiming credit.
This includes copying a paragraph for example, and just changing a few words.
What is not?
- Inspiration from a story read, or a movie watched.
A certain character, theme, or point of view may have made a real impact on you. You loved it, and now want to create something of your own, but in the same vein. Hence why there’s an array of Sci-Fi, Vampire, Murder/Thrillers out there.
- Previous exposure to a story or words written that have made an unconscious impact. In essence, ‘Osmosis’.
Our brains are sponges, we can’t escape that. So, from what I understand, this is quite common, and frankly a little terrifying from a creative perspective. Especially if you think your idea is awesome and totally yours!
If you want to read more about plagiarism, here’s the links I mentioned earlier –
- Fiction Writing and Plagiarism – Randy Ingermanson
- Plots, Prose and Plagiarism in Fiction – Four Things Every Writer Should Know About Literary Theft – Matt Knight
Self-doubt can be brutal. That internal voice can be so annoying! I call mine ‘Lucifer’, after ‘Lucifer Morningstar’. He means well, but damn…
Using the examples from earlier, try to keep this in mind –
- Ten people could be given the exact same prompts, theme, character base and selected words or phrases to use, and you would get ten different stories in return. All original.
Unless you’re a clone, there may be small similarities which is fine, but none will be identical.
- As writers, we’re strongly encouraged to read a lot, especially in the genre we want to write in ourselves. There’s going to be osmosis.
And even if you’ve been heavily influenced by a particular writer, e.g. Stephen King, and find yourself initially sounding similar, or trying to. Over time, the more you write, you will see and hear your own unique voice forming and coming through.
And think about this –
How many of us have dumped ideas before we’ve even begun, because we thought it’s been done before? (My hand’s up!)
By the same token, how many of us have started a story inspired by another, where our characters have veered off on their own quest, changing the entire plot, and therefore bares little resemblance to the original inspiration? (Again, my hand’s up!)
So, I know it’s easy to say, harder to follow, but we shouldn’t allow ourselves to get bogged down, worrying about whether our story is too similar to something already out there.
If you are actively trying to not plagiarise, then you won’t. It’s your story, you can tweak it, add to it, embellish it, and colour it any way you want.
It’s you that makes it original, not the topic, subject, or theme.
Go for it.
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