While nobody is truly original, the combination of elements can be unique, so just try to give a personal slant to your story.
I think too that some parts of my writing is borrowed/inspired from a lot of different novels I've read. The only thing that worries me is that it sometimes resemble a certain author I used to like a lot years ago but who's novels I now find quite annoying to be honest. I mean, I can still appreciate the way said author writes, as in the way of giving a vivid picture and putting the reader in exactly the right state of mind, but the story ideas and the characters can be so dull and somehow every novel I've read by this author lately is just a copy of all the previous ones with just slight changes in names and places and professions. it's all the same. Once I re-read a novel (by a differetn author this time) that I really like and can read many times without ever getting bored of it and I came across some phrase or metaphor or something more than once in just the first few chapters that I must have modified and used in my first novel, because it was so similar, although with other words. It was kind of amusing actually. I think as long as we borrow or steal with style and respect to the original work it's totally ok.
I once thought I had come up with a totally original dress design, only to discover later that it was from Madame Vionnet. I don't even like Madame Vionnet. I haven't written extensively, but I'm sure that would be a problem; I wouldn't change anything then unless I had really taken a lot of the ideas, and then I would change some of the most glaring ones and stick a new twist in the plot or something like that, because (a) I hate plagiarism and (b) I hate fanfic, don't ask me why.
OMG I LOVE Vionnet!! Her style is so classical, very Greco-Egyptian deco with all her halter necks and flattering lines and drapery... SQUEE!!! I wish I had the figure for one, but you need to be a tall willowy type to pull them off... ok, sorry for the off topic digression. Everyone subconsciously emulates ideas they admire, or things that influenced them. I think two of the biggest literary influences on me are Jane Eyre and King Lear - hows that for randomness??
I have never heard of this until I read your post, looked it up and now I am so shacking my head in disapproval. There are too many similarities to overlook. As for your question, I haven't written any stories before but the one I'm working on now... I think there aren't many similarities with any story except for the basic things. I'm not sure though, maybe something will surface later; I hope not.
Everything has been written before. Finding another story which closely parallels the one you are reading does not mean the author borrowed from the other story, or that he or she has even read the other story. That's why ideas, including general storylines, cannot be copyrighted. A writer's source of inspiration can be from anywhere, including multiple sources. Also, authors are inspired by writing stylesw, but those cannot be "stolen" either. So what is plagiarism? When a writer willfully copies another story, and introduces changes to try to conceal the orignal source. copying passages verbatim from another source, with or without substitutions to try and conceal the source. Whole story plagiarism often reveals itself in a scene-by-scene correllation over large spans of the story, or in parallel sentence stucture in similar paragraphs, beyond reasonable statistical probability of coincidence. Writers are not required to acknowledge the sources of inspiration, even assuming the inspirations are at a conscious level. They may acknowledge writers who have had a profound influence, but that is wholly voluntary.
Isn't that what people say until a new idea comes up that makes everyone nod and say "How did I not think of that?"
@Tesoro: haha, yes, I know the feeling My current rip-off (the one I just realised was there) is of a cult strip character, not as well known as various Marvel comics, but a lot of specifically cool people (like myself and Quentin Tarentino ) adore that character. Ok, I'm being silly now, but what I wanted to say is, the real aficionados will probably recognise the character similarities. But also the differences (and the plot is nothing to do with that source, my sister commented on the milieu by saying "Bladerunner, right?) :faint:, but still, I thought I was oh so cool with my idea, and then... Oh noes! My favourite childhood character, d'ogh! @Amsterdam Assassin: you are right, and that the story has, definitely. I just freaked when I realised, because I thought, how many other sources am I ripping off, unknowingly? @Erato: me too! (hate plagiarism and fanfic) @Nakhti: I think it's about time for me to analyse my own influences, it's better to be aware than not
@Phoenix Hikari: I know, how disappointing is that! I remember looking at it and not believing that it is possible to get away with it. But apparently, that level of copying is acceptable @Cogito: definitely not plagiarising, I got sensitised against it in medical school and I would not be able to bring myself to do it, the risks are too high but also, it would make me feel sick at myself, no way. I think it was Nora Roberts who referred to plagiarism as "mind rape", and I can see exactly what she means. I was more thinking about is the story less worthy if it borrowed from others? @Henning: that's the Holy Grail, but I don't think it's been found in the past thousand years or so. Every story that seems original, can be traced to another, on closer examination. At least that's what they say
Sometimes I do it deliberatly and sometimes it is unintentional. I had bird shifters in one story and I realised very quickly my kids had been watching the 1980s He-Man lol My favourite cartoon character the Sorceress turns into a falcon. The baddie was deliberate I made them a Great Skua because of a documentary. It was also deliberate to base my ogre race off Jo March and her husband. Feedback from agents has indicated it has an element that is all my own and that has been the reason for the rejection. The only one I ever felt the need to change was when I discovered my term 'winking out' for my characters transporting themselves came from My Little Pony lol after that it started to annoy me. My detectives definitely owe homage to cosy mysteries that have gone before. The Sergeant even says he thinks the Chief Inspector has cosy mystery stereotype written all over him and thinks he should dress in a more practical manner (whilst ignoring he is also one). There is homage in there to the sources of their inspiration.
Where does your insiration come from?/New Ideas? I'm curious as to where some of you guys get new ideas for writing. I find my ideas come almost 100% from listen to music. A certain song or beat will trigger this spark of imagination and a really strong idea or story will unfold in my head to the music. It's kind of weird, because the idea usually has nothing to do with the song it's self, just the way it sounds.
From writing. I'll just make up a random excerpt. 'He spotted an overturned can on the park bench; the last of it's contents slowly dripping to the pavement.' From there I'll just start writing and see what comes of it. I really enjoy being taken away by a story. I can pretty much create a story from anything. Though a good majority of my ideas, the ones that seem to come from nowhere, come from reading philosophy, history and religious texts.
I sit, and think for hours until something comes out. it's making me go crazy sometimes, but i guess it works for me. some of my best ideas came from this boring technique. it's worth it.
Last night I was researching private schools and one in particular just made lots of ideas spawn up :3 Anything can make me inspired, from reading a good book, to researching, to procrastinating. Anything really can get the ball rolling.
A question about inspiration? I'm curious about what inspires people? How do you come up with the initial idea for your story especially? I get most of my inspiration from listening to music. While my writing focus these days is on novels, I used to be heavily into writing screenplays and sometimes when I hear a song, a scene pops into my head (like it's a movie with a soundtrack). Suddenly all I want to do is play that song over and over for days, and watch the scene play out over and over, becoming richer and stronger. And then when I can't wait any more, I write it out. It might be for a scene within a new story, or for one that I've already been working on. Although I don't imagine every scene this way, this is how my most powerful scenes play out. Thank you Coldplay, Michael Buble, Thirsty Merc and Guy Sebastian! (if you're familiar with that music then you probably have a good idea of what my genre is... ha!) So where does your inspiration come from?
from anything and everything i see, hear, experience, read, or can imagine... sometimes, even what i dream...
