Oops…

[Esther]

So uh… I have run into a problem with my WIP…

A few things in my story are similar to things in other books that I’ve read, but I thought I changed it enough to where it’s not too similar and I’m not plagiarizing or anything like that. But… it’s gotten to a point where I feel like a few things are too recognizable or too similar to things in other books, but the problem is, I’ve gotten so far and I love it so much that I don’t want to change it. *bangs head against wall*

I’ll give a few examples just so you guys can see what I mean.

First of all, there’s one person who plays an instrument and it hurts the bad guys. Wellll… that’s a lot like the Wingfeather Saga. It’s for a completely different reason, I just don’t explain that until like the third book! I don’t want readers to think I’m copying that. (Though I took inspiration from it, I don’t want people to think I’m plagiarizing)

Second, there’s this device that the villain uses that is used to manipulate people’s thinking/minds. Welp, that’s a lot like what’s in the Mysterious Benedict Society. The issue is, this also isn’t explained until later on, and I’m struggling to make it different enough. (I didn’t notice this until a wrote a scene with it the other day, so I didn’t do it on purpose 😅)

I can’t think of any other examples right now, but I think y’all know what I mean. So… help?? Any ideas to make my story more unique so it doesn’t look like I’m plagiarizing?

@freedomwriter76 @godlyfantasy12 @felicity @lightoverdarkness6 @thearcaneaxiom @loopylin @princesachronicle22 @whalekeeper @keilah-h @highscribeofaetherium @smiley @euodia-vision @acancello @hybridlore @anyone-else

• This topic was modified 10 months, 2 weeks ago by Esther.

Write what should not be forgotten. — Isabel Allende

[Esther]

Some more tags…

@awsumfaith @landric @starshiness @gwyndalf-the-wise

Write what should not be forgotten. — Isabel Allende

[LandriC]

Hey @esther-c!
Okay, I do this ALL THE TIME!!! In fact, my biggest, finished WIP started out as a fanfic in another world, so it had to undergo MASSIVE edits for me to remove it from that world and place it in another. I hope maybe I can be helpful, but I look forward to hearing other ideas too.
So here’s the thing…I don’t think having a few recognizable elements is a bad thing. I’ve been reading the Lunar Chronicles by Marissa Meyer and she TOTALLY copies the “I’ve never been kissed and want to before I die” scene from Little Women. I think it’s fun when you have a few little elements from some things, just not a ton because you’re right that that’s plagiarizing.
My suggestion would be this: change it just enough, but leave in what you like about the element. For example, have something that controls minds, but maybe it’s not a machine? Maybe it’s a magic object, a relic, or even a person? Or if there’s an instrument that causes pain to people, make it do that in a different way than Leeli’s dose. Maybe the sound doesn’t hurt them their ears, but it physically causes some sort of injury…
Not sure if that’s possible for your story, but I hope it helps! Toss out any other ideas you’ve got of how to change it and I’d love to bounce back more ideas!!
good luck!

"To death or to victory"

[TheArcaneAxiom]

@esther-c

So this comes to the problem of originality. You want to know the secret? It’s all been done. No matter how wildly you change the story, you will find parallel elements to some other existing story, and despite common belief amongst many writers, this is ok. Don’t sacrifice your creativity for the sake of originality.

Both examples you’ve pointed out likely existed long before Wing Feather or Mysterious Benedict Society. This is simply a fact of life. We take what already exists, are inspired, and create something new, but that something new was still derived from the old. We stand on the shoulders of giants. That being said, this doesn’t mean we can’t become giants ourselves, we simply need to recognize where we stand, so that we may be grateful for that ground, and use that fertile soil.

If you feel that you have something that feels too much like its simply mimicking something else, go deeper, build higher, don’t uproot the plant you’ve already begun to grow. Take different existing ideas, combine them, make something that feels different, while still familiar, but in a good way, and it sounds to me that your doing that already.

He is perfect in Justice, yet He is perfect in Mercy, even when we fail Him. For this, He is good.

[LoopyLin]

@esther-c Well, here’s my probably very unhelpful advice.

There is nothing new under the sun. There are lots of stories about mind-manipulating machines and I could guarantee that Leeli is not the first character in fiction to have an instrument as a weapon.

I think a lot of authors get so caught up in worrying about making their stories “unique”, that they end up getting burnt out from basing all their decisions on what other people think. This might sound kinda rude, but, it doesn’t matter what your readers think. Plagiarizing is taking someone else’s work and labeling it as your own. Clearly, you aren’t doing that. You might have been inspired by other books and taken elements from them and used them in your own book, but that’s what you’re supposed to do. All the best authors do that. We’re like scrapbookers. We cut and paste from a bunch of different things, but our end result is entirely unique. (There’s actually a whole book about this called “Steal Like an Artist”.)

So, I think what I’m trying to say is: Write what you love. If you love mind-controlling machines or, I don’t know, a common poor boy who unexpectedly becomes king, write about that. Your readers will be able to tell when you love your writing, and typically that’s what will make them love it as well. But it doesn’t matter what they think. If you love your story and it honors God, then you have nothing else to worry about.

Space Princess ✨🪐 intp artist

[hybridlore]

@esther-c

Well, everyone else already gave great advice!

If it’s a theme in more than one book, I think those are called – tropes? And basically, there’s a reason they’re used often!

And yes, I have totally done this with lots of things! I don’t think you have too much to worry about, especially since your story is dystopian and sounds much different than the others you mentioned. (If it was a Christian fantasy placed in a different world which was invaded by monsters and about three royal siblings, that’s a whole different thing 😆)

So anyway, I would just maybe adjust things a little bit if you feel they’re too close, but then go with whatever works for your story! And just like @loopylin said, we’re writers. We get inspired by other works!

There is always light behind the clouds.
- Little Women, Louisa May Alcott

[Esther]

@landric @thearcaneaxiom @loopylin @hybridlore

Thank you so much everybody!!! 😊 I feel much more confident about continuing and kind of excited to dive deeper into worldbuilding 😏 This is all going to be super helpful! 😄

Write what should not be forgotten. — Isabel Allende

[Gwyndalf the Wise]

@esther-c

Oof, I’ve been there. First things first: DON’T PANIC. It’s gonna be okay.

*laughs* I’ve struggled with this for a long time. My MC of my passion story…I used to be super super super concerned that he was Elsa ripoff but male. I still am a little bit concerned about it but that’s not important XD He has ice powers, hurt his younger brother with them, is paranoid of basically everyone, and is royalty…but that’s not the story’s focus. =p

So I think it’s less about what parts of things you have and more about:

1. What purpose they serve

2. Why it’s important

If you don’t know what purpose it serves…then I’d suggest considering what purpose these things have. If it’s not necessary…then perhaps it’s worth cutting. But if it plays an important part of the story, even if it’s not really what the story’s about, then keep it. Brainstorm ways you could twist it. Pray about it. See if it’s something worth keeping. I wouldn’t worry about it too much.

Good luck, you’ve got this! *cheers*

"...I did not say to the seed of Jacob, 'Seek Me in vain..."
(Part of) Isaiah 45:19

[Esther]

@gwyndalf-the-wise

Thanks so much, Gwyn!!! 😊

Write what should not be forgotten. — Isabel Allende

[Keilah H.]

@esther-c I’ll just reiterate what everyone else has said, I think. If you’ve read enough good books (and maybe some less than good ones), you’re going to see that the same stories have to get repeated by necessity.

Read the Bible and other history books. Read old myths and stories from various cultures. I guarantee you you’ll find pretty much about everything in your story somewhere.

I’m also going to be completely honest here and say almost every one of the characters in one WIP of mine were somewhat ripoffs of characters from random places. Their personalities and sometimes their names would be different, but their appearances were pretty close to the originals. I haven’t worked on the story for a while, but the worldbuilding was fun and maybe I should get back to it…..

The point was that I took what I loved and made something new out of it. Maybe shoulda done a better job at making it my own, but that’s what happens if you like stuff. You start wanting to imitate it.

 

 

 

@gwyndalf-the-wise My brother has a character with ice powers too! He called him Kelvin after the temperature scale. All of the charrie’s relatives have ice or winter related names too.

Where'd I get ya this time? The liver? The kidney? I'm runnin' outta places to put holes in ya.

[GodlyFantasy12]

@esther-c to go off of what everyone else has said, everything has already been done before, at least in some way.

 

No we shouldn’t just totally plagiarize and rip off pages, sentences or paragraphs from others’ works, but as for ideas for plots, tropes, etc, things are gonna crop up in other works.

 

And there’s always gonna be someone out there who finds it “annoying” or says it “copies” from that work.

 

Take elves for instance. It’s one of the most used tropes in fantasy, and a ton of people think people use way too much of Tolkien’s influence for it (like in one of my fav series KOTLC)

 

but I never even realized it until I came on KP because I haven’t read Tolkiens books 🤷🏻‍♀️. And to me they were so different I really didn’t notice. She did mention Tolkien in her series, but I actually LIKED that, and thought it was cool, but others thought it wasn’t.

 

Point is, like everyone else has said, most things have been thought of a million times over by someone at least. Don’t worry too much about it.

#IfMarcelDiesIRiot
#ProtectMarcel
#ProtectSeb

[Esther]

@keilah-h @godlyfantasy12

Thanks so much guys!!! 🥰

Write what should not be forgotten. — Isabel Allende

[Keilah H.]

@esther-c You’re welcome!

Where'd I get ya this time? The liver? The kidney? I'm runnin' outta places to put holes in ya.

[Author]

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