(no subject)

[rurounihime]

*sigh*

Do you know what I hate?

When I spend weeks writing a fic, getting it just right, all the way down to the near-final draft, hand it off to my beta for the proper critique (note, at this point, I am getting very excited about posting)...

...only to read another fic very soon after that is incredibly similar to the one I've just written?

It's a bad side-effect of fandoms: if everyone knows the characters so well, very similar stories with near-identical themes are BOUND to come out just by happenstance. I HATE that. I mean, I don't think anyone has a monopoly over any fic ideas or whatever; that's not what I hate.

I just hate the timing sometimes, you know? I mean, what about that second story? It should be read on its own merits too.

I KNOW other people have had this problem... *looks around*

Comments

[anansay.livejournal.com]

Yes. Yes I have. And then I begin thinking about being possibly charged with plagiarism.

It happened in another fandom--two multi-chap stories posted at the same time. Same premise, different writing. There were some angry words tossed back and forth from the FRIENDS of each writer, until one of the writers decided to drop her story. Just like that. Wanted the war the cease so she stopped that story.
The writers themselves were fine with it, just didn't read the other's story so as not to influence their own writing.

It was sad. I was enjoying both of them, was interested in seeing how each writer approached it.

[rurounihime.livejournal.com]

Sucks ASS. The problem is, there is no real way to prove that plagiarism isn't going on. I mean, it's only your word that you didn't read the one story before writing your own, you know? I just hope everyone can look at it rationally.

I really do look at fandom writing partially as practice writing in some circumstances. It IS a good way to see different takes on the same idea. I mean, that's why we have challenges and prompts and things, right? Similar stories are guaranteed to pop up.

[anansay.livejournal.com]

It was horrible and made not want to read either of the stories. What would sometimes happen is an entire story, word-for-word, would be posted by another "author". Or, a story would be stolen, the names changed, and posted elsewhere, in another fandom, or in another pairing of the same fandom.

But when you find two stories with the same PREMISE, well, you're right, it's bound to arise in ANY fandom. Sometimes like karmic inspiration--it hits many authors at once and then there are five stories posted at roughly the same time with the same premise! Can't help it sometimes.

The thing is, people who KNOW you, would know you did not plagiarize, or copy the idea from another. And if you did, you'd say so in that you probably wanted to try your own hand at it.

Your friends WILL back you up if the shit starts flying. :)

[rurounihime.livejournal.com]

See, now that stealing of the story and posting in another fandom or what have you is definitely plagiarism. There is a fine line that I know when I see it, you know? But it's hard to define.

You are very sweet to comfort me... I think there is no way writers cannot take ideas from each other. It's just almost impossible not to borrow SOMEthing, you know? But taking a whole story... that's wrong. I think all of us have crossed the line a little bit. But I don't know of anyone who has stolen something so blatantly.

[anansay.livejournal.com]

It boggles my mind how some people can do that kind of outright plagiarism/theft. They're GOING to get caught!

There are only so many stories in the world, really. Lately I feel like everything from movies to books is just being recycled. Nothing's new these days. Sad.

[rurounihime.livejournal.com]

It really is a struggle to find new meat in the world of writing and storytelling of all sorts. Isn't there some sort of ancient greek epithet that says there are only four kinds of story in the world? I heard that once a long time ago...

[anansay.livejournal.com]

Well, something about three, actually, from what I remember.

man vs. man
man vs. nature
man vs. himself

I like the man vs. himself these days.

But somebody had found a site that listed something like SEVEN different ones. If I remember correctly it was basically an elaboration on the main three.

[rurounihime.livejournal.com]

I will definitely need to dig up the one I was told... I think my list was more about genre and style: tragedy, comedy, farce, etc...