《Your Guide to Writing the Perfect Story》Originality
Advertisement
"Oh, dear me, how unspeakably funny and owlishly idiotic and grotesque was that 'plagiarism' farce! As if there was much of anything in any human utterance, oral or written, except plagiarism! The kernel, the soul — let us go further and say the substance, the bulk, the actual and valuable material of all human utterances — is plagiarism. For substantially all ideas are second-hand, consciously and unconsciously drawn from a million outside sources, and daily use by the garnerer with a pride and satisfaction born of the superstition that he originated them; whereas there is not a rag of originality about them anywhere except the little discoloration they get from his mental and moral calibre and his temperament, and which is revealed in characteristics of phrasing. When a great orator makes a great speech you are listening to ten centuries and ten thousand men — but we call it his speech, and really some exceedingly small portion of it is his." - Mark Twain
As Mark Twain said in the quote above, there is no such thing as an original idea. No story or movie or play-write you will ever encounter will really be "original" as people like to say. Each and every one of them are inspired from others. Take Avatar for example. Avatar is literally Pocahontas with a few differences. I provided a link below if you're interested.
We all take ideas from other authors and icons intentionally and not, but that isn't the point. There is a fine line between plagiarism and simply being inspired by an idea that's already been written. This does not mean that you can steal the world of another author and change the characters and even the plot and call it your own. You still stole that world from someone. Key word: stole. That is a form of fanfiction.
Advertisement
Say, for instance, that world had a maze in it and you were absolutely fascinated with the idea with the maze and made your own story, completely different plot, with a maze. That is original.
It's okay to take elements of another story and make them your own. It would be impossible not to have at least one thing in common with another story. Often times, many new books are very closely tied in with a variety of older ones, but they have something that makes them different. Plagiarism is where you blatantly copy another person's work. Such as taking their world, character's, or exact storyline. Plagiarism is a crime. Don't do it.
Overall, know where your ideas are coming from and make sure that you are not stealing from someone else and you'll be okay.
Advertisement
- In Serial147 Chapters
Brigante Ark
'Glade' is a mercenary organization. Their job is to fulfill the requests all over the globe while maintaining the individual's affiliation unknown. A group of mercenary lead by Linda along with Alastor, Ken and Tim and with the assistance of the spy Cid, their aim is to reveal the malicious act of Theodore against humanity, but it turns out, that they're not the only ones who is after him. Warning: Typographical and grammar errors are up ahead
8 221 - In Serial20 Chapters
The Unsorcerer
DISCLAIMER: The cover pic is not my original work. Credits goes to the Illustrator. This is a story of a man named Cipher, a 21st Century man reincarnated in a world where magic is the way of life. In the continent of Iarica, the people of this land are able to wield the crystals or magic stones for whatever purpose they desire. These people are called "Sorcerers", blessed individuals who are favored by the Gods and gifted with an ability to manipulate "Mana", the energy of the World and the energy source that makes all of the machines run. Cipher in contrast, is not. He is an "Unsorcerer", a person unable to wield the crystals and mana and eventually magic itself. Because of this "defect", he is shunned, ridiculed, and abused by most people and eventually by the whole society. Little did Iarica and her denizens know, this so-called reject of society is more than what he seems... Note: This humble Author-san is not a native English speaker, so there will be grammatical errors. Also the chapters are short, about 1K words. However I will try my best efforts on reaching the 2k-4k words threshold. Another note is that this will be a Harem fic, so to anyone who are not fan of the genre this may not be your cup of tea. Any criticsm are welcome as long it can help me to improve my writing skills since I'm just a newcomer in this scene.
8 122 - In Serial11 Chapters
Ephemeral Shards
Since the beginning of time, individuals have always wondered, ‘Is there any life out there, above the stars?’ Instead, they should be thinking, ‘Is there anything down there, beneath us?’ The Drow are unruly, excessively violent and cunning race when compared to their elvish surface cousins. They are one of the reigning established races within the Underworld. Yet there is always something bigger, slumbering away, buried within deep shadows, waiting to be awakened. Synthia, a young naive Drow has it all - talent as a thief, a position within a high-class crew and the ability to act as graceful as a noble. The Drow Empire is on the verge of collapse due to internal disputes. How do you save a race when they're very foundations are built on lies and deceit? How do you trust someone when odds are, they’ll stab you in the back. How do you survive the terrifying creatures of the Underworld, when you can’t even survive the creatures that live within your own mind? Cover Art belongs to the original artist.
8 209 - In Serial11 Chapters
Family business
Blood is thicker than water. The famous one-liner to bond families together, but is it really true? Lo and behold as family dramas occur under the watchful eyes of an old and obscure profession. Jack Crucintum is always interested in entertaining guests.
8 162 - In Serial11 Chapters
Order in Chaos
In the vast universe where coincidence and randomness come together to form an array of differences and uniqueness lies the galaxy of NYCTOS. In this galaxy of randomness where even just looking up could kill you, You learn to manipulate, to extrapolate and to grow.In this galaxy we'll follow the adventures of our friends and their friends and all their friends with some more friends to adventure through randomness.
8 155 - In Serial99 Chapters
Lost Dreams Book Club
This is a book club that aims for your entire book to be read and commented on. We are always looking for dedicated members who want to improve their writing and reviewing skills. In need of useful feedback throughout your entire story, from beginning to end? Come on in to find out if this is the book club for you.
8 161

