Stranger than fiction
It's been a strange day today. I've spent a good bit of it reading about an author who copied a whole chapter from one - jointly written - book to another.
Apart from the ethical questions which arise, I have to ask myself why. Is it sheer laziness or something more sinister?
I simply don't understand. I try to improve my writing with every book. I try to be both original and innovative. I want my plots to be exciting and different. I want my characters to come alive for both me and my readers. I want my 'voice' to be heard.
So if I copy and paste a whole chapter from one book to another and change the names but nothing else, I am not being true to my aspirations as an author.
Apart from the ethical questions which arise, I have to ask myself why. Is it sheer laziness or something more sinister?
I simply don't understand. I try to improve my writing with every book. I try to be both original and innovative. I want my plots to be exciting and different. I want my characters to come alive for both me and my readers. I want my 'voice' to be heard.
So if I copy and paste a whole chapter from one book to another and change the names but nothing else, I am not being true to my aspirations as an author.
date
newest »
newest »
I agree it takes away from the whole creative process. I agree to be inspired by a particular author but to copy a whole chapter. It funny in the amount of reading that I do I have come accross works from one author to the next that are extremely familiar.
It makes you wonder doesn't it. I'm sure some subliminal aspects of another author's work can creep in, turns of phrase etc. But I believe most of us want readers to like our work because it really is our work.
I try not to even copy my own phrases, but it does happen sometimes. Like Bells and his wild braids. I tend to describe them as 'a Medusa tangle' but I don't use that description in every book either.