That was my idea!! - CrimeSpace2024-03-29T15:33:14Zhttp://crimespace.ning.com/forum/topics/537324:Topic:46944?commentId=537324%3AComment%3A47189&feed=yes&xn_auth=noWell I have read and enjoyed…tag:crimespace.ning.com,2007-06-12:537324:Comment:478352007-06-12T10:33:55.602ZLaura Roothttp://crimespace.ning.com/profile/mallard
Well I have read and enjoyed Secret History, I know what you did, and the Distant Echo at different times in my life, and never felt that any of them were just derivatives of any of the others. And all very different styles of story. So as a reader I completely agree with your sentence "if you stay true to your own style, your own themes, etc, you don't need to worry too much about the originality of the plot"
Well I have read and enjoyed Secret History, I know what you did, and the Distant Echo at different times in my life, and never felt that any of them were just derivatives of any of the others. And all very different styles of story. So as a reader I completely agree with your sentence "if you stay true to your own style, your own themes, etc, you don't need to worry too much about the originality of the plot" If you get your book out firs…tag:crimespace.ning.com,2007-06-11:537324:Comment:477042007-06-11T20:34:51.687ZTom Cainhttp://crimespace.ning.com/profile/tomcain
If you get your book out first then Ellroy can - to use a handy Anglo-Saxon phrase - do one. It's his problem. You go out and publish as often as you like. You got a First Amendment out there, right? I say, use it!
If you get your book out first then Ellroy can - to use a handy Anglo-Saxon phrase - do one. It's his problem. You go out and publish as often as you like. You got a First Amendment out there, right? I say, use it! True. And mine should. It bot…tag:crimespace.ning.com,2007-06-11:537324:Comment:476472007-06-11T14:30:14.646ZDennis Leppanenhttp://crimespace.ning.com/profile/TheWarbler
True. And mine should. It bothered me most in that I wanted to expand on my character in the future. Depending on what Ellroy comes up with now before I consider it.
True. And mine should. It bothered me most in that I wanted to expand on my character in the future. Depending on what Ellroy comes up with now before I consider it. Just so long as your book hit…tag:crimespace.ning.com,2007-06-11:537324:Comment:475882007-06-11T08:04:16.213ZTom Cainhttp://crimespace.ning.com/profile/tomcain
Just so long as your book hits the streets before his does!
Just so long as your book hits the streets before his does! My novel WHOO?? features a ch…tag:crimespace.ning.com,2007-06-10:537324:Comment:473882007-06-10T15:22:57.277ZDennis Leppanenhttp://crimespace.ning.com/profile/TheWarbler
My novel WHOO?? features a character who is a reporter for the National Police Gazette. I read a blurb last week that James Ellroy is working on a novel titled Police Gazette. It may work to my advantage...
My novel WHOO?? features a character who is a reporter for the National Police Gazette. I read a blurb last week that James Ellroy is working on a novel titled Police Gazette. It may work to my advantage... You see? I've never even hear…tag:crimespace.ning.com,2007-06-10:537324:Comment:473322007-06-10T08:34:37.021ZTom Cainhttp://crimespace.ning.com/profile/tomcain
You see? I've never even heard of Laura Joh Rowland. But now I've looked her up on Amazon and got that, 'Oh, bollocks!' (good old English expression, there) feeling again. Better check up all her plot-descriptions, just to make sure none of them are the same as the one I've had in mind these past six or seven years ...
You see? I've never even heard of Laura Joh Rowland. But now I've looked her up on Amazon and got that, 'Oh, bollocks!' (good old English expression, there) feeling again. Better check up all her plot-descriptions, just to make sure none of them are the same as the one I've had in mind these past six or seven years ... When you said 'copycat' you r…tag:crimespace.ning.com,2007-06-10:537324:Comment:473312007-06-10T08:32:19.297ZTom Cainhttp://crimespace.ning.com/profile/tomcain
When you said 'copycat' you reminded me of something else ... the fact that if you happen to write something and it's a hit, you van guarantee someone will come out of the woodwork, saying, 'Hey, that was my idea,' and brandishing a lawsuit. I remember interviewing Michael crichton a few years back. That had happened to him with jurassic Park and even tho' everyone knew the suit was bullsh*t from the word go, it didn't stop it dragging on for a couple of years, driving him crazy, making it…
When you said 'copycat' you reminded me of something else ... the fact that if you happen to write something and it's a hit, you van guarantee someone will come out of the woodwork, saying, 'Hey, that was my idea,' and brandishing a lawsuit. I remember interviewing Michael crichton a few years back. That had happened to him with jurassic Park and even tho' everyone knew the suit was bullsh*t from the word go, it didn't stop it dragging on for a couple of years, driving him crazy, making it almost impossible tot hinka bout anything else and costing a fortune.<br />
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But with 6 billion people on this planet and - what is it? - seven basic stories, or something, the odds say nothing's really that original ... NO! You're not alone. I had a…tag:crimespace.ning.com,2007-06-10:537324:Comment:472932007-06-10T01:11:52.672Zspyscribblerhttp://crimespace.ning.com/profile/spyscribbler
NO! You're not alone. I had a novel all planned, all plotted, all set to go, and ... the hinge twist at the end turned out to have been written by someone only a year or two before. There is no way I could have written that book without seeming to copycat.<br />
<br />
But if you look too much, you find similarities everywhere. Maybe that's why some writers refuse to read in their genre, at least while they're writing. (Which always begs the question, when do you stop writing? How long? Why?)
NO! You're not alone. I had a novel all planned, all plotted, all set to go, and ... the hinge twist at the end turned out to have been written by someone only a year or two before. There is no way I could have written that book without seeming to copycat.<br />
<br />
But if you look too much, you find similarities everywhere. Maybe that's why some writers refuse to read in their genre, at least while they're writing. (Which always begs the question, when do you stop writing? How long? Why?) It's tough when you think you…tag:crimespace.ning.com,2007-06-09:537324:Comment:472732007-06-09T22:27:06.072ZBeth Walkerhttp://crimespace.ning.com/profile/highlandwriter
It's tough when you think you've come up with an original idea...only to see it "in the works" or even a similar topic published elsewhere. But, the bottom line is, we all have unique writing voices and my treatment of a subject is never going to be the same as brand x author's treament of the same thing. It's rough, it's tough, and yes, it's challenging to come up with original plots and premises. I think of it as just another joy and challenge of the craft and the business.
It's tough when you think you've come up with an original idea...only to see it "in the works" or even a similar topic published elsewhere. But, the bottom line is, we all have unique writing voices and my treatment of a subject is never going to be the same as brand x author's treament of the same thing. It's rough, it's tough, and yes, it's challenging to come up with original plots and premises. I think of it as just another joy and challenge of the craft and the business. Okay, Tom. :) I won't touch 1…tag:crimespace.ning.com,2007-06-09:537324:Comment:472602007-06-09T21:15:31.136ZI. J. Parkerhttp://crimespace.ning.com/profile/Ingpark
Okay, Tom. :) I won't touch 18th century in Japan. All of mine are much earlier. But what about Laura Joh Rowland? Isn't she in the 18th century?<br />
But seriously, even if you were to pick up a plot idea some place, what happens when you develop it your own way is that it becomes a completely new work. Shakespeare knew that. And Chaucer did, too.
Okay, Tom. :) I won't touch 18th century in Japan. All of mine are much earlier. But what about Laura Joh Rowland? Isn't she in the 18th century?<br />
But seriously, even if you were to pick up a plot idea some place, what happens when you develop it your own way is that it becomes a completely new work. Shakespeare knew that. And Chaucer did, too.