The blog chain is back, and this time it's my turn to pick the topic. Argh! I'm so nervous! I know what I want to say, but I don't know how to say it. Hmm, sounds like writing.But first! Please welcome back two people to the chain who have been away for a while. They are Senshi and Terri, and it's nice to have them here again. I'm new to Senshi's blog, and I read some of Terri's when I first joined the chain, so I'm looking forward to getting to know them both better.
Okay, what I want to talk about has a bit to do with inspiration and a bit to do with research. Kat started a chain on research not too long ago which is what got me all worried about my worries. These include:
Do you ever get inspired by a real-life event or news story and fear you're ripping off the story too much? Do you ever get inspired by a song or poem or line from a book and worry you're stealing that original person's idea? What if your research is overtaking your originality?
Okay, maybe I am projecting worries into my future, and if I just kept going with a story, it would develop into it's own thing, and all my worries would become unnecessary.
But maybe I really have something to worry about! Like ending a sentence with a preposition!
Anyway, some examples may help. I started my novel Outlaw Song from a song I heard, called "Outlaw Song." (Mind-blowing, isn't it.) I'm not going to really title my novel that, when it's done, and my novel is not about the story of the song, but I feel very inspired by the song, and other songs on the album, and sometimes when I'm stuck I will start writing around lyrics in the song, and then I AM just writing what is happening in the song (when I'm stuck), and I worry, is that a kind of plagiarism? Does this mean I have no creativity? Will anyone even notice anyway? Am I supposed to contact this band (which is no more), and ask them if I can quote, if it comes to that, their music?
Or, I was watching a show on Food Network one night, and they were talking about this restaurant somewhere, and I thought the story behind the restaurant's creation was interesting, and then I started thinking what about the restaurant owner's life made him open this place, and my mind was coming up with all this morbid stuff. I was just joking around with my husband about it, and he said I should write a story about it, but immediately I felt I wasn't allowed to do that. Is that original enough, to make up the first half of this guy's story? I mean, I can change the name of the restaurant, but what if someone else saw this episode on Food Network, and they call me out on it? Or what if the restaurant owner finds out, and he doesn't like what I made up about him, and sues me?
Again, all these fears are probably unfounded. I know writers get inspired by everything all the time: stories in the news, conversations overheard, family stories, other books, movies, songs... I'm sure the list is endless. I guess my problem is, where does inspiration end and originality begin? Do you have to credit your sources of inspiration? How do you do that?
And, if you are inspired by something, a news or historical story, maybe, and you go researching it more, where does that end? What if the more you research, the more trapped you feel? Maybe I wouldn't worry about this if I actually researched a novel one day, but what if??? How many questions can I ask in one blog post?
I need your advice. I think this has a lot to do with confidence, maybe with voice, with knowing yourself as a writer. Knowing your story well enough that it actually becomes yours, separate from whatever inspired it. Probably I should just keep writing, and all this will iron itself out. But I have to admit my worries of ripping off someone else's idea stops me a lot from writing.
I know that if I put a song lyric up and asked 20 people to write a story inspired by it, I'd get 20 different stories. But I guess I'm just afraid, for me, that maybe I will accidentally plagiarize and write the story too close to the song. Kind of like when I was little and writing stories, and only when I was older did I realize that I was pretty much writing exact copies of my favorite stories. I didn't know it at the time, and it was an honest mistake, but still.
So, yeah. Help! How do you know your stories are your own?
Please see Sandra's answer to this question, as she's going right after I am. (Sorry, Sandra!)
*I know "plagerism" is misspelled on the poster. I don't know how to fix it.
16 comments:
I'll save my answer to your question for my post. But I will say that I think thinking about these things is a normal part of the process whe you are conscientious...so, stop worrying and hopefully there will be some good answers in the mix - for everyone!
Like Christine, I'm saving my answer, but great post! I'm super thrilled to be back on the chain:)
I think this has a lot to do with confidence, maybe with voice, with knowing yourself as a writer. Knowing your story well enough that it actually becomes yours, separate from whatever inspired it. Probably I should just keep writing, and all this will iron itself out. But I have to admit my worries of ripping off someone else's idea stops me a lot from writing.
I think this is the most important issue here. (I'll answer your question in my blog tonight or tomorrow.) I think for now, you should go ahead and give yourself permission to write, even if you think it's not original or even very good. You can always change things later during revision. The more you write, the more you'll see you can address the things you're worried about, and that will give you confidence. :hug:
I know exactly how you feel right now. I'm writing a historical set in the 13th century, and it's based off the recorded travels of someone in that time. I'm really curious to see what other people have to say about it. It's the first historical I've written, so I'm kind of in the dark.
You know what I tell myself when I have these worries? Shakespeare stole ideas all the time.
If you make them yours, it's all good :).
To piggyback on my last comment: there are no new stories, just new ways of telling them!
Ditto to what Rebecca and Sandra said.
Let the song, movie, bio -- whatever -- inspire you, but turn it into your own with your voice and talent.
It's funny that you bring this up because the other day I had a lapse in sanity as I seriously considered writing a story to go with an Avenged Sevenfold song.
I decided against it after realizing how twisted I'd have to be to actually complete it. :-)
I think worries about being original enough are part of the reason why I don't like to do a lot of research when I write. I think it can sometimes be hard to fold facts into fiction in a way that is our own, and it is not like writing a term paper in college where you can just quote sources left and right.
Anyway, this is a great question Annie and I can't wait to read all the different responses!
All great artists steal. In my mind, that's just how it works. The key is to make it your own, not steal it to use IT instead of your creativity. But more as a springboard. We are all so unique that I don't think "stealing" is bad unless your intention is to bypass your own work and pass someone else's off as yours.
I'm not sure if this becomes too tangential, but here's my take on the topic. When I write, I go through several drafts. No surprise there. Some of those drafts feel like I'm building something: the story, the characters, whatever. Those are the drafts in which I can end up stealing from a lot of people. It's so hard to separate ourselves from our surroundings, and I think the vast majority of our inspiration is spillover from other people's work. But, then, when I do some other drafts, they feel like I'm fixing as opposed to building. I'm seeing what's wrong with what I've got. At those times, I tend to steal less. I change things based on my own preferences. That, for me, brings enough originality to the story. So, I allow myself to steal as much as I want to, knowing that the fixing drafts will change what I stole dramatically enough that it will feel like my own work.
I'll also save my answer for my post ;-D but ditto on everyone's comments and excellent topic!
Dostoyevsky put in his fiction events from his life that were left almost completely unchanged. Many times he wouldn't even change the names of the real people turned into characters.
Each writer is probably different, taking more or less both from the reality and from imagination. I personally have to relate everything to my own experience or I get stuck. I guess I'm not very imaginative. But as long as the words are my own and the events are filtered through my mind, I never feel that I'm stealing.
I had an English professor who drilled it into our heads that referencing or being inspired by previous works is a mark of writers who know their literary ancestry and take pride in it. Whether you agree with it or not, understanding that such-and-such story is a retelling of so-and-so story can give the reader a greater sense of depth and appreciation for a work. Knowing that "Frankenstein" is a Prometheus story, at least for me, gives it even more substance. As for songs inspiring stories, "The Crow" was one of my favorite graphic novels when I was a kid and seeing all those Cure and Joy Division references all over it made it even cooler.
OMG! I laughed (I'm sorry, I'm evil like that) while reading your post.
I think everybody can agree that those thoughts have entered our mind when an idea flies out at us from something we see or hear.
:) Terri
I face this all the time because most of my fiction is either based on something that happened to me, or some event or person I've observed. Sometimes, I'll just see an interesting person at a bus stop and only absorb enough of them to build a character--like a businessman arguing on his cell phone or a mom scolding her kids, whatever. I can only speak for myself, that I tend to try to match reality too much, and then I lose the story---so I always need to take step back (usually in the second or third draft), and make sure that while I'm using some of these real events as a foundation or skeleton, that I allow the characters to speak to me on their own and reveal their own story. It often means that for the story's sake, the plot can't follow exactly what happened in real life.
Sorry for my late reply to all your awesome comments! I was away last week.
Christine- Yes, "stop worrying" needs to be my motto. I'm always freaking out.
Cole- I still have to read your post, but I'm excited to hear your thoughts!
B.J.- Wow, that is some pressure. I'm not even intending to write a historical, and I'm feeling stuck. I hope the others can help us out.
Rebecca- That's true about Shakespeare. I'll keep that in mind.
Sandra- I agree with the more I write, the better I'll figure all this stuff out. I need to write more!
Kat- haha! I'm curious, what is the song you were wanting to write to?
Kate- Exactly! Maybe if I could cite sources in my stories I'd feel less paralyzed. I guess I'm afraid of people pointing fingers and saying, "You didn't use your imagination."
Lady Glamis- I guess that's true about all artists stealing. I mean, artists are inspired by everything, esp. the works of other artists.
Davin- Ooh, I like your process. It's comforting to know that in the fixing stages, the story can become more my own.
Michelle- I need to read your post too!
Lori- I often don't feel imaginative, but that is a good point about everything being filtered through your mind, which means you can't really copy anything.
Sarah- I love your comment! And I also enjoy a story that is inspired by or a retelling of a classic.
Terri- Ha, well, I was pretty much pulling my hair out in that post. I need to be grounded quite often. :)
Indigo Girl- Yeah, I also follow to closely to real life or whatever the inspiration was, and I don't let the story be its own thing. Guess I need to work on that.
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