Similarity with other existing story?

[Solomon Tan]

Good day to all of you,

I was just wondering a question. Will you accidentally write a story, or a plot, or a character and realized that it is exactly or very similar to another?

I mean, since many of us will be inspired by other stories, or characters and when we write, it might be close to the existing one..

What will happen? Is it considered a copy?

E.G: You create a character. A old, wise wizard who hold a powerful staff that is white and he wore a white robe, able to summon giant eagles to assist him. And he happened to assist the main character in fulfilling his ultimate quest..

This character sounds like Gandalf in Lords of the Rings.. So is it considered copying?

 

[Seth son of Tom]

i'd say in the end whether you meant to or not, that is how ppl will view it, especially if the other story is very famous like LOTR.

 

[Solomon Tan]

So, in the sense, it is almost confirmed that some plots and characters will be repeated...

But, will it be an issue... Like people will say:" Ah, you copied the character in LOTR.. " Or This plot sounds so similar to that certain storybook..

 

[Devor]

E.G: You create a character. A old, wise wizard who hold a powerful staff that is white and he wore a white robe, able to summon giant eagles to assist him. And he happened to assist the main character in fulfilling his ultimate quest..

This character sounds like Gandalf in Lords of the Rings.. So is it considered copying?

Anything can be made to sound like copying in a three-sentence description. Make it different.

Gandalf was more than an old white wizard who summons giant eagles. He has a personality. He has distinct defining relationships with the people around him. And he had a wicked sword.

 

[myrddin173]

I once read something that said there are only three or four plots in the world and that every story is therefore ripping-off something else. There is absolutely nothing wrong with it, as long as you make it your own. That was the downfall of Eragon, Paolini didn't do enough to alter the base (the Hero's Journey Archetype) and so its called derivative.

 

[Solomon Tan]

Ok.. The reason when I have this enquiry is because I was actually planning out the story that I wanted to write and somehow when i got the main plot figured out, it was a bit similar to some stories that I had read before..

Basically, there is this ancient magic that allows humans to become immortals.. Having not only everlasting life, but also a great power.. But that is at the expense of thousands of human lives, sacrificed for this purpose.. Well, you will then have people with evil thoughts and intents doing so to achieve immortality, and the 'good guys' will try to stop that..

 

[Ghost]

I think that's vague enough. Since you know which story yours is similar to, you know what progression and results to avoid. You can also manipulate the power struggle, so it isn't the same as the existing story. If everything goes the same way, I'd think you were copying.

Your idea reminds me of Runelords. Humans were sacrificed in a very specific way, and they also had reavers to contend with. Doing the magic differently and having different personalities, motivations, and conflicts would be enough for me to give the writer a chance. There's also a movie coming out called In Time that sounds a little similar. I doubt Runelords and In Time have the same plot, so you can obviously do a very different take on what appears, on the surface, to be similar concept.

 

[MichaelSullivan]

I actually try to watch what I read so I'm not inadvertently influenced. But, it's not uncommon for two people to come up with similar ideas with no interaction. Many people compaere the main charaters of my Riyria Revelation to Fayhred and the Grey Mouser - but I've never read any of those books. I also read reviews where people say.... "Sullivan was obviously influenced by x, or y, or z and I find it funny because it most cases I had not even heard of the stories I was being compared to.

You can look at almost any plot and see it is playing off something that came before. Twilight is a take off of Buffy the Vampire Slayer...Harry Potter is about any number of stories where an orphan is destined for greatness and an evil entity is rising and must be defeated. The trick of course is to put your own "spin" on whatever you do. If you have compelling stories, and characters that people love...then you'll be way ahead of the game.

 

[Devor]

I actually try to watch what I read so I'm not inadvertently influenced.

I thought I was crazy for feeling that way. I feel like I should read books off college course lists and Oprah, and then figure out how to expand the humanity of those stories with a fantasy setting.

 

[lawrence]

There is nothing new under the sun...so goes the saying. Remember that Tolkien was derivative too, drawing on the tone and even specific stories of old sagas and legends. He was a professor of Anglo Saxon history and language or something like that, and he used its literary heritage quite closely at some points. I think we all absorb influences from the stories we love and the type of fiction we are very familiar with.

Fantasy writing does have quite a number of arch-types and thats no bad thing in itself, other genres do too. I guess the key is to put great imaginative effort into making characters and storylines memorable and interesting, and as unique as can be whilst bearing in mind that somewhere you will be treading previously mapped ground. What we do is 'creative' writing, so lets be creative

 

[Kit]

The Fantasy Novelist's Exam

Is your fantasy plot cliche? - Quiz | Get More Quizzes at Quizilla

Try these..... they made me laugh, although I'm not going to admit how my current Work In Progress scores.....

 

[FictionQuest]

There is a very similar thread going on here Being original vs stealing everything - Science Fiction Fantasy Chronicles: forums

 

[Terra Arkay]

I got 46% cliche for my fantasy plot

 

[Elder the Dwarf]

Not positive, but I'm pretty sure it's impossible to pass that fantasy novelist's exam... is it possible to not be more comfortable with a frying pan than a sword and at the same time not be more comfortable with a sword than a frying pan? Are all of my female characters supposed to be equally adept with both?

 

[Kit]

I was horrified/embarrassed to see how many of the listed cliches I recognized in my story. Stuff I honestly had no clue was cliched. I guess I am just well-read enough to absorb/regurgitate cliches subconsciously, yet not well-read enough to recognize them as such.

 

[Ghost]

"A clumsy cooking wench more comfortable with a frying pan than a sword" sounds like someone who reluctantly picks up a sword in the novel when she'd prefers domestic duties. I've seen something similar, and the character was meant to provide comic relief. That character is the type who only survives by luck and no one seems to write her seriously. The "fearless warrioress more comfortable with a sword than a frying pan" calls to mind those gruff female fighters who go against traditional female roles. Brienne from ASoIaF is the only one that stands out for not being a flat character. The other (forgettable) characters I've seen written that way only had one motivation--to not be seen as feminine. I think the point is that your female character is more than just a role in society and more than a thoughtless response to it.

I checked different plots on both of Kit's links. I scored 0-25% on the second one for different plots, but one of them failed the Fantasy Novelist's Exam because the MC might be considered a relative of the villain. The villain absorbed his ancestors' spirits, including his father and grandfather, so I figure that counts as being related.

I still say you're safe, Solomon Tan. It's not a very common plot. There are differences between what you're doing and the example about a wise, old wizard with a staff and robes. One is a plot, the other is a description of a character. One isn't common, and the other is done by a large number of fantasy authors.

I mentioned Runelords, where the attributes were transferred by branding. You could look at other examples of people consuming others in order to extend their own lives. The first thing that comes to mind is the Countess Elizabeth Bathory. She bathed in blood and drank it in an attempt to stay young. (Although, I suppose that would push the magic toward vampirism...)

As long as your magic system and major conflicts different, I don't see a problem with having a similar concept, especially since your characters and setting are bound to be different anyway. I don't think it's copying unless you let the published book influence large chunks the story. Did you arrive at this concept on your own and stumble on a book that already had it, or did the book influence you to do your own take?

 

[Elder the Dwarf]

Brienne from ASoIaF is the only one that stands out for not being a flat character. The other (forgettable) characters I've seen written that way only had one motivation--to not be seen as feminine. I think the point is that your female character is more than just a role in society and more than a thoughtless response to it.

Is Arya flat? Or Kitiara from Dragonlance? I don't think so, and my point is that it's almost impossible to have nothing from that list if you're writing a fantasy novel, unless you just go a completely different way with your fantasy. Which is great, but I don't think is necessary for writing a good, original novel. I personally prefer more traditional fantasy along the lines of Dragonlance, TLOTR, The Legend of Drizz't, and the ASOIAF, among others. All of those fail that test, and all of them are great novels in my opinion.

 

[Benjamin Clayborne]

I tried my novel on that quiz, and even though I checked off almost nothing, it said 50-75%? That's a little confusing. Apparently it's cliché to not use any clichés.

 

[Kit]

Let us not assume that a frying pan does not make a good weapon. Possibly even BETTER than a sword at extremely close range, and for that element of surprise.

 

[Benjamin Clayborne]

Hey, if Tangled taught us anything, it's that frying pans are excellent weapons. Who knew, right?