Ok, I've got a massive writing problem, and I'd like some opinions from people.

The novel I'm currently working on was inspired by my viewing of "The Avengers" last month as well as the movie "Thor." I got concerned that my novel was following "Thor" a little too much, so I wrote down a massive list of all similarities so far, and it's making me very uncomfortable.

For example:

- the younger sibling turns out not to be related and turns into the main villain
- the protagonist ends up spending time on earth in a form of exile/ banishment
- the evil sibling tries to kill the exiled protagonist and fails

Those are just a few examples, but I've got a full list on a word doc of more specific similarities.

My question to you guys is, how far is too far? Am I overreacting, or am I going to need to completely rewrite the story after I'm finished with it (I'm almost 2/3 of the way through).

Thanks!






A writer is somebody for whom writing is more difficult than it is for other people- Thomas Mann




My writing blog: [aspiringpen.blogspot.com]

Just write it. Thor has a fairly generic plot; Loki's entire character is one I've seen so many times I'm almost bored with it.

If you're still worried after it's written, send it to me, I'll tell you if anything's too close. I've seen Thor a gazillion times (generic but very entertaining!) so I can definitely spot it if you're doing it.

Going to second Var on this one. It's a fairly stereotypical plot in one form or another, so I wouldn't be too concerned.

Also, its totally fine to steal someone elses plot. Though some might argue against me.... I think what is most important are the characters. If they are real people, who are individuals and original, then their interactions alone will change things. Aside form that, people have been stealing plots for years, what is important is how you put a spin on it, and make it interesting. Its actually a fun exercise, to take over done plot hooks and make them awesome and new :D

I think my real question is how far is too far? Many people critique "The Inheritance Cycle" early on for being a fantasy version of "Star Wars" in similar plots, situations, and characters. My story is a trans-universe fantasy about a war between two different peoples, one of whom is manipulating their way into ruling over the other race that is too lazy to fight back, but even then I'm still concerned about there being too many similarities, even if certain character genders are changed or if the villain is far more malicious and conniving than the original character it was based off of.

I guess what I'm trying to say is how much is too much? How much can I "borrow" from another story without being accused of plagiarism or being too derivative?





A writer is somebody for whom writing is more difficult than it is for other people- Thomas Mann




My writing blog: [aspiringpen.blogspot.com]

So long as your story's consistent within itself? Don't worry about it.

I'm with L on this one: you can swipe all the ideas you want, but you're a different writer and you're going to have a different story. Eragon is criticized, I think, largely because he doesn't work to turn his "stolen" bits into a cohesive whole; if he'd really thought everything through and made it internally consistent, if he'd made the effort to develop Eragon into a believable, sympathetic person, I don't think you'd see a whole lot of criticism. (And for what it's worth, you can see the effects of this in Inheritance; he starts playing with the world he's created and it comes out very different from all of the things he supposedly ripped off.)

Concentrate on developing your story. Do the things that make sense in your story. If they happen to follow another story, or a cliche, ahwell--as long as it's organic and it fits. That's much more important.

And to be honest...most people secretly DO enjoy the Inheritance Cycle, plagiarism or not.

There's nothing new under the sun, but for some reason, the human race doesn't mind the same themes being brought to life with fresh, human characters. :)

For this reason...despite the obvious clicheness of Thor...I still really, really enjoy it. And yeah...Loki type characters pop up often, but...I'm not quite sick of them yet. XD



Edited 1 times. Last edit at 06/28/12 06:37PM by Meg.

It has been said that there are only a certain number of basic plots in all of literature, and that any story is really just a variation on these plots. Some say there are 7 basic plots, some say more. Some even argue that these basic plots all can be traced to the stories in the Bible.

So, the case can be made for there being only a handful of plots-it's the author who takes these basic ideas and turns them into a story that may or may not be similar to a previous story.

Here are a few interesting reads:

[www.ipl.org]

[blackraptor.net]