H.B.R. - Plagiarism, borrowing, copying, respect and giving credits.

Hello my fan! As I'm not dumb enough to suspect that more than two or three of my friends actually read this. And Sarah's mom :o)*waves*. I have surfaced from beneath my comfie, dark rock with a new little rant. Well, this one isn't quite a full out rant-more of a clarification of my beliefs. Plus I'm not very angry right now. Merely tired and sick with just enough energy left to defend myself. Hey, I'm stubborn and proud :o)

Where to begin on this delicate subject?

Well first I think a definition should be in order. Then we'll get to the cause of this rant and the ranting in itself.

Fanfiction - A form of writing or literature that is believed to have originated in Zines around the late sixties or early seventies in the Star Trek fandom. Fans would write a story using the characters and/or settings from a movie or TV series, and publish it in a zine, which was then sold by post or at fan gatherings. Once the web was widely used, fans started to publish their stories on it, and the phenomenon really exploded. Fanfic explores the characters in ways that the person or person(s) who created the movie or TV series didn't have the time, interest, leeway, or (sometimes) imagination to do. A particular feature of online fanfic is slash writing, but even the non-slash fics are prone to having a lot more sex in them than the original source. I think this is a good thing, but your mileage may vary. Fanfiction is distinguished from profic by the fact that no profit is made and it's done for love of the characters and settings.

(copied from the fanfic glossary from PhoenixSpirit.com, found at http://www.geocities.com/demeterdaughter/glossary.html )

You can describe fan fiction as flowery and nicely as you want but for time's sake I'm cutting this down to the raw truth. Fan fiction is a result of an audience member wishing to take part in another's idea. You get the extremes such as the Mary-Sue, and then there's the slash and gen writing as well. What we've done is been inspired by an idea and wish to add our own touch to it. Whether through drawing or writing. You can create a scenario or pairing that the original writer did not and make it substantial by writing it out.

I am all for this kind of interaction. It's harmless and healthy. But it doesn't change the fact that the world we're using is not originally our own.

It is my belief that as long as you admit that and give credit where credit is due all is well. What is more flattering to an author than have someone write a fiction inspired by their work?

What I am against is taking another's work and blatantly copying it word for word and then having the gall to say it's all yours. What is the fun in that? The whole point of writing fan fiction is to experiment and challenge your muse. Not straight out theft. It is also dangerous to your health. There are a lot of 'defenders of the original idea' out there who once they see a copy will want blood. Mainly of the one who hit copy and paste. But sometimes they will get a little over zealous and take out innocent bystanders in their wake.

Of course like all rules there is an exception to this one. If you're purposefully using a piece directly from canon text to bring your own twist and perspective on it. This is done by quite a few TV show slasher's who take a scene and will use the dialogue but insert thoughts into the character's that probably weren't there. Though who knows? Maybe Spike really was wondering what it would be like to fuck a vampire with soul? When he looked at Angel that time when they were trying to kill each other. Just as long as you have a disclaimer this type of stealing can be justified-at least in my mind.

If you read a fan fiction and think 'oh, wow I want to write something like that only change the end�' then simply politely ask permission. You'll probably get it. Then write away with a simple mention of who you were inspired by at the top of your tale.

Now, this is where it gets troublesome.

There are only so many plots in this world. And only so many descriptive words. Just think of how many words a day that you use, especially as a fan fiction writer? How many repeats do you think there are in just that one day? Now imagine hundreds of people�trying to describe the same things. Add to this the limited number of plots, and the fact that you're using the same fandom and characters. You see the problem right?

Not all copies are intentional. It's bound to happen that some stories use the same lines, and even more likely, that they'll use the same plot and development tools. Any hard core fan fiction reader will tell you this. But it's the tone of the piece that should remain unaffected by these similarities.

Every writer has a different voice. This is the overall feel of the piece. It is extremely difficult to change one's voice and there are probably only a few author's good enough to pull it off in the world. This voice is what's present in all your work. Sometimes it might change a bit over the years as you gain experience and maturity. But the basis remains the same. This is not the same thing as an atmosphere or a tone. It's the bit of you that bleeds into the words produced.

This is also the sure-fire way of telling if anyone is cheating. If another's voice is suddenly in that writer's work. Or if the style completely changes during it�you have a pilferer. Though of course this is faulted as they could just be that good ;o) but you can usually sense it when something is amiss within the words.

Now, why am I going on about this, you ask?

Simple. I was accused of stealing another fan fiction writer's idea. One that I, in fact, have never read. I'm not angry at the accusation as I have found my plots and some descriptions over lap others in the past. I would not be surprised if my idea was similar to someone else's. I intend to finish the piece and then read the other fiction to see. If it turns out to be twilight-zone close I'll put mine away and work on something else instead :o) Even if it was completely unintentional. As I hate having to defend myself against something that is not my fault.

Normally I would respond quietly and explain my situation and let it drop. The person who pointed out the similarities was very nice about it and I thank her for drawing it to my attention. I did respond. But my response was attacked by another. They were also nice about it but it was still an attack and very much a veiled threat. I perhaps was not clear enough in my response, as I tend to be a little sarcastic at times. So I felt that in my own best interest I should write this to clear anything up.

Rest assured, I wouldn't purposefully steal another's work ,without asking or making a reference to it somewhere. Though I admit to forgetting disclaimers on my actual fiction when I post. Which is why I went and put up a disclaimer on my bio page on ff.net.

I hope that removes any misconceptions some may have on my morality and beliefs on plagiarism. Give credit where credit is due and if you're cutting and pasting prepare to be slaughtered. I think that sums up my views nicely.

While I was finishing writing this (as it's taken me nearly a week to respond�haven't been up for writing for a bit. But we won't get into that.) I checked another fan fic writer's diary and it seems I'm not the only one having trouble. Though she managed to put her views into one very powerful paragraph and I salute her for it. I can't seem to shut up at times�

-J

***Silly point, I'm amused that instead of typing the word similarities I used Silmarilities. Hehe. And I do not have any ownership rights to either Spike or Angel-they belong to Buffy the Vampire Slayer and co. Just to be clear :o)