tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5594341074652821017.post3728884006065643929..comments2023-08-14T10:44:59.007-04:00Comments on Novel Spaces: PlagiarismKeVin K.http://www.blogger.com/profile/14792797517571690942noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5594341074652821017.post-23042176821913645762012-10-05T04:14:17.475-04:002012-10-05T04:14:17.475-04:00This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02080050062414106577noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5594341074652821017.post-84416465277310905172012-10-04T01:59:32.309-04:002012-10-04T01:59:32.309-04:00The thing about fiction is ideas are easy. (Show o...The thing about fiction is ideas are easy. (Show of hands, how many writers have at least one friend who's offered to tell them a great idea for them to turn into a book so the two of you can share the profits?) Add to that the tropes and reader expectations of a genre story, whether romance, western, or noir detective, and it's easy to see how one story can look like another with neither writer even being aware of the other. <br /><br />Charles pretty well defined plagiarism. I'd be tempted to have an intent qualifier - there are instances of unconsciously reproducing something read years ago - but that would cloud the issue too much. What was produced, not what was meant, is all we can evaluate.KeVin K.https://www.blogger.com/profile/14792797517571690942noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5594341074652821017.post-2510120780987989482012-09-27T22:50:51.677-04:002012-09-27T22:50:51.677-04:00Why on earth would anyone, least of all a well-kno...Why on earth would anyone, least of all a well-known multi-published author, want to steal someone else's work? Laziness? Insanity? Someone held a gun to her head?<br /><br />I don't think ideas can be plagiarized in fiction, though. Lots of people come up with the same or similar ideas, but no two people are going to develop the idea into identical stories. In fiction it's all about the execution, not the idea. How many detective stories are there with the identical plot?<br /><br />I imagine it's difficult for a fiction writer to charge "You stole my story!" unless there was evidence of actual copying of text, rather than of an idea.Liane Spicerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05035607144500219524noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5594341074652821017.post-6617659754787599382012-09-25T21:37:08.331-04:002012-09-25T21:37:08.331-04:00Charles, I found it difficult to believe that the ...Charles, I found it difficult to believe that the student could get away with paraphrasing and citing one source, because I expect students to pull information from multiple sources.<br /><br />What I find strange when it comes to plagiarism in fiction, is that some of those accused had hundreds of titles to their names. Stylistic patterning is one thing, but outright copying from another is totally different.Jewel Amethysthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14813773386476356666noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5594341074652821017.post-13478073244594139242012-09-25T21:29:10.466-04:002012-09-25T21:29:10.466-04:00William, it is indeed murky when you come to ficti...William, it is indeed murky when you come to fiction writing. As Charles said ideas are borrowed all the time. It is a lot harder to differentiate plagiarized work from borrowed ideas when dealing with fiction. Yet it occurs in fiction writing as well as other art forms simply because plagiarism is not restricted to words but also ideas.Jewel Amethysthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14813773386476356666noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5594341074652821017.post-15280791914606671902012-09-25T11:45:16.228-04:002012-09-25T11:45:16.228-04:00ideas get borrowed all the time, even basic concep...ideas get borrowed all the time, even basic conceptions of a scene, but I don't think of that as plagiarism. I think of plagiarism as having several levels. 1: word for word copying with an attempt to hide the source or that there even was a source. 2: word for word copying without quote marks even if a source is listed somewhere along the line. 3. paraphrasing without identifying a source. The student you mentioned was pretty clearly a good paraphraser, but I always require multiple sources in papers in my classes so she couldn't do well with only one source.Charles Gramlichhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02052592247572253641noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5594341074652821017.post-89539483784498631072012-09-25T10:06:25.900-04:002012-09-25T10:06:25.900-04:00Interesting post, Jewel. As a teacher, I come acr...Interesting post, Jewel. As a teacher, I come across this issue regularly. A student looks up an answer on Wikipedia, changes a few words, and turns it is. But of course its still plagiarism. For fiction writers, the issue is murkier. If your protagonist is a rogue CIA agent who crosses the wrong people, and even his dog hates him now, you will inevitably walk some familiar paths. But that of course is not plagiarism.William Doonanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07540517192121681243noreply@blogger.com