#especially as a grizzled fandom veteran

[nerdish-nostalgia-revived]

Poirot - Three Act Tragedy.

Martin Shaw as Sir Charles Cartwright with his glorious 'tie knife' (as named by jenksel)

the moment where my heart shattered into a million pieces.

[distant-rose]

To you, what’s the difference between plagiarism and being inspired by someone else work? (Idk anything about the thing everyone is talking about, but many times I’ve felt inspired by something I had read and wrote kinda “my version”... Sometimes in the same fandom, sometimes across fandoms... Did I did something bad? I’m legit worried here)

Hi there,

I’m sorry you waited so long for this and thank you for being patient. I wasn’t home when you sent this and I felt you deserved a real thought out answer instead of something half assed on my phone because it’s a complex thing and honestly, thank you for asking it. It shows that your mindset is the right place. So, kudos to you.

Now, going to onto this tricky subject. I’ve admittedly been doing research on it and I’m going to link to you some of the websites I was checking out in order to give you a proper answer, and they’re here: [LINK], [LINK] and [LINK]. Also, I’m going to point you in the direction of @welllpthisishappening​‘s explanation of plagiarism because it’s actually pretty amazing and a really good analogy: [LINK].

Now to the question at hand:

Inspiration

The definition of plagiarism according to the Oxford Dictionary is “The practice of taking someone else’s work or ideas and passing them off as one’s own.” This might sound uncomfortable to fic writers especially when we totally write a lot of common themes and tropes sometimes like coffee shop meet cutes, sports stories, supernatural stories and whatnot. 

However, in most of these cases, inspiration is the driving force. You take on a prompt or idea and you rework it into something new. Nothing is ever entirely original, it’s often prompted by something that sparked, however, there’s generally a new and exciting take on it. A good example of this is my hockey story He’s In Entertainment which was inspired by @welllpthisishappening​‘s amazing Blue Line series. In both stories, Killian is a hockey player but there’s a lot of key differences. In my story, they meet on a train, Killian is afraid to admit he’s a professional athlete because Emma’s admitted bias towards athletes and it’s got a more humorous than romantic tone. Laura wrote fucking amazing love story where Emma worked for the Rangers Organization, was heavily involved in the organization and while there’s some trust and dishonesty between them on some levels, it’s more of an earnest and serious thing that needs to be solved rather than something to laugh at. Another great example is when @unfolded73​ wrote an amazing two-shot story called A Seed of Hope, which is inspired by a Doctor Who fic called Love and Waffles which are a lot of different elements to it. Completely issues were discussed in both fics and had different tones, despite similar concepts.

You’re allowed to be inspired by something, but inspiration implies that while the source is the driving force behind your work, you’re putting your own spin on something and not just retelling it. There should be something that you’re bringing to the table that is fundamental to whatever you’re writing. It can’t be just you’re changing the names or subtle things that are non-essential to the plot. As much as I hate to say it, Fifty Shades of Grey is a brilliant example of inspiration rather than plagiarism. While it was inspired by Twilight, there are completely fundamental differences in the characters, themes and storyline. 

Plagiarism 

Going back to the definition by the Oxford Dictionary, plagiarism is more than taking things word-for-word, it’s the idea behind it too and the essence. Basically if you’re repeating the same plot points with no real fundamental differences, and just changing superficial things, that’s plagiarism. Fine example of course is the drama surrounding Take Me to Church which for the record, you can get the details here: [LINK]. This is something that’s been already documented and I’m not going to waste my time repeating things, when there’s already a good synopsis of what happened already. No need to reinvent the wheel.

I’m going to use another example that happened to good dear friend of mine @welllpthisishappening​. As previously mentioned, she writes an amazing hockey universe which if you haven’t read, you should. Now, around Christmastime about two years ago, someone posted a story called Shipping Out to Boston where it was essentially the same plot. Killian is a grizzled hockey veteran and Emma works for the team. The only real changes were superficial. They just changed it from the Rangers to the Bruins and made Emma’s team job in Public Relations rather than Community Relations. That’s plagiarism. 

Kimberly Jackson, who runs a writer blog, puts it best:

Basically, if it’s virtually the same thing with only a slightly different coat, more likely than not, you’re dealing with plagiarism.

The Take Away

A good question to ask yourself if you’re inspired by something and wanting to put a good spin on it is “what is that I am bringing to the table by creating this piece?”

If you’re unsure, it’s best to message the original author and see what they think and if they’re uncomfortable with it, ask maybe if they can help you rework it and collaborate with you. It’s better to communicate and have an honest dialogue with someone than to potentially appropriate someone’s ideas.

If you’re inspired by something whether it be a story, idea shared on Discord or even a shared photo, give credit where credit is due, not just to save your ass but because it’s common courtesy to thank those who have helped you along the way and create something new and exciting. I’m not saying you have to Chicago cite everything, it would drive @spartanguard​ up the wall, but just give a small shout out and tag in your notes above or under your work. 

I hope this makes sense to you and puts your mind at ease.

[mousedetective]

21 Questions Meme!

I was tagged by the lovely @invidiamalice to do this meme! Thanks so much! Sorry I waited to reblog but I wanted to queue it up for posting on my birthday.

Rules: answer 21 questions and then tag 21 people you’d like to get to know better

1) Nickname: Waltzy, Pennywaltzy, California Brown Bear

2) Zodiac: Aquarius (today is my b-day!)

3) Height: 5′7″ ish. I used to be 5′10″ until I was pregnant and then my spine compressed, causing all the injuries I have there now.

4) Last movie I watched: I saw the tail end of Sky High last week? Otherwise, the last full movie I saw on TV was Moana, and the last one I saw in theatres was The Grinch.

5) Last thing I googled: As of the day I answered it, it was “california state id requirements”

6) Favourite musicians: Linkin Park, Lorde, 2NE1, KoRn, Emilie Autumn, The Prodigy, Jun Areia, Panic! At The Disco, Donald Glaude, The Chainsmokers, f(x), Twenty One Pilots, Depeche Mode, Skrillex, Queen, Fall Out Boy, Marina and the Diamonds, Everclear, The Smashing Pumpkins, Splashdown, Marilyn Manson, Natalia Kills

7) Song stuck in my head: Currently there are two: “Tortuga (Radio Edit)” by Double-V & Formal One (my son sent it to me and then I lost it for a while and I sobbed because he kept sending me the wrong versions and then I found it and sobbed happy tears) and “Sunflower” by Post Malone and Swae Lee, which hilariously came on RIGHT AFTER TORTUGA as I was listening to my music player.

8) Other blogs? @pennywaltzy (my fic blog), @sherlollysecretsanta , @mollyappreciationweek , @holmesfortheholidays  , @sherlockfanworkawards, @sherlockwomenappreciation and then two more I’m still trying to figure out what the heck to use them for ( @makeyourmoment and @blahblahblah-etc). I also have accounts on Dreamwidth, Insanejournal, Livejournal and Pillowfort.

9) Do I get asks: More on my fic journal than this blog, but those are usually requests for fics or headcanons.

10) Blogs following: I follow 1,988 blogs (1.365 follow me)

11) Amount of sleep: Depends on whether I’m in a bed or not. I can sleep 12 - 18 hours if I’m in a bed, especially if I’ve been sick or in the car for a while; otherwise, around 5 - 7.

12) Lucky Number: 23

13) What I’m wearing: On the day I answered this, black flowy wide-legged pajama pants (which I generally wear for everyday wear), and a burgundy tank top underneat my Sherlock acrosstic tank top.

14) Dream Job: Writing something. I’m on disability right now so I’m supported in a minimal fashion, but getting to supplement my income by writing would be awesome.

15) Dream Trip: A couple months in England, going to all the movie and TV locations I love. The reason I say months is I run out of energy really quickly so what an able-bodied person could fit in two weeks would take me about two months, especially if I go when weather is really bad.

16) Favourite Food: Macaroni and cheese (preferably Stouffers or from the Walmart deli), mashed potatoes (almost any way you can think of) and cashew chicken. 

17) Play any instruments: I can sort of play piano? But not well.

18) Languages: English

19) Favourite Songs: “Say Amen (Sweater Beats Remix)” by Panic! At The Disco, “Monster (EXTENSION REMIX)” by Nicki Minaj, “REVOLUTION + MTBD + DIRTY VIBE (Live)” by CL x Diplo, “Ghostbusters (I’m Not Afraid)” by Fall Out Boy feat. Missy Elliot, “Heart Shaped Box” by Ramin Djawadi, “Killer Queen” by Queen, “The Beginning Is The End Is The Beginning” by The Smashing Pumpkins, “Für Elise (Klutch Dubstep Trap Remix),” “If The Town Blows Away” from Daria! The Musical and the entirety of the Spiderman: Into The Spiderverse OST, the OBC recording of “The Addams Family” and Linkin Park’s “One More Light” (now that I can finally listen to the latter without crying)

20) Random Fact: Apparently I’m double jointed?

21) Describe yourself as aesthetic things: A grizzled veteran of too many fandom wars (camping out on my little territory, smoking a pipe and trying to keep the peace) who’s chained to a typewriter with stereo headphones on and a pair of broken glasses, sweating blood, tears and ink.