So, writers, ever had this moment?: to take a break from your awesome new work-in-progress, you go to the bookstore, where you stumble on a book with a premise, plot, or characters strongly resembling your WIP.
It's not a plagiarism situation. It's more of a Dang-it-someone-else-got-there-first situation.
When Neil Gaiman's THE GRAVEYARD BOOK came out, he blogged about another author. Apparently, when she heard the premise of his book, she threw up her hands and scrapped her own book-in-progress, which featured a young girl being raised in a graveyard. He said he hoped she'd reconsider.
I think he's right: we can all name two books with the same premise that are still each their own story. Still, I understand the author who thought her project was moot. Especially when the first person to publish the kid in the graveyard was Neil Gaiman.
This has happened to me twice. While writing DOG-BOY, Sara Gruen's WATER FOR ELEPHANTS came out. Then, not long after I started DAUGHTER OF THE DEAD, Amy McKinnon's TETHERED showed up on the shelves.
Lucky for me, my stories are different enough that they aren't in danger. In fact, having those other books out there might help mine, because the published ones are acclaimed and written for different markets (i.e. the pitch for DOG-BOY could be "think: WATER FOR ELEPHANTS for the teen crowd!", only not cheesy like that).
My only problem was that I wanted to read those books. THEY LOOKED SO GOOD! But I'm not going to risk inadvertently cherry-picking something from them. So I'm putting them off. When I've finished DOG-BOY, I'll read WATER FOR ELEPHANTS. When DAUGHTER feels complete, I'll pick up TETHERED.
Till then (and then), I'll just have to wait.
Anybody else have a strategy for this situation?
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Tuesday, March 2, 2010
I'll Read It. But Not Yet.
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2 ate pie:
I know exactly what you mean. My best friend read GOING BOVINE and was petrified people were going to think I copied the whole part about a dying boy on a quest. And then the other day she sent me a link to BEFORE I FALL about a girl reliving her own last day. I haven't read BEFORE I FALL but I have read GOING BOVINE, and I figure if people want to compare even a tiny portion of my book to it, they're more than welcome to. It's flattering really.
In the end, I think that it's how I write and who my characters are that makes my books unique. And I think it can only help you. Sure, if there's a glut of a certain kind of book, people might get tired of it, but if there are only two books about kids being raised in graveyards, people who liked Gaiman's book might be more likely to get the other.
In the end, I just try not to think about it, and like you I definitely don't read similar stuff to what I'm writing. That way lies madness.
Absolutely - it comes down to your personal execution of the story; your characters speak only to you (at least until someone else reads them), so only you can bring them to life.
I had a dream recently that I learned Disney had a new movie whose main character shared some really important traits with one of mine. I was so angry! But then, even in the dream, I realized my story had differences that would set it apart. (Though not before I'd shaken my fist at Disney!)
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