The Writer's Guide to a Good Story

Plagiarism and Intertextuality

So this summer, I was forced to read a book called "How to Read Literature like a Professor."

I can't say that I enjoyed reading the whole thing, but I can say that not everything in it went completely over my head. One of the ideas in the book was on something called 'intertextuality.'

That's sort of the theory that there is no completely original idea. Everything comes from something else. For example, people. Our traits are not completely original. They come from somewhere in our family. My problem with being vertically challenged? My mom.

My wallflower-y personality? Dad.

 What I'm saying is, there's a difference between plagiarism and intertextuality. If you were to write a book about a school named 'schogwarts' with the same elements of Harry Potter with different character names, it would probably be plaigerism.

Plot line is definitely important when you're considering this kind of thing. For example, my story 'Flight from Reality.' is about a girl who creates a machine for her brother that can transport him to any world of his choice.

If I were to see a story here that featured a girl who gave her brother a birthday present that allowed him to go wherever his mind desired, would I consider it plagiarism? Probably.

On the other hand, a story about a boy with a locket who realizes it has a power to transport him to a different world? Not plagiarism.

It's the same idea, or concept, but consider what I said earlier.

There is no completely original story idea. While I snoozed through a lot of 'How to Read Literature like a Professor' (No offense to the book here, I just couldn't get into it) I definitely got what chapter four was saying about intertextuality.

I heard somewhere that Suzanne Collins' triology 'The Hunger Games' originated from an ancient story about a greek mythological monster living in a town that had to sacrifice two victims to it every year.

A lot of modern stories originate from ancient myths or have biblical references. That also goes for modern fairy tales. 'Cindy Ella' for example.

That's a book by Robin Palmer that's about a girl who's against the idea of prom. Also involved a couple of mean stepsister and stepmom, a school 'prince' and of course, a prom night.

Get it?

Yes, Robin Palmer incorporated a lot of the same elements of the original fairy tale Cinderella, but her story line and characters were completely different.

There's a saying that goes. 'Take an idea from one author, it's plagiarism. Take ideas from many authors, it's research."

I myself will admit to incorporating a lot of ideas I have seen in stories into one of my own. Ideas. Not plot lines, characters, or character developments.

Just remember that a lot of ideas have ancient roots. They come from things that have been around decades, even centuries. Take this into account before accusing anyone of plagiarizing your work.