Eiji Tunsinagi

Suppose I have an idea. I like it. It is good. I would like to make it exist in the form of ink. BUT, how do I know there isnt some book on some shelf all the way in the back of some Borders out in the middle of God-knows-where, with the same idea?

But technically, if my idea was THAT original, it wouldnt been done by anybody else already.....

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"nothing is perfect, nothing lasts, and nothing is finished."

"how will you go about finding that thing the nature of which is totally unknown to you?"

jessicanm

One thing you'll learn as an English Major or at least I did is that no one now a days can write an orignial story. They really have all been done before its just that we take a different spin on it, add a little something here, or take away something there. I wouldn't worry about getting someone else's idea that's already in a book. That's what publishers are for, they'll keep you in the loop for that kind of stuff.

You've got an idea to write about, then write it, don't let that stuff worry you.

~Jessica

gabriella

If you had no contact with any book that was the same as yours and came up with the idea on your own, chances are, they won't be the same. Unless you have a long lost twin somewhere....

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You write by sitting down and writing - Bernard Malamud.

safari invasion

If Secret Window taught me anything, it's that it can happen. Oh wait, nevermind...

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"We are the music makers, and we are the dreamers of the dreams."
-Willy Wonka

Creative_Insanity

haha, except in Secret Window, MR turned out to be insane, not plagiaristic.

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“No.” We walked a bit in silence and then the Fool said quietly, “Fitz, home is people. Not a place. If you go back there after the people are gone, then all you can see it what is not there anymore.”

Talia_Brie

If you've never read it, chances are you're not copying it. There's probably no other way to find out other than to ask here. Lots of writers here, which means lots of readers.

Describe the book/plot, and if someone recognises it, they'll be sure to let you know, and you cna set about doing some research.

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Eiji Tunsinagi

Thing is , I hate telling my plots to people cause next thing I know, there'll be a book about it..........which is not cool. To say the least.

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"nothing is perfect, nothing lasts, and nothing is finished."

"how will you go about finding that thing the nature of which is totally unknown to you?"

eleutheromaniac

"haha, except in Secret Window, MR turned out to be insane, not plagiaristic."

Spoiler.

Anyway, nothing is truly original, but original doesn't mean the same thing as unique. (original meaning the source or cause of something, unique meaning one of a kind). I think my book 'Augmented Reality' (sorry, I'm in full salesman mode) is a good example of something which is unique but not necessarily original as it is inspired and even loosely based on several other fictional and philosophical works. Yes I've added my own unique philosophy to the work, but I've found that everytime I think I've come up with an original philosophy there is already someone who has covered it about two hundred years ago. In fact, while in the middle of writing my book I stumbled on Saul Alinsky's book 'Rules for Radicals', which expressed many of the same ideas I was using in my book, and I wound up even using a few quotes from Alinsky in the book.

There are many different ways of expressing the same idea; which is essentially what writing is all about.

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Augmented Reality