Harlequin

I think a writer is a lot like an archeologist. As an archeologist use shards of pottery and random junk to discover great leaps of history and culture, a writer takes shards of ideas and random junk to create great leaps of plot and character.

A plagiarist is a tomb raider who has no skill or honor but tries to pass himself of as a professional.

Am I way off base here?

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XandrilZaax

That looks right on target to me, an excellent parallel.

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“Anyone who spends centuries seeing the future and using his knowledge for his own ends, and one who must hire countless others to kill a boy because he is not willing to dirty his own hands does not gain my respect, much less my fear.”

-Xandril Zaax

Journey

oooo I like the idea.

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mswietek

Sounds good to me as well. It also brings up that much of what we "discover" has already been laid down long ago by others (e.g. there are no new plots).

Anarkos

Yes, and, of course, tomb-robbing is part of the archaeologist's career, just as every author robs ideas from those that have gone before...

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Mike C

I'd disagree. A good writer will find the shards, smash them beyond recognition, glue them to a piece of wood, burn the wood, collect up the ashes, grind them to fine dust, toss the dust in the air, then describe the shapes the dust cloud makes as the wind blows it away.

An archaeologist is to writing is what the referee is to football. You can either play the game, or stand by and keep score.

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