Appealing to my flist

[sevendeadlyfun]

I don't do this. I really don't. I'm a self-sufficient stand on my own I am woman hear me roar type person. However, all that said, HELP!

If you haven't seen the latest feedmykink  Kink of the Month™ entry, this probably won't make much sense to you. So, to boil it down to it's sheer essence, there's a question of plagiarism. And it is just that, a question. If it were outright "This was stolen" I wouldn't need help. I'd yank and come down like almighty wrath on the offender.

The author states very plainly that she was inspired by an unnamed short story and that this has caused her trouble in another community. She also states and I'm quoting here "I can't say I did not steal anything from the other story, I took the main story line and re wrote it."

Now there is a school of thought that says there are only seven basic plotlines in all of literature. Those plotlines being:

1 - [wo]man vs. nature

2 - [wo]man vs. man

3 - [wo]man vs. the environment

4 - [wo]man vs. machines/technology

5 - [wo]man vs. the supernatural

6 - [wo]man vs. self

7 - [wo]man vs. god/religion

(Taken from the Internet Public Library list authored by Jessamyn West)

I'm forced to say that I agree. There are those who believe that all of literature revolves around one single plotline, as explained by Cecil Adams:

"One school of thought holds that all stories can be summed up as Exposition/Rising Action/Climax/Falling Action/Denouement or to simplify it even further, Stuff Happens..."

A bit too general for my tastes, but still basically correct. All of art is essentially derivative. Joss Whedon, far above we mere mortals though he is, used many if not all of those seven basic plotlines at one time or another. Heck, sometimes he got wicked crazy and combined them. But, those basic plotlines nonethless.

So, my appeal rings out to you thusly (and yeah, I live for dramatic language):

How do we define plagiarism? Is it merely taking another author's words and passing them off as your own? Does borrowing and modifying a plotline count as plagiarism, given the supposition of the derivative seven basic plotlines? If borrowing and modifying a plotline counts as plagiarims, aren't we all (as fanfic writers) guilty of plagiarism? Lastly, how would you handle this?

As an aside note, I am emailing this author to ask for clarification of her words. Saying that she can't be sure she didn't steal makes this incredibly difficult for me and muddies the waters considerably. Still, I'd like to hear what you all have to say...

A big thank you in advance to all those who respond to my flailing cries for help!

Comments

[raemcn.livejournal.com]

I would say you really need to know the other fics name and whereabouts. If it's just a rehashed plot with completely different words and story content, other than the plot, and this author's own writing style, well, most of the fandom is rehashed plots. BUT! You really need to see teh other fic to see if it's actually teh same fic with just some rewriting to it. I've seen a few who claimed they were inspired by another fic and it turned out to be they took that fic and reworded it or changed around some paragraphs and put it out as their own. Which is plagiarism.

[sevendeadlyfun.livejournal.com]

Thanks, sweetie! I appreciate you taking time to come to my rescue. I know you're uber-busy right now and it means a lot to me.

Luckily (or perhaps unluckily, depending on your perspective) the story did not fit the challenge criteria. So, it was removed for that, thus leaving me free to skirt the issue entirely. I'm such a wuss...

[lilithbint.livejournal.com]

my professor said that taking more than 10% directly from another text without due credit is plagiarism but take 10% from ten different texts and that's research.
Star Wars was just a rehash of various Greek myths, Harry Potter borrowed from many histories. Two writers can come up with the same plot at the same time with no knowledge of each other.
Changing a few words and giving it a different title or renaming the characters is plagiarism in my book especially if there is a story out there that is obviously the one borrowed from.
Being inspired by a story or a television show could be argued to be plagiarism as some authors would argue (but normally only if money is involved).
By admitting to what she is done I imagine that the writer in this case is hoping to avoid the plagiarism tag but an confessed thief is still a thief after all.
Interesting dilemma, I would be fascinated to see what happens.

[sevendeadlyfun.livejournal.com]

Well, I dodged a bullet here. The story in question did not fit the challenge criteria. So, it was removed on that basis alone and I didn't have to deal with the whole plagiarism issue. Which, speaking for me? I was happy about. I abhor wank in all forms and this was shaping up to be one...But, I did get a giggle from your professor's definition. So incredibly apt!