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"Am I plagiarizing?" I ponder aloud as I sip my coffee.
"No." I conclude to myself, as I didn't copy my words from anywhere else and the ideas are my own even if influenced by media I have consumed in the past.
If its a well knwoj quote you'll likely recognize it as you're edittinf and be able to fix it. And if you don't, your beta readers will say something. And if no one alonf the process recognizes it, maybe it wasn't that famous afterall and you dont need to worry about it. Dont get hung up on a hypothetical scenario. As the sub's unofficial moto goes, just write.
I mean, if it's particularly recognizable shouldn't you be able to recognize it as others would?
If anything, throw quotations around it and plug it into Google (with the -ai at the end. Still works for me at least!) or DuckDuckGo to see if any direct quotes come up.
Sounds a bit like a tiny touch of the Imposter Syndrome creeping in, though. I know it well.
But what this misses is that these are generic lines. They only have the impact and significance they do because of their surrounding context. For example, Inigo Montoya is being incredibly polite to people by saying who he is, why he has interacted with them, and what he wants from the interaction. This extreme politeness is being contrasted by how "What He Wants" is that he's threatening to kill them. It's because it's played simultaneously incredibly seriously AND as a joke at the same time that it stands out and actually is treated as such a good line.
So, yeah, you absolutely can use direct quotes accidentally. Especially if you've never consumed that specific work before.
You cannot use a direct quotes of a specific work you didn’t consume. That makes no sense. If you say “to be or not to be,” you know where it’s from even if you didn’t read the whole play. I don’t buy that you can just come up with one of these lines without knowing it’s a quote. Do you know how hard it is to come up with a memorable line? Yes, it sounds easy and natural to say, but it’s not easy to come up in context.
Future Seeing and Philosophy of Philosophies... by Edmund Shaftesbury in 1930. Or do you think Mr. Edmund there somehow knew of Game of Thrones?
Sure, something specific like "Alas, poor Yorick! I knew him, Horatio..." can't be an accident. But "To be or not to be"? ABSOLUTELY can be something somebody stumbles upon.
The more generic something is the easier it is to not realize it's a quote from something. Why are you pretending otherwise? Like, to be clear, I am aware this can read as judgmental condescension. Not my intent. I am genuinely confused because I cannot see a good faith reading for why you're acting like plagiarism is the only reason and I do not wish to presume malice with this little of interaction to go off of... but your narrowminded dismissal makes it really hard to give benefit of the doubt.
"There is nothing new under the sun." Not even that quote nor the 2000 year old book I stole it from.
It's my belief that people come up with "memorable" lines all the time. The ones we all know just happen to come from famous writers. Those guys--the memorable writers--might be capable of coming up with them more often, is my guess, but that has nothing to do with being memorable.
Yes, but they’re your lines. You wouldn’t come up with an exact memorable line as someone else’s because the context of your story would be different, your style different, your characters different, etc. So your sentences would always be a little different than theirs. It’s extremely rare to say something exactly like someone else’s.
Sometimes you want that on purpose. It's fine. I just finished a comedy sci-fi that has "Don't panic." Right in the first sentence. Makes you think of Hitchhikers Guide, right? Good because it's about that serious.
There is a clear line between plagiarism and simply being similar.
Plagiarism is extremely easy to spot and usually involves lifting entire paragraphs word for word.
You can't hold yourself back simply by fearing that you've plagiarized something else. It is well known that nothing is inherently unique anymore. Every plot, every character arc, every story has been told already. It is in how you take these elements that already exist and make them your own.
Look at the heroes journey. This model has been done countless times but that doesn’t make the stories that came after the original plagiarism.
Yes, you might use something someone else has done but unless you are directly stealing it word for word with the knowledge of what you are doing this shouldn't be a concern.
"Some people would complain if you hung 'em with a new rope." — Cowboy proverb.
Plagiarism requires you to deliberately present someone else's actual work as your own. It doesn't apply on the level of phrases here and there, or of ideas. Everyone uses existing phrases all the time. I doubt we can communicate at all without doing this.
Some people imagine that phrases like, "We're gonna need a bigger boat" from Jaws is somehow trademarked, but they aren't, and trademarks don't work like that, anyway.
The idea that only a given author can use a specific line and that anyone else who uses it is naughty and got a lump of coal for Christmas is one of the many superstitions that writers tell as if they were ghost stories.
The only real consideration is whether readers associate the line so strongly with a specific context that it will ring false in yours. For example, I wouldn't use the line "Hokey religions and ancient weapons are no match for a good blaster at your side, kid" unless the speaker has seen Star Wars and is making a deliberate reference to it.
You were a baby with no ability to communicate. Every word you say now, you learned it from someone. If you can’t say things other people have said it, you have nothing left to say.
You might want to look up the word plagiarism, and maybe do a little more research on it to understand exactly what it means. Overall, you can’t accidentally plagiarize. It’s a deliberate act.
Now I don’t mean to insult you but you have to write a lot to get better. You’re not going to write one book, get published, and thousands of people accuse you of plagiarism. You’re lucky if you get a few dozens of people to read your book now.
This is the key. The more you write, the more you’re going to create your own path. So by the time you have thousands of people read your stuff, you would have established your own styles and stuff.
Knowing what plagiarism is. Plagiarism is presenting someone else’s end product as your own. I don’t take notes of other people’s stuff, so I cannot accidentally paste other people’s stuff into my work.
If you do note down something cool you heard, write where it came from, next to it. Now you can’t accidentally plagiarise it.
If you accidentally come up with a similar line or the same line, that is not plagiarism. Others can call it whatever they like, it didn’t make it so.
John Green literally quoted a Twitter meme in his book and has since been getting credited with it, something he didn't consider was an actual risk because he thought the meme was popular enough with his target demographic that they'd appreciate the reference.
Behold the field in which I grow my fucks. Lay thine eyes upon it and see that it is barren.
~John Green, An Abundance of Katherines
And that was an INTENTIONAL usage of something without attribution. Trust me... You're fine. A simple comment addressing any criticism will usually get people to move on. Anyone going rabid over a single line is probably not a reasonable person. Plagiarism is a pattern, not a sentence.
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"Am I plagiarizing?" I ponder aloud as I sip my coffee.
"No." I conclude to myself, as I didn't copy my words from anywhere else and the ideas are my own even if influenced by media I have consumed in the past.
[deleted]
If its a well knwoj quote you'll likely recognize it as you're edittinf and be able to fix it. And if you don't, your beta readers will say something. And if no one alonf the process recognizes it, maybe it wasn't that famous afterall and you dont need to worry about it. Dont get hung up on a hypothetical scenario. As the sub's unofficial moto goes, just write.
I mean, if it's particularly recognizable shouldn't you be able to recognize it as others would?
If anything, throw quotations around it and plug it into Google (with the -ai at the end. Still works for me at least!) or DuckDuckGo to see if any direct quotes come up.
Sounds a bit like a tiny touch of the Imposter Syndrome creeping in, though. I know it well.
“You killed my father, prepare to die!"
“Winter is coming.”
No, I don’t think you can unintentionally use a direct quote. If you use it, you know it.
But what this misses is that these are generic lines. They only have the impact and significance they do because of their surrounding context. For example, Inigo Montoya is being incredibly polite to people by saying who he is, why he has interacted with them, and what he wants from the interaction. This extreme politeness is being contrasted by how "What He Wants" is that he's threatening to kill them. It's because it's played simultaneously incredibly seriously AND as a joke at the same time that it stands out and actually is treated as such a good line.
So, yeah, you absolutely can use direct quotes accidentally. Especially if you've never consumed that specific work before.
Give me an example.
You cannot use a direct quotes of a specific work you didn’t consume. That makes no sense. If you say “to be or not to be,” you know where it’s from even if you didn’t read the whole play. I don’t buy that you can just come up with one of these lines without knowing it’s a quote. Do you know how hard it is to come up with a memorable line? Yes, it sounds easy and natural to say, but it’s not easy to come up in context.
My guy... "Winter is coming."
Future Seeing and Philosophy of Philosophies... by Edmund Shaftesbury in 1930. Or do you think Mr. Edmund there somehow knew of Game of Thrones?
Sure, something specific like "Alas, poor Yorick! I knew him, Horatio..." can't be an accident. But "To be or not to be"? ABSOLUTELY can be something somebody stumbles upon.
The more generic something is the easier it is to not realize it's a quote from something. Why are you pretending otherwise? Like, to be clear, I am aware this can read as judgmental condescension. Not my intent. I am genuinely confused because I cannot see a good faith reading for why you're acting like plagiarism is the only reason and I do not wish to presume malice with this little of interaction to go off of... but your narrowminded dismissal makes it really hard to give benefit of the doubt.
"There is nothing new under the sun." Not even that quote nor the 2000 year old book I stole it from.
It's my belief that people come up with "memorable" lines all the time. The ones we all know just happen to come from famous writers. Those guys--the memorable writers--might be capable of coming up with them more often, is my guess, but that has nothing to do with being memorable.
Yes, but they’re your lines. You wouldn’t come up with an exact memorable line as someone else’s because the context of your story would be different, your style different, your characters different, etc. So your sentences would always be a little different than theirs. It’s extremely rare to say something exactly like someone else’s.
Sometimes you want that on purpose. It's fine. I just finished a comedy sci-fi that has "Don't panic." Right in the first sentence. Makes you think of Hitchhikers Guide, right? Good because it's about that serious.
There is a clear line between plagiarism and simply being similar.
Plagiarism is extremely easy to spot and usually involves lifting entire paragraphs word for word.
You can't hold yourself back simply by fearing that you've plagiarized something else. It is well known that nothing is inherently unique anymore. Every plot, every character arc, every story has been told already. It is in how you take these elements that already exist and make them your own.
Look at the heroes journey. This model has been done countless times but that doesn’t make the stories that came after the original plagiarism.
Yes, you might use something someone else has done but unless you are directly stealing it word for word with the knowledge of what you are doing this shouldn't be a concern.
weird, I wrote this exact post, word for word two weeks ago...
/j
If it isn't a famous character's catch phrase or referencing something that might be trademarked or copyrighted, you should be alright.
"Some people would complain if you hung 'em with a new rope." — Cowboy proverb.
Plagiarism requires you to deliberately present someone else's actual work as your own. It doesn't apply on the level of phrases here and there, or of ideas. Everyone uses existing phrases all the time. I doubt we can communicate at all without doing this.
Some people imagine that phrases like, "We're gonna need a bigger boat" from Jaws is somehow trademarked, but they aren't, and trademarks don't work like that, anyway.
The idea that only a given author can use a specific line and that anyone else who uses it is naughty and got a lump of coal for Christmas is one of the many superstitions that writers tell as if they were ghost stories.
The only real consideration is whether readers associate the line so strongly with a specific context that it will ring false in yours. For example, I wouldn't use the line "Hokey religions and ancient weapons are no match for a good blaster at your side, kid" unless the speaker has seen Star Wars and is making a deliberate reference to it.
You were a baby with no ability to communicate. Every word you say now, you learned it from someone. If you can’t say things other people have said it, you have nothing left to say.
You might want to look up the word plagiarism, and maybe do a little more research on it to understand exactly what it means. Overall, you can’t accidentally plagiarize. It’s a deliberate act.
Now I don’t mean to insult you but you have to write a lot to get better. You’re not going to write one book, get published, and thousands of people accuse you of plagiarism. You’re lucky if you get a few dozens of people to read your book now.
This is the key. The more you write, the more you’re going to create your own path. So by the time you have thousands of people read your stuff, you would have established your own styles and stuff.
Knowing what plagiarism is. Plagiarism is presenting someone else’s end product as your own. I don’t take notes of other people’s stuff, so I cannot accidentally paste other people’s stuff into my work.
If you do note down something cool you heard, write where it came from, next to it. Now you can’t accidentally plagiarise it.
If you accidentally come up with a similar line or the same line, that is not plagiarism. Others can call it whatever they like, it didn’t make it so.
There are only so many words, you're gonna write the same thing as someone else at some point, it isn't plagiarism if it's coincidence.
I make sure I'm not stealing names by Googling them, that's it
I’ve had people tell me I used a line from a Taylor Swift song I’ve never heard in my book.
I’m not changing it. I know I came up with it on my own, and it fits the moment.
John Green literally quoted a Twitter meme in his book and has since been getting credited with it, something he didn't consider was an actual risk because he thought the meme was popular enough with his target demographic that they'd appreciate the reference.
And that was an INTENTIONAL usage of something without attribution. Trust me... You're fine. A simple comment addressing any criticism will usually get people to move on. Anyone going rabid over a single line is probably not a reasonable person. Plagiarism is a pattern, not a sentence.
Are you afraid of being sued? If not, just tell yourself you're not. You know your motives and intentions