Hey, This Reminds Me of Something!

01Feb12

References.

Quoting.

Plagiarism.

What’s the difference?

That’s a good question. Writing is filled with references. Actually, the proper literary term is “allusion,” or “A brief, usually indirect reference to a person, place, or event–real or fictional.” We all make them. Yes, even me. I remember when I first started writing fanfiction. Like other beginners, I made the mistake of copying other, popular, writers. Why do I say “mistake”? It’s simple really. And I’m not talking about being creative and individual. It’s because I copied the bad aspects of their writing. Mary Sues. Humor that only my friends got. Changing POVs. The whole nine yards. Fortunately, I got better.

But I still make allusions. That’s not bad writing. It’s how you use it, though, that can be bad. Let’s talk about how I use allusions. As I said, I’m rewriting my Elaborate Lives trilogy. One of my updates is that my main character’s father owned a bookstore. So she grew up as an avid reader. Because of this, she tends to compare people and situations to books. So there’s a way for me to make allusions. Like one comparing Snape to Col. Brandon from Jane Austen’s Sense and Sensibility. Kudos to anyone who gets why it’s a double allusion!

Now, sometimes, you want to quote something. Maybe someone said it better. Or it’s in character for this person to use a quote. That’s alright as well…as long as you give the source it’s proper credit. This goes back to my post on disclaimers. That’s only one option to give credit. Another way is in the narrative itself. For example:

“I have always relied on the kindness of strangers,” Mary said, batting her eyes.

John rolled his eyes. “Stop the Blanche duBois impersonation. There’s no scheduled performance of Streetcar Named Desire.”

Or:

She clutched the chocolate close. Susie felt like Gollum in the Lord of the Rings. “My precious,” she cooed.

See?

Do you need to cite allusions in such a way? Not really, no. They are, by definition, indirect and serve to call whatever it is to the reader’s mind. They are written in a way that the reader doesn’t have to understand the reference to enjoy the story. Those who do smile and feel smarter. Using direct words and ideas though should be cited in a disclaimer. Because otherwise, that would be plagiarism.

What is plagiarism? Plainly, it’s taking someone else’s words or ideas and using them as your own. So, for all you Lord of the Ring fanfic writers out there, that includes using the script. Come up with your own dialogue instead of cribbing others’ words. You may not think it’s plagiarism, but it is. You may think a movie did a scene wonderfully and decide to copy it. Give the original credit. If you don’t, it appears you are taking the credit for coming up with it. For example, I saw a video about a Harry Potter fanfic where the author took the fight scene directly from Disney’s “Aladdin.” I went to the actual story. She has no disclaimers at all. Which are the least of her worries, though.

Or let’s take another story that’s up on Fanfiction.net. The author blatantly and openly admits to using another fanfiction writer’s story. Not that she thinks it’s plagiarism. She thinks that by changing a few words here or there and using her own favorite songs, it’s now completely original! (It’s not). The reviews on that one? Harsh but deserved. And the bad thing? The name “plagiarist” will follow her. And most people in the fandom world aren’t too pleased with plagiarists. It may not tank a fanfiction career, but it’s a terrible precedent to set. Why? Because then readers won’t be able to trust you. We’ll never know if it’s yours or not.

So, don’t plagiarize. Use allusions, make references, use quotes—but do so properly! And when in doubt—cite!

Filed under: Fanfiction, Harry Potter   |  4 Comments
Tags: allusion, plagiarism, quoting, reference