Ideas Dilemma (Regarding Future Stories)

[Ryano Ra]

O_O;;

I have quite a sum of dilemmas concerning ideas and such, basically revolving around future productions I am working on. The basic conflicts are the thought of me 'copying' ideas for other authors, in which I do not have any intentions to do, but I have a strong sense of guilt when I'm writing on these stories. But the rest of the problems come from me not having a functional brain -- this is a time of cat's rest and such. ;_;

One of my stories (advertised in my signature, actually) is a short chaptered fanfiction revolving around fantasy and adventure. This is roughly eight-ten chapters, eight being the least and ten being the most. The idea centers around a woman who has been one of the 'first generation' people to walk the earth and be blessed with the gift of Eternity before Mew was born and took away such a privilege. Now, she's actually a legend, and the story goes through when she got her first Pokemon, the journey she went on, and what happened to make her still be immortal (because Mew took away it when she ruled Heaven and took throne as Heaven's Goddess/God of the End. She basically took that ability from all humans EXCEPT the lady).

Eventually, she'll die, but I cannot go into further detail as to HOW AND WHY she does (I think I've said too much as is), but when writing this, I got the feeling that I was taking Scrap's idea (since she also has an immortal human in her fanfiction known as Linali) and crafting it into my own. And even though there will be SEVERAL difference, this strong similarity definitely gives me second-thoughts, hoping Scrap doesn't chase me down. ^^;;

So, how would you go about this dilemma that you are 'copying' somebody's idea? I'm hoping I'm not, but since it is so original, I didn't want to walk in her footsteps and take the idea, even though that wasn't my intention. ;_;

 

[Literate]

I encountered the same problem several weeks back or month or something.

I was still beginning to write my second story, Eternity, when in the Author's cafe popped out a preview thread. I read it in wonder and sharp pangs of my conscience. Reason being the fact that we had nearly the same basis and stuff. Well, it was a pretty original idea for me, and I had already developed it thoroughly. But the similarities surprised me. A lot. So instead of posting in the thread, I PMed the author about it.

...It was then I found out it was different enough to be plausible and hopefully enough that story's fans won't fire flames at me and that sort.

...I cannot say much except that many people would kind of include that thing... Like me, I just noticed. T.T

-Lit

 

[Kiyohime]

Oh, yeah, but you're fine--Linali may ALSO be an immortal trainer who ALSO becomes a legend...but she was immortal because she was cursed, and she isn't the first human or anything. x3

Really, usually I'd get a bit prickly when people copy me, but I remind myself; "It's just a Pokemon fanfiction" and we're always sharing ideas... and your writing style is sooo different from mine anyhow. ^^; I'd only get RAWR if you copied my writing word for word, which you don't.

 

[Lady Myuu]

I too have ran into the same problems. Actually not really as bad as I havn't even started writing my big epic story that may or may not get written. But Scrap (er Kiyohime) and I have some of hte same ideas when it comes to Mewtwo and clones in general.

But while some of our ideas seem simular to me, they are still different enough to be on their own. Why? Because we have had no intention to copy each other, which when while the stories would be simular in some aspects are still very different do to different ways of thinking, ideas, plot and ect. Characters are the big difference in stories that have the same 'ideas' because a good writer makes a unique character that they identify with in some strange way, even if that character is very different from themselves.

So really o.o you have nothing to fear. Write what you want to write and stick to your ideas, even if they are infloenced by others. Because it will still be original in its own right.

Because you wrote it... and there is only one of you.

 

[DGCatAniSiri]

I'm a wannabe screenwriter, and one of the things I've found is that there is the occasional moment where you're reading (Or occasionally watching a TV show) someone else's work and saying 'this is so cool, I wish I could write an episode like that for this...' And then the gears just start turning.

In all honesty, similiar ideas don't mean the same story. You have your characters, they have theirs. Each writer and their creations are different. And the more you write, the more likely it is you'll find someone else has done a version of something you want to do. The idea is to use your characters to take the same premise in a different direction.

 

[Arcanine Royale]

Well... this is FAN fiction, after all. We're already copying something, so its not like the idea is totally original, after all.

But I think its fine. Like Lady Myuu said, there's only one you, and the characters are what changed the story. Two stories with the EXACT same idea can have a TOTALLY different feel with characters and style. Just take a look at the journey fic genre - same cookie-cutter plot, same badge-hunting. The characters are what makes things different.