More wasted effort (another pity party thread)(Thoughts?)

[munboy]

Sorry for a new thread, but this one is actually asking for advice...on to the story.

Alternate thread title: "Brandon Sanderson writes too much"

As I said in my other thread, I work a full time job and writing is a part time thing for me. I don't have a whole of of time to spend on writing.

That said, I've mentioned here and that other board that I'm pulling together an epic fantasy. I've been working on this since August, world building and writing. Right now, I'm guessing I have probably close to 30,000 words written, about 10,000 of which is actual manuscript. I won't go into the story, but I picked up Brandon Sanderson's new novella set in the Magic The Gathering world that they had available for free. I was laying in bed last night reading it and nearly threw my Kindle when I got to a certain part. A major reveal in the first few chapters is almost exactly my major plot twist later in the first book of my fantasy....and now I'm sitting here conflicted about what to do. I mean....the whole idea for this world was born from this plot twist.

I'm feeling a little discouraged and pissed at Sanderson for writing too much  . Besides Martin, Sanderson is THE name in fantasy right now. It's not like I could sneak this plot element past readers without being accused of copying him. Should I just scrap the whole idea and the work I've put into it (I've built an entire pantheon and plotted out this world's history from creation.... A LOT of work)? Should I plow forward? Should I remove this plot element that I was super excited about? I don't know anymore. 

[LilyBLily]

Are his readers likely to be yours? If so, I would make sure that only your plot twist and nothing else is the same, and keep writing. You can add an author note about great minds thinking alike at the end of your story.

[munboy]

Are his readers likely to be yours? If so, I would make sure that only your plot twist and nothing else is the same, and keep writing. You can add an author note about great minds thinking alike at the end of your story.

Although I've self-published to this point, my plan was to find an agent and try to sell this story once I was finished. Having a major plot point similar to Sanderson's would automatically take Tor (Sanderson's publisher) off the table as a possibility. 

But seriously, self or traditionally published, fantasy readers will pick up on it...I think. My only saving grace would be the situations in which the plot element happens is different. I'm not sure that's enough.

[munboy]

I guess I should also mention that I also unintentionally skirted up against one of his plots points in one of my previous books. I had my first three books plotted out for years before I actually started publishing them and hadn't read his Stormlight archive books yet. Nobody has mentioned the similarity in one scene yet, but it bugs me a lot...to the point where I've considered unpublishing the trilogy and rewriting that section to avoid being accused of copying.

The one thing stopping me is it's hinted at in the first book and paid off in the third, and it's a major plot point that makes the entire ending to the trilogy work. 

[LilyBLily]

Maybe go on some heavily sf forums and ask your question there. Genre readers like repetition, but a unique twist that a particular author seems to own might not be viewed with approbation by your potential audience. In romance, outright plot stealing hasn't seemed to stop some writers, and imitations of popular devices are legion.

Agents and editors see imitations all the time. It's really all in how you work it, I suspect.

[CoraBuhlert]

Authors write similar plots, twists, etc... independently of each other all the time. It happens. Think of the year of the two Robin Hood films or the one with the two volcano films or the one with the two asteroid hits Earth films.

Besides, it's not the idea itself that makes the story but the author's unique way of telling it. Some time ago, there was an experiment where three or four romance writers all took the same basic idea and wrote completely different books.

Is the rest of your book, your setting, characters, etc... similar to Sanderson's? If not, then I wouldn't worry about it.

[munboy]

Authors write similar plots, twists, etc... independently of each other all the time. It happens. Think of the year of the two Robin Hood films or the one with the two volcano films or the one with the two asteroid hits Earth films.

Besides, it's not the idea itself that makes the story but the author's unique way of telling it. Some time ago, there was an experiment where three or four romance writers all took the same basic idea and wrote completely different books.

Is the rest of your book, your setting, characters, etc... similar to Sanderson's? If not, then I wouldn't worry about it.

I'll have to force myself to finish the rest of the novella to see. I'm pretty sure they're different. Basically, it involves a large part of a population lying in status but believed to be dead. His story (from what I've read so far) involves necromancy in the Magic the Gathering universe. Mine sets off a global war involving the gods that spans several books. So, yeah...different. I just worry. 

[Ghost]

People like "the same but different." I would continue on.

[Lu Kudzoza]

The series I'm currently reading has a lot of similarities to Game of Thrones. I keep thinking things like, "Oh, here's the white walkers. Oh, this is his Samwell Tarley character. Oh, this is the scene where Tyrion is put in the sky dungeon." etc. I did have the thought that he's ripping off GRRM's ideas, but I'm still reading the books because the story is good.

Also, while reading GRRM's work I had thoughts like, "GRRM just ripped off Marcus Crassus getting killed with molten gold poured down his throat."

So, for me, the point is write a good story and don't worry about what other authors are doing.

Oh, and this should make you feel better. The author I work with published a book then Brandon Sanderson announced he was writing a series with the exact same plot twist. I'm sure Brandon Sanderson will get the credit. 

[Bill Hiatt]

I'm with Cora. People coincidentally come up with similar ideas all the time, and it's also worth noting that in fantasy particularly, some of those ideas have been circulated and recirculated for thousands of years.

If you're worried about plagiarism or copyright infringement accusations, both of those require far more resemblances than just one twist.

[Dormouse]

"GRRM just ripped off Marcus Crassus getting killed with molten gold poured down his throat."

GRRM admits to ripping off ("being inspired by") history.

My general view is that sharing 'key' ideas isn't a problem - it's the treatment that matters. What's key/inspiring for the author may not seem like that to anyone else. Slight otoh is that it can be different in some SF where the idea is thw whole of the merit. Doesn't sound like that here.

[munboy]

Oh, and this should make you feel better. The author I work with published a book then Brandon Sanderson announced he was writing a series with the exact same plot twist. I'm sure Brandon Sanderson will get the credit. 

Sanderson's "Legion" books follow the same concept as Legion in the X-men, even the name. They both boil down to a guy with multiple personalities and each one of those personalities has a certain ability (In X-Men, it's mutant powers, in Sanderson's, it's more grounded abilities like knowledge of a certain subject). I know it happens, I just dread the thought of somebody asking about the similarities and me having to drag out the lame line "Yeah, I know, but I thought of it before I read..."

[dgcasey]

There is the theory that there are all these ideas floating around in the ether, ready to be snatched up by anyone. You're just too damn slow.