A question about plagiarism...

[Laura Gibson]

Hi guys, I really need some honest opinions here because my husband and I were discussing the issue of plagiarism. I personally don't think there's anything wrong with "borrowing" a few words here and there from books that I have read. For instance, I am currently reading a book by Ann Patchett and have scribbled down the following: big-bellied, holly leaves, bench seats, eyes fixed, and keep it on a book marker for future reference. Do you think there is anything wrong with that? My husband, who is very left-brained and very beloved, thinks that there might be. But my argument is: how else do we learn to write, but by imitating author's whose work we admire. I don't go any further than that, just jotting a few words. What are your thoughts...I value and respect the opinions and ideas expressed on this board, tremendously and would appreciate your comments!
Thanks...

[Karen Dionne]

Laura -

I don't think this is so much a question of plagarism, as it is a lack of independent thinking. It's one thing for a new writer to admire the way another author writes and take note of certain words or sentence structures or turns of phrase that are used to good effect, but copying them down with the idea of using those exact words in your own writing strikes me as too dependent. Our writing sings once we find our own voice, and I don't think we learn that by copying another's. Also, if the words you're noting as something you'd like to use in your own writing are as prosaic as "eyes fixed" or "bench seats," I think you could be inadvertently stifling your own creativity. Surely you're not describing the identical scenes as Ms. Pratchett, and surely you can come up with words that are just as descriptive for your particular scenes as these all on your own.

My two cents.

Karen

[Kaz]

Hi Laura,
I think all writers who generally are, or were, avid readers retain and use lots of words and short phrases they have read. When I find an unusual word, I often write it down for future reference. I agree with you. We become better writers by reading. IMHO using small groupings of words as you have described is not plagiarism; it is learning your craft.
Regards, Kaz

[Minnie Mouse]

I do the same thing. I don't reuse phrases, but I jot down any that I find particularly effective. My all-time favorite is "apocalyptic hair", from an E. L. Doctorow short in the New Yorker.

[Lisa Werth]

If the all the words you listed are examples of the small phrases. I woudn't worry. They are not unique to one author.

[Buster Briggs]

Karen makes an excellent point. Though you're well within the boundaries by filching words and phrases from other writers, and do not have to fear charges of pilfering for that, you are being lazy.
Although all writers end up "borrowing," from time to time, consciously or not, you seem to be substituting cherry picking from other work rather than using your own imagination and therefore developing your own voice.

[Glen T. Brock]

Laura,

Elmore Leonard, in an interview years ago, once said an author needed to find his favorite author and copy from him. I couldn't disagree more!

The whole point of writing is to present your own unique perspective to the events you describe. Using someone else's style, or substance, contaminates that uniqueness. Now you are seeing through their eyes, not yours.

We are not, as writers, omniscient. We cannot experience every nuance every time. Given that, it is better to read the experience, digest it, and give your interpretation back in your writing, rather than to simply regurgitate what someone else has written.

Not only is this a better technique, it is probably safer from the possibility of plagiarism.


Glen T. Brock

[Lindi]

Even if you do borrow a phrase, say, "molten sunset" or whatever, it's gonna get cut in the second or third rewrite anyway when your own voice takes hold. Eventually, in the edit you trim down to yourself, and hopefully little else is left. That's one of the few things I actually like about writing.

[Murg]

I would bet my last dollar that Ann Patchett was not the first person to ever describe the sharp, pointy green things growing on a holly bush as holly leaves. I suppose the words "elm tree" are also on your list of things never to use? Or how about plain old "tree"?

[Lindi]

Actually, that is a good point. "Big-bellied, holly leaves, bench seats and eyes fixed" aren't unique or exceptional phrases that an author could sue over. If an author could sue every time someone wrote about "bench seats" well, every writer in the world would be in court.