A noble quest
By every living artist
To be the first
With nothing from the past
Everything is new
And fresh from your mind
Is it even possible?
Hunger Royale and Avatar Gully
Game of Politics
Always a hint of influence
A touch of the past
Just ask Merlin Potter
If everything is done
How does one go on?
Condemned to a world
Where only fan-fic thrives?
We can’t all be Tolkien
And his ring from mythos past
The quest should be good story
With characters that thrive
Draw the reader into your world
Those that hate will find flaws
Because you failed
To write the book they already read
I’m working on a tongue-and-cheek post about why people would hate a book. This wasn’t set off by a bad review or anything, but I feel like being funny. It’s going to take some time, so I thought I’d toss out this poem. I truly believe that the basic story of everything has been told and the trick is to work with worlds and characters. If you’re cunning, you can connect new stuff to anything. Heck, you’re doomed once you claim a genre. Anyway, this tends to be a heated topic and I’m going to hit it with some humor later.
Remember that Beginning of a Hero is still free and check out Prodigy of Rainbow Tower for 99 cents.
Legends of Windemere 
The quest for originality is, I am convinced, simply trying to decide the proper caliber of bullet to shoot yourself in the foot with.
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So true. It surprises me when some things are praised as totally original and I’m sitting there able to rattle off 2 things I can connect to it. Guess it depends on how much people already know. If a person doesn’t know of the existence of Battle Royale then they can’t make the connection to Hunger Games. Still, it takes that one voice to reveal the truth.
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everything has been thunk before… Original thought has long passed us by but original expression of that thought is still possible and that should be the writer’s ambition when it comes to originality… like the poem Charles…
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Thanks. Good point. It’s no longer the thought that counts, but the unique expression of that thought. A change in the focus of art.
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The Hunger Games is a different take on the same story told a thousand times over, but the first book was still pretty good.
After I finished writing Bridgeport (the first thing I wrote when I decided to try writing), the storytelling floodgates opened, as I’ve written a number of times. At one point, I had this great idea for an end of the world epic about a man and a boy traveling and surviving. I even wrote the first 10-20 pages. Then I read The Road by Cormac McCarthy. I haven’t worked on that story since. There is no way I can top McCarthy’s version of the same story. Or change it as what he wrote was almost exactly the idea I had. Yes some details would be different, but nah, never mind.
I started writing The Irrepairable Past a while back. Shortly after, I read Julian Barnes’ The Sense of an Ending. It didn’t stop me from continuing with my story — there are similarities in concept, but I think I have a better story to tell. 😉
It’s an odd thing. Misha may be right, but generally I’m not trying to improve on somebody else’s version of a story. I’m just writing the story in my head. And going from there. Except with that end of the world epic…
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Sometimes you do have to stop or find a way to severely alter an idea. I’ve had a few that were too close to an established idea and dropped them completely. I think the tough part is when fans accuse an author of blatant stealing because a theme is similar. Hunger Games is a great example and I think there is a wrinkle in that. People aren’t sure if Collins ever read or heard of Battle Royale because some of the deaths are bizarrely identical. The question it brings to my mind is: what do you do when that happens? Do you ignore it or do you try to talk about it?
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Until now, I hadn’t heard of the comparisons between Hunger Games and Battle Royale (a story I’ve never heard of). I think of Running Man as a comparison. There are plenty of others. But, if what you’re saying about Hunger Games and Battle Royale is correct, it certainly seems that it should be addressed at some point. Or maybe not, she’s made her gazillions, should she have to? And if the creator of Battle Royale thinks there’s something there, take her to court. I know there are times when I read a line, a scene, a thought, a concept, a (fill in the blank) in a story and I think “that was incredible, I must do something like that in story X that I’m working on.” Fortunately, those thoughts are fleeting and never remain with me when I sit down to continue working on story X. But, just as we “steal” characters and scenes from the world around us, I don’t think there’s necessarily anything wrong with stealing something from another published work, as long as you make it your own.
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Battle Royale is Japanese, so the suing thing probably wouldn’t happen. They really don’t bother with lawsuits over there. I remember a year or two ago, the comparisons were really big. It had been brought up a lot, but she denied it was an influence or that she heard of it. The battle is quiet for now, but will probably be brought back when the second movie starts coming out.
As for her responding, she probably doesn’t have to since the series is done. She’s falling into that category of author that does the big series and then fades into their fan base. The chances are high that she will never have another hit as big as Hunger Games. For authors that plan on trying to build off a world instead of a single series (i.e. most high fantasy authors), I would think some acknowledgement is necessary. Their world is on the line and they still have stories to tell in it.
I try to give my own twist to stuff like that and I admit to where the influence was. People are a lot more forgiving if you admit you were influenced by something that is very similar. At the very least, look into and agree with them. Collins hasn’t done either from what I know, which is why the battle rages. This site explains it pretty well, but there are tons out there on the similarities. I’m looking at it as a cautionary tale:
http://maggiesbookshelf.blogspot.com/2010/11/hunger-games-vs-battle-royale-did.html
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I just read the Wikipedia entry on Battle Royale and there certainly seem to be some parallels. But, here’s the thing, I can definitely see two authors independently coming up with that story line and going from there, with some of those similarities coming up naturally. There are a lot of different versions of this tale. Like I said. Running Man is one. The Long Walk, another story by Stephen King, is another. I’m not sure she needs to explain herself any further than she has and apparently the author of Battle Royale has no issue with her.
Look at my own experience. If I hadn’t read The Road, it’s very possible that my second novel would have been something so eerily similar to that story it’s amazing to me. Seriously, while I may not have made it as dark and depressing as McCarthy did, and I most certainly would not have written it as well, The Road is almost exactly the story I had in mind for my end of the world story. Some of the details and how they match the idea I had — it’s eerie.
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I agree, but the issue with Battle Royale is that many characters and scenes are eerily identical. To the point where you can’t believe she never heard of Battle Royale before. It would be like me writing a story where the country halfling fights a giant spider with a magic sword to save a bunch of dwarves then claim I never head of The Hobbit. Different level of popularity, but it would be really hard for people to believe me due to the closeness of similarities.
It is eerie when it happens. It really is possible too, but I think it would be rare. I think people have a bigger issue when characters and exact scenes are shared instead of overall theme. There are only so many themes in existence.
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Reading the plot summary, I was initially saying “a-ha” when it described the love interest in Battle Royale. Then I realized that’s a likely theme in any story like this, as it is in just about every story ever written.
I guess I’m going to have to read Battle Royale now. 🙂
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It has a novel, a manga (Japanese comic), and a movie. All are viciously brutal.
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Viciously brutal … makes me want to read it more. It’s funny, in the last couple of weeks, two different people have recommended books with the admonition, “but it’s really depressing.” Best way to get me to read a book.
In other news, I’ve signed up Weed Therapy for GoodKindles and AskDavid. Will see what happens.
I’m not sure about NovelSpot though — the site seems to be somewhat dead.
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I only did the free ‘Just Out’ notice with them. I put in fit a review with my first book and never heard back. I figure their bit of influence can still lead to a sale or two.
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I agree. Essentially every story has already been told but by using your unique voice as an author and creating unique characters, you can still create something that feels like new. Although I’d also argue that our culture finds comfort in the vaguely familiar which is why we tend to seek out/write our favorite stories in as many ways as possible.
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Definitely find comfort in the familiar. That’s why retelling of stories is still popular. Look at the treatment that fairy tales get. As an author, I think one needs to find the balance between familiar and new. The former can help people accept the latter.
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Great poem! They say there are only so many stories. We try to put our own spin on them.
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Exactly. As TJ said, it’s become more about expression than original thought.
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Yes, we can be original in being ourselves which is original, if we don’t copy-cat trying to be someone else. Great poem.
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Thanks. A lot of people get through on copying others in the hopes of getting the freedom to do their own thing, but they get stuck.
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Yes, kind of inevitable, they won’t let you give up the character…better to thine own self be true from the start. If they like you good, if they don’t it’s the same…
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only so many songs can be sung with two lips, two lungs, and one tongue. And still be inspiring or indicative at least…
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Exactly. All one can do is put their own twist on it.
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