Since getting into writing I have been wondering about the fine line of plagiarism and using another person's idea. For example, I absolutely love Isaac Asimov's "Foundation" series. I particularly enjoyed the concept of "The Mule," a very skinny, sickly man who had the power to control your mind. He was able to set your mind up to think anyway he wanted. He used this to gain control of the Empire.
I would love to use the concept of mind control but in a totally different setting and with different characters. Would this be considered plagiarism?
Posted by Dark Warrior (Member # 8822) on :
Most ideas have been used previously...make them your own...here is a link by OSC discussing your topic.
[This message has been edited by Dark Warrior (edited November 08, 2009).]
Posted by Robert Nowall (Member # 2764) on :
Asimov based his future history on past history...I'm inclined to think his reading of the Mule owed much to his study of Napoleon, of Hitler, and of any dictator in the Roman Empire.
But the idea of a mutant who could control minds hardly began or ended with Asimov...a Google search came up with some fourteen thousand entries linking "science fiction," "mutant," and "mind control." Some of 'em are bound to link to some descriptions of stories...
Posted by 3442 (Member # 8876) on :
OK. Thanks. When they finally make a movie of my book, you both have tickets to the premier.
Posted by Robert Nowall (Member # 2764) on :
Keep in mind, though, that you're obliged to make your mutant and his mind-powers different in some way...Asimov did describe in a fair amount of detail how the Mule's power worked, from the viewpoint of others and eventually from the viewpoint of the Mule himself...you'll have to come up with other ways of describing how this power works if you have your character (or characters) work with something similar.
Posted by Kathleen Dalton Woodbury (Member # 59) on :
You can't plagarize an idea. Plagarism is when you take someone else's written words and claim them as your own.
Posted by tchernabyelo (Member # 2651) on :
I hate to contradict She Who Must Be Obeyed, but I think you'll find some lawsuits - particularly in the movie industry - suggest otherwise...
Posted by Meredith (Member # 8368) on :
quote:I hate to contradict She Who Must Be Obeyed, but I think you'll find some lawsuits - particularly in the movie industry - suggest otherwise...
Yes. And Dan Brown won against the writers of Holy Blood, Holy Grail.
Now, obviously, the story/character/element has to be sufficiently different or used in a sufficiently different way.
But people can still write stories about elves, even though Tolkein did it. (If you have walking trees, though, I wouldn't call them Ents. )
Posted by Merlion-Emrys (Member # 7912) on :
Yeah, China Mieville could come after me if I wrote a book about red skinned people with scarab beetles for heads in a squalid steampunk city, but he couldn't come after me for having, say, pink skinned people with scarab beetles for heads herding sheep in the Old West or some such.
)