prove-it

I have written many a WIP. Most in various stages of not finished. (If I mentioned there is almost 30 of them would you throw something at me? I have writer’s ADD, what can I say. Anyhoo . . . .)  Or I have great ideas for books and I will write down a line or two just to help me remember whenever I can sit my arse down and work on it. Inevitably though, I will read something, or worse, watch Lifetime and wham bam, I’ll be damned, it’s my idea.

I know there is really no such thing as an original idea anymore. Sure you can come up with a creative way to tell it, to interpret it, but truth be told it’s ALL been done before. My grievance however is the copycat effect.

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I have written two-thirds of a WIP that I had read to a crit group, got so-so feedback and put it aside because I really need to re-work a certain aspect–as far as book reading goes, not so much plotline. Four years later, I am watching a (2008–so brand spanking new) Lifetime movie and low and behold the plotline is so similar I am watching the credits to see if I know the name of the “writer”. (and let me just say, this was a VERY specific storyline that the simliarities will have me doing internet searchces for a while to ensure that it was in fact a mere coincedence.)

Hollywood does this all the time–Armageddon  and Deep Impact  both came out at the same time–though I suspect the coincedence of Hollywood is a little more of one studio hearing of the others plans and trying to one-up the other–anyone remember the 3 or 4 Fisher/Buttafuoco  movies that came out the same week.

I have another WIP, again two-thirds complete only to read someone else’s book that is eerily similar and I think, “If I try and sell mine, they’ll say I copied her.” POP the book goes into hybernation or I want to run around shouting, “I swear I didn’t know she had written this book before me.” I suppose there is really no way to prove coincedence unless you go through some great lengths and have computers examined and whatnot to validate inception date–but who (other than myself) is that comletely obsessive about things?

It happens so often that other than some anal-retintive, will do anything to procrastinate writing gal like myself, people probably don’t give it a second thought. But it still freaky to me.