a teaspoon of honey

'inspiration' vs 'plagiarism'

In today's episode, we're going to be discussing the subtle differences between being inspired by someone's works and outright copy-pasting them !

     okay, so this one's been bothering me for a BIT. honestly, i think a lot of other writers get that too here, and it especially ticks us off since all of this is damn free free free and most of us aren't getting even the shadow of a coin !

    listen: i love when you compliment me on my writing. i really do - it makes me feel all fuzzy and gleeful and im positively gloaming for days. especially since ive never been much of a writer elsewhere, so your kind words really do mean a lot ! 

     but then when you tell me 'omg ! i wanna write exactly like you!' and proceed to use my metaphors, paragraphs and freaking plotlines . . . i don't know, man. i don't know. i don't know who you're trying to flatter but it ain't me, lemme tell ya.

     i know many of you out here are really young, and i understand that urge to want to be the next best thing, you know? trust me, i do. ive been here for almost five years. others have been here way longer. it's a fantastic community for understanding and support and that kinda 'wattpad fame' doesn't happen overnight. and it shouldn't, like all good things. you're here to write, first. fame is secondary.

     let me tell you something you'l probably have heard a million times: the only way you'll be a good writer, is if you write. Freaking, write. keep writing and writing till you develop your writer's voice. none of our first attempts are good ! they aren't supposed to be ! my first chapters are all still crap ! do i cringe? all the time ! but those chapters are all me and so, rubbish or not, im still proud of them !

     listen, i understand that we all want to be the next Khaled Housseini. that's amazing, that's fantastic, but Khaled Housseini never set out to become to next great somebody else ! he only wrote because that's what he loved the most ! despite his job, despite his responsibilities ! he wrote and he wrote and he made himself into the fantastic writer we all know and love !

     so, what im saying is: don't copy others just t further your own work. it isn't write, or fun. sometimes you love something so much it will inevitably seep into your writing, and that's forgivable. but when you go out of your way to copy someone else's words and take credit for their hard work, that ain't so hot, bro. 

     just do you. find a  story, a cause, a definite article. 'once upon a time there was a martian.' write and write and write and write till the sky is hanging limp around the edges and the sun is a a blur and your voice rots in your throat but shines on paper. write till you can't imagine doing anything else. write till writing is all you can do. 

     i promise you, the best writing is the one that comes from the heart. you don't need fancy words to sound special. you, literally, just need to be you.

     if you do need help developing your writers' voice, there are several things you can do ! 

     1) read a lot.

     2) observe a lot.

     3) polish up your grammar.

     i'll probably write more on that later on, but for now, i just hope you're having a good day. writing is bloody hard, like so many other things in life. but it's even sadder when your words aren't your own. don't copy in the name of 'inspiration', pretty please. it's a real downer for the rest of us.

have a lovely day !

All my love,

Chu ♥