Author | Joseph L. Selby

Shoo! Get away, you!

November 9, 2012

Generally, I feel in a rush to be published and begin my professional career in earnest. Part of that is because I’ve been writing for so long and am a touch ashamed that I only recently started taking it so seriously. I lost a whole decade in there where I might have made something of myself. A small part of it is that there are these kids getting published now. 22, 18, 16, sixteen really? I wasn’t good enough to publish at twenty-six much less sixteen. Then again, whole lost decade. I guess we can call it two lost decades!

But perhaps the biggest reason I’m in such a rush, the reason that isn’t so obvious as “I’m old” is that other people keep having the same ideas I do! There’s nothing more I hate than when someone reads something of mine and says “This is just like ____!”

FUCK! I don’t want to be just like _____. I want to be me. Now, sometimes it just reminds them of the tone or the style and that’s fine. But sometimes it’s a matter of whole story concepts! You know that episode of Supernatural where it turns out a prophet has been writing books that detail the adventures of Sam and Dean? You want to know who came up with that story before the show even aired? That’s right! And now if I ever publish it, someone will say “Hey, that’s just like that episode of Supernatural!” No, sir, that episode of Supernatural is just like my book even though my book will have come out years later.

Sigh.

The longer this takes the more frequently that happens. I’ll have to beat other people’s stories away with a stick. A stick I say! *thwap thwap*

Okay, now I’m going to go watch Hugo, which is very similar to a story idea of mine, but it’s okay because it’s based on a book that came out before I had the idea, so really I’m encroaching on that guy’s world.

(Yeah, I know there are only so many stories, but some of them hit closer to each other than I like. Dammit.)

Joseph L. Selby

4 responses to “Shoo! Get away, you!”

Elizabeth Poole

November 9, 2012

I'm sorry. I really hate it when that happens. If it's any consolation, that episode of Supernatural didn't make me think of WANTED. *hug*

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Joseph L. Selby

November 9, 2012

I would have a heart attack if it made you think of WCO. It should, however, make you think of BEST SELLERS AND BARBECUE SAUCE (if you knew the plot) as in that novel one of the sisters of fate from Greek mythology continues to cut her thread in modern day by weaving people's deaths into her novels. That is when our plucky hero, Cy (nee Poseidon) realizes the most recent novel is about the woman he loves. The book as predictor of events to come is a 1:1 match for that episode of Supernatural even if the context of each is different. People don't necessarily think of context before they point out to you that they think it's the same as something else.

Fuckers.

Reply
Nate Wilson

November 9, 2012

You know, I've seen this exact same complaint before on someone else's blog…

But seriously, what you should do is tell me all your ideas. I have two reasons for this. 1) With another person share whether they've seen/read/heard the idea before, you'll be more informed whether to respond with "Dammit!" or "I must get this on paper, post haste!" b) Even if I felt like stealing your ideas, it's not like I'd ever get any of them written before you.

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Ted Cross

November 10, 2012

I'm so slow with my writing, and I keep putting it up for people to see, that I worry that someone will actually be inspired to write a story based on some idea they saw in my writing…and they will publish before I do and actually have the gall to accuse me of stealing their idea!

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Shoo! Get away, you!

4 responses to “Shoo! Get away, you!”

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