my friends often say that your story is copied whenever i tell them a a fantasy story. If i write a book with dragons and mythical creatures will it be considered copied from eragon and harry potter
2007-02-02 01:44:37 · 14 answers · asked by rupert_tarun 1 in Arts & Humanities ➔ Books & Authors
I have read many, many fantasy novels and have to admit they are all starting to get very similar. Eragon was actually slated by the critics saying he had stolen the story line and characters from a host of other famous fantasy books, Lord of the Rings being one of them. If you are writing just for fun and for your own pleasure then do whatever you enjoy and don't listen to your friends, but if you are looking to get published then an original concept is absolutely necessary. As I said there are so many dragon based fantasy books it would have to be very different to stand out and be taken seriously.
2007-02-02 01:56:00 · answer #1 · answered by Moonwitch 3 · 0⤊ 1⤋
In general, aspects such as dragons and mythical creatures is expected of the fantasy genre. But, your depiction of these creatures and choice thereof can be copied. A number of creatures from fantasy novels are created by the author and actually copyrighted by them or their estate, ex. Tolkien's hobbits.
From a writer's perspective, you should always be trying to either do something diffrent or do something better, not just repeat it. If your going to write a dragon novel, make it the best dragon novel or make it about dragons who end up in the present and a dragon hunter has to chase them there (probably been done, but you get the idea).
Your friends are probably just not well read when it comes to the fantasy genre. C.S. Lewis was actually critized by Tolkien for his use of staple fantasy creatures in his Chronicles of Narnia series. Lewis was simply immitating medieval literature, but the point remains, no idea is a new. Every though has been thought, we just need to present it diffrently.
2007-02-02 02:02:58 · answer #2 · answered by Charlie K 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
There are a lot of "dragon oriented" novels out there that precede Eragon and Potter. It's not an exclusive thing. It's just that they're in the limelight right now, so you can expect those kinds of criticisms for a while. Just be creative and as original as you can and keep doing what you love,(writing). Remember, without artists, critics would be unemployed. Don't expect them to thank you though. ;-)
2007-02-02 01:59:07 · answer #3 · answered by Ricky J. 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
as long as it doesnt have the same names of the characters in Eragon or Harry Potter and the story line is a bit different you should be fine. Good luck on writing your book.
2007-02-02 02:27:49 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Not necessarily. But it's difficult to write truly original fantasy stories, because so much of the genre revolves around archetypal characters and plots. I couldn't get through Eragon because it felt like a rehash of Lord of the Rings.
2007-02-02 02:17:01 · answer #5 · answered by lcraesharbor 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Nope. Writting such a story would be copying the Hobbit.
Silly isn't it!! Every story can be called "similar" or a copy of another story. The trick is to make your story origonal!
2007-02-02 02:37:16 · answer #6 · answered by Ralph 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
So long as your story is significantly different then no. Stories about dragons and mythical creatures have been around for centuries, that doesn't mean that they have been "copied".
2007-02-02 01:48:20 · answer #7 · answered by tabithap 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋
As long as you have your own ideas, lore and storyline then you aren't copying. Yes, it's frustrating when you're writing and you find out that someone has done something incredibly similar to your story years ago! (Happens more often than I'd like to think about) Make your characters shine, that'll give you credibility.
2007-02-02 02:35:59 · answer #8 · answered by Silver Snake 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
There's similarities but think of it. How many murder or crime novels are there, yet no one claims they are copied. Copied or plagiarism comes when you try to pass off someones work as your own.
But just for using dragons does not count.
2007-02-02 01:50:42 · answer #9 · answered by Robert B 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋
No as long as they are your own stories
Really if you have ever read Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time series and Terry Goodkind's Sword of Truth series you would see that they are simlar but two very different stories.
2007-02-02 06:47:29 · answer #10 · answered by burnished_dragon 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋