My book... is exactly the same as a film I've just seen!

Gavin23 · Dec 25, 2012

Hello all,

Haven't posted on here for ages but have still been trying my best to write! New years resolution is simple, to WRITE every day. No word count, I don't care, I just have to write new prose fiction, every single day!

Anyway enough of the background... My problem.

My future masterpiece (and current pile of...) is called Rise of the Storm Lord. It is about a boy who learns to control the sky, wind, lightening etc. His family all have similar powers but to a much lesser degree, and there are other races which control fire, air and earth.

There are four 'Elemental Lords' one for each element, and my mc was due to become the same for air - and soon to find out that in order for there to be real peace, there must be just one Lord, to control all elements.

(You seen the problem with it so far?)

The time period is in our own modern time, think Percy Jackson-ish.

Then... I watched the film Avatar - The Legend of Aang.

ALMOST IDENTICAL!!

Other than the period difference, so much is the same. There are obviously differences, some of them quite major, but the general story... I can't believe it!

I have a completed Draft One and am currently on chapter 11 of Draft Two. There are a few changes I can make, i.e Do not make him be the one to control all elements, just his own element... but am still unsure.

I wonder if anybody else has ever had/heard of this happen, or could offer any advice?

Really stumped as to what I should do now!

Thanks In Advance!

(Oh and Merry Christmas!!)

triceretops · Dec 25, 2012

Don't let it get you down and forge ahead. I just had a massive snafu myself, when I realized my book Planet Janitor Custodian of the Stars is a dead ringer for Firefly. Gak. I mean almost, nearly everything!

These things happen. Great minds think alike. We always think our ideas and concepts are exclusive to us--they're not.

Put a million chimps on typewriters and you're bound to come up with some closely mirrored text somewhere down the line.

tri

Gavin23 · Dec 25, 2012

Ahh no way, I share your pain then!

I guess what you're saying makes sense. My thoughts were even if it does mean it wouldn't be publishable as it may end up TOO similar, I'm not going to have all my time be wasted. I enjoy my own story, so will try finish it in either case!

That being said.. would love to know if it means my future book would be basically unpublishable...

Williebee · Dec 25, 2012

It happens. The tales of the Airbender (Avatar) weren't new when the movie, or the cartoon came out, either.

Susan Coffin · Dec 25, 2012

There is nothing new under the sun. I have a feeling you might be overanalyzing and that your story is not all that identical to Avatar. Just keep writing!

BigWords · Dec 25, 2012

I doubt you would find a dozen people on the whole of the internet with glowing, beautiful, adoring words about Avatar (the film, that is - the cartoon is awesome), and the critical mauling it took is rather impressive to pore through. Finish writing your book. Nobody will immediately think of the film when they read your novel - it is all in the handling.

Roxxsmom · Dec 25, 2012

I think that no matter what you write, there will be someone out there who writes something similar. I had the joy of running across (while researching prospective agents to query when my future masterpiece and current hot mess is done) a fantasy novel with a protag who shares his soul with a dead wizard and who has had to uncover things about a past he doesn't fully remember. Better yet, his name is even similar to my protag's. Argh! Guess I won't be querying that agent, since I found said novel on her agency's web site. To be fair, on a closer read of the synopsis, the story, world and character are actually very different in many ways. But the superficial similarity ... eep!

Worse yet, when I was explaining to someone about my protag's soul problems, the person said "Oh like Harry Potter and Lord Voldemort." Well, my story, world, magic system and characters are so different from Harry Potter, that thought didn't even occur to me!

As for your story, elemental magic systems are a fairly common trope in fantasy. So are stories about kids who have a specially powerful version of this magic and so are in danger of either becoming a tool for evil or the savior of their people. There are advantages and disadvantages associated with writing something familiar, of course. It's easier to get readers to suspend disbelief if your magic system is based on something that's from mythology or is similar to magical tropes that have been used in a lot of stories. But of course, you have the issue of wanting to make it fresh in some way. In the end, it's your characters, their personalities and the particulars of your story that make it unique.

TheaBlowsKisses · Dec 25, 2012

I was deep into working on a book, when I took a break and pulled up a celebrity gossip site. There was a bit on the remake of RoboCop, and as I read the article, I thought "EXPLETIVE! This sounds exactly like the book I'm writing!" (I had never seen the original RoboCop.)

Long story short, wikipedia and a friend assured me that while some plot elements were extremely similar, there were enough differences that I shouldn't worry. I don't know whether my editor/publisher has ever seen the movie either, but regardless, the book is due to come out at the end of February. Even without reading your book or seeing your move, I think it's likely that your presentation of the ideas and themes will be different enough not to be an issue.

BigWords · Dec 25, 2012

TheaBlowsKisses said:
I had never seen the original RoboCop.

This should be rectified ASAP.

TheaBlowsKisses · Dec 25, 2012

BigWords said:
This should be rectified ASAP.

So I've been told!

My concern was watching it, and then having even more accidental influence come through in the book. I have one more mini-prequel to write for the book (planning on releasing a set of three for free), and then it's TO THE NETFLIX!!!!

CChampeau · Dec 25, 2012

Roxxsmom said:
As for your story, elemental magic systems are a fairly common trope in fantasy. So are stories about kids who have a specially powerful version of this magic and so are in danger of either becoming a tool for evil or the savior of their people. There are advantages and disadvantages associated with writing something familiar, of course. It's easier to get readers to suspend disbelief if your magic system is based on something that's from mythology or is similar to magical tropes that have been used in a lot of stories. But of course, you have the issue of wanting to make it fresh in some way. In the end, it's your characters, their personalities and the particulars of your story that make it unique.

Ah, all so true. It's funny how "familiar, but with a twist!" goes down so well in fantasy to aid the suspension of disbelief.

To the OP, Gavin - I know it seems terrible, but you know what? Who cares! It doesn't matter one whit. You wrote it before you saw the movie; you didn't steal any ideas from the movie (unless you have precognition, which would actually be awesome). Go on writing and don't let it bother you. It's your story.

rwm4768 · Dec 25, 2012

Just write it. Don't pay any attention to what happens in the movie. If you just write your story, it will be your story, not someone else's. Yes, certain concepts might be more difficult to get published, but you'll never know if you don't write it.

phantasy · Dec 25, 2012

This happens to me a lot as well. Not the entire premise, mind you, but plot points that are too close to others.

I encourage you to try to be more original in the smaller things. There are too many Tolkien/Twilight/FairyTale copycats already. If it is really bothering you, do or add something that will make you different. Look at other cultures and how they think about things we take for granted. Watch movies from other countries. Make the elements into ones from the periodic table or something cool. You can do it.

Bufty · Dec 26, 2012

Hi Gavin 23,

Bet your story is not exactly the same.

Story after story and film after film follow the same broad path - the difference is always in the detail (be it character or action) and the execution.

jeffo20 · Dec 26, 2012

I think this happens a lot. Twice in the drafting of the manuscript that is now resting with betas, I came across stories that seemed very similar in setup to mine. The first was a book that I found less than a month into writing my own. I debated over reading it, and decided I should. When I did, I heaved a sigh of relief. Though it had a similar starting point to mine, it was very different in terms of where it went from where I saw mine going.

Tougher was when I saw a commercial for the new series launching on a major network this fall. Once again, however, the show is very different from my story (and, if I can get this finished fast enough and the show remains a hit, maybe I can piggyback on its success).

Rather than worry about how similar your book is to Avatar, look at how it's different. As others have said, this is your story, you will be telling it differently.

EMaree · Dec 26, 2012

Everyone else has already covered why you should keep writing it, so I'm just going to encourage you to watch the Avatar: The Last Airbender cartoon. It's a hundred times better than the movie.

ChristinaLayton · Dec 26, 2012

Oh, don't worry too much about it. As long as the execution is different from the movie, you have nothing to worry about. Even if it's not, that's what editing is for. Finish your first draft and forget about everything else. Otherwise you'll never be able to finish this work.

HapiSofi · Dec 27, 2012

This absolutely happens, and I don't just mean similar settings or a half-dozen plot points. Two or even three writers will come up with the same very original idea at the same time.

I know of one case where the novel a writer had been working on for two years, and had recently submitted to a publisher, duplicated the setting, main character, main character's name, years in which the story took place, and at least two-thirds of the plot, of a book that publisher had coming out a few months later. There was no way either writer could have known what the other was working on. It was pure coincidence.

Look at it this way: you've just demonstrated that you're in touch with the zeitgeist and that you have the ability to come up with solidly commercial ideas. If you did it once, you can do it again.

fireluxlou · Dec 27, 2012

The Fifth Element.

Switch the tv show uses elements too, it's about witches.

KateJJ · Dec 27, 2012

Last year I was working on a story about a princess who competes in a tournament for her own hand, fights societal and family expectations to chose her own fate, and the story used a lot of bear imagery. Then I saw trailers for "Brave" and said "oh crud".

Of course, my story and Brave are very different. I think the more involved in a story you get the more similarities you'll see with things that are already out there. Just make your story the very best it can be and worry about little things like originality later.

kuwisdelu · Dec 27, 2012

I avoid being surprised and just shamelessly steal ideas in the first place.

thebloodfiend · Dec 27, 2012

The movie is absolutely terrible. I doubt your book will be that bad. Just continue writing and publish it so I can read it

I loved the original series and I've always wanted to read something similar.

Ideas are a dime a dozen. Execution is what matters. Tell Gaiman, Meyer, and King to write a novel about a girl getting married who falls in love with her groom's brother and I bet you'll get three drastically different novels.

fireluxlou · Dec 27, 2012

thebloodfiend said:
The movie is absolutely terrible. I doubt your book will be that bad. Just continue writing and publish it so I can read it

I loved the original series and I've always wanted to read something similar.

Ideas are a dime a dozen. Execution is what matters. Tell Gaiman, Meyer, and King to write a novel about a girl getting married who falls in love with her groom's brother and I bet you'll get three drastically different novels.

The movie is terrible but the original tv show and The Legend of Korra the new spin off tv show are very good

.

Blinkk · Dec 28, 2012

"The only book that wasn't plagiarized was the first one." Can't remember who said it, but it's true. All stories, plot elements, character personalities, fantasy settings- all of it will overlap with another story at some point in time, intentionally or unintentionally.

The thing that will separate your story from the movie is your personal voice. I've read books with extremely similar plots, but it's the writer's personal voice that makes each story unique. Forget the movie, and go into your own little world when you write your story. Even though there are similarities, your world is different than the Avatar world. Develop your world as best you can because it's honestly not a rip-off. There are differences, and the more you develop your world, the more the differences will come to life and separate the two stories. If you really become nervous, feel free to find the differences between the two stories and elaborate on them.

I also think you should take into account the age of the movie. It's pop-culture, and these things die off rather quickly. Another fantasy TV series will be featured on Nickelodeon and will be turned into an epic movie that all the kids will love and The Avatar will eventually be forgotten. Movies and TV shows are passing phases, while books last so much longer. Write your story the way you want to write it. You have something to offer that The Avatar doesn't.

By the way, if it makes you feel better, The Avatar got terrible reviews. It won 5 Golden Raspberry Awards, which recognize the worst films of the year. Like the academy awards, but Rotten Tomatoes style.

crunchyblanket · Dec 28, 2012

I've been reading a Nebula-award winning, critically acclaimed sci-fi book, whose central premise is so similar to mine I'm desperately worried someone's going to stamp 'PLAGIARISER' on any attempt I make to get the damn thing published.

Someone wise once told me there are no new ideas, just new approaches.

My book... is exactly the same as a film I've just seen!

Dum Spiro, Spero.

Dum Spiro, Spero.

Capeless, wingless, & yet I fly.

Tell it like it Is

Geekzilla

Raised by Wolves

steaming up the e-readers

Geekzilla

steaming up the e-readers

The ever absent-minded

practical experience, FTW

I write weird stories.

Where have the last ten years gone?

Tyrant King

a demon for tea

Hagiographically Advantaged

coffee and pistols at dawn

Revolutionize the World

Cory

Searching for dragons

the Juggernaut of Imperfection