BAHHH! Thank you Mr. Jordan....

Mjollnir13 · Jul 30, 2007

I am reading Robert Jordan's"The Eye Of The World". I came to a part in which one of his characters performs a move. I hand planned this exact action for one of my characters in my WIP. It's the exact same idea I had! I was kind of shocked to read something I had thought of. I know ideas are common, nothing is truly original, but it is soooo close to what I had in mind, even the circumstance.

This leads me to a question. How would one handle the problem of unknowningly recreating a scene from another story? Had I not read this book, I would have put the scene into my story. And, if it was good enough to be published, many would think I had ripped off another author. Granted, it's not word for word, but could you be sued?

dclary · Jul 30, 2007

Mjollnir13 said:
I am reading Robert Jordan's"The Eye Of The World". I came to a part in which one of his characters performs a move. I hand planned this exact action for one of my characters in my WIP. It's the exact same idea I had! I was kind of shocked to read something I had thought of. I know ideas are common, nothing is truly original, but it is soooo close to what I had in mind, even the circumstance.

This leads me to a question. How would one handle the problem of unknowningly recreating a scene from another story? Had I not read this book, I would have put the scene into my story. And, if it was good enough to be published, many would think I had ripped off another author. Granted, it's not word for word, but could you be sued?

This just in: Eragon's father is Darth Vader.

Don't sweat it. Just do it better than Jordan did (which can't be *that* hard) and no one will give you grief.

My-Immortal · Jul 30, 2007

dclary said:
This just in: Eragon's father is Darth Vader.

Apparently, that black suit he wears does not prevent pregnancies 100% of the time...

...I wonder if he read all the small print before putting it on.

JCT · Jul 30, 2007

Robert Jordan had some good ideas in WoT books...too bad he ruined most of them.

Bartholomew · Jul 30, 2007

The Eye of the World was a nice adventure story. It is very vivid, and if you have time for long expositions and descriptions, it's great.

The rest of the series... meh.

Ullikummis · Jul 30, 2007

Assume everything you write has been done before and do it better.

dclary · Jul 30, 2007

You should have SEEN the look on my face when Evan Almighty came out. I mean... DAMMIT! I had already spent 4 years researching my story about a man who is contacted by God to build a big ship and gather all the animals --although in my version, some animals he gathers by sevens, and others he gathers in two.

They stole ALL of that from me!!!

JohnDavidPaxton · Jul 30, 2007

I'll put it this way:

I find Robert Jordan unbearable. His books are so long and overly detailed (WHY MUST THEY WALK!?) that I found myself wondering what was going on at all in the first chapter.

HE probably doesn't remember what he wrote in his first book. Much less his fans. Just write it your own way and do it better and nobody will be irritated at you.

MattW · Jul 31, 2007

After his opponent countered Chipmunk in the Shrubbery, Rand decapitated him with Dolphin Peekaboo.

Ahh - the time when a Heron marked master swordsman was something of awe. Before all the pyrotechnics and exponential power increases, and resurrections, and unstoppable channelers living in every village and under rocks.

badducky · Jul 31, 2007

Also, didn't Evaine's hair change color from book one to book 2+?

Wasn't she a blonde in the first book (I'm thinking back over 15 years on this, so I could be wrong...) and then a brunette later?

Mjollnir13 · Jul 31, 2007

Bartholomew said:
The Eye of the World was a nice adventure story. It is very vivid, and if you have time for long expositions and descriptions, it's great.

The rest of the series... meh.

Yeah, I'm 300 pages into it and I am already starting to skim through paragraphs. He seems a bit too descriptive for me...and repetitive.

Inkdaub · Aug 2, 2007

badducky said:
Also, didn't Evaine's hair change color from book one to book 2+?

Wasn't she a blonde in the first book (I'm thinking back over 15 years on this, so I could be wrong...) and then a brunette later?

No...but who is Evaine? There is an Evaine character in a series I have read but it isn't Jordan's. Are you talking about Egwene? Her hair has always been brown as I recall. Maybe you mean Moiraine? I am not sure her hair didn't change color now that you mention it but I think she was always a brunette of light coloration.

Robert Jordan is great and I love WoT.

Yes I have thought up ideas that I later found to be in another story...it's depressing but expected.

The worst one was...

S

P

O

I

L

E

R

Just in case anyone hasn't seen the movie yet.

I had half written a thriller/horror type screenplay, set in an old hotel, wherein the MC is trying to figure out these strange things that are happening to him and he discovers at the end...my brilliance revealed...that he is an alternate personality of another person.

Then Identity came out.

MattW · Aug 2, 2007

Inkdaub said:
No...but who is Evaine? There is an Evaine character in a series I have read but it isn't Jordan's. Are you talking about Egwene? Her hair has always been brown as I recall. Maybe you mean Moiraine? I am not sure her hair didn't change color now that you mention it but I think she was always a brunette of light coloration.

Did he mean Elayne, heir of Andor?

Inkdaub · Aug 3, 2007

Haha...I forgot about Elayne. Yeah he probably was talking about her. She was always a blonde but was a strawberry blonde as I recall...right?

Bartholomew · Aug 3, 2007

JohnDavidPaxton said:
HE probably doesn't remember what he wrote in his first book. Much less his fans. Just write it your own way and do it better and nobody will be irritated at you.

I wouldn't bet on that.

His fan base is somewhat... erm... rabid.

MattW · Aug 3, 2007

Bartholomew said:
I wouldn't bet on that.

His fan base is somewhat... erm... rabid.

They take themselves way too seriously. They were also slow to consider Martin's SoIaF as a potential rival to WoT (and IMNSHO he has far exceeded) and who still consider Erikson and Bakker as upstarts.

I'll admit to being a Jordan fan in the past, but that was an evolution from being an Eddings fan, and that stemmed from being a Weis & Hickman fan. Gotta roll with the punches.

Bartholomew · Aug 3, 2007

MattW said:
They take themselves way too seriously. They were also slow to consider Martin's SoIaF as a potential rival to WoT (and IMNSHO he has far exceeded) and who still consider Erikson and Bakker as upstarts.

I'll admit to being a Jordan fan in the past, but that was an evolution from being an Eddings fan, and that stemmed from being a Weis & Hickman fan. Gotta roll with the punches.

I got thrown out when I was 18. The stories I could tell you...

#

What is SoIaF? o.o

JBI · Aug 3, 2007

MattW said:
They take themselves way too seriously. They were also slow to consider Martin's SoIaF as a potential rival to WoT (and IMNSHO he has far exceeded) and who still consider Erikson and Bakker as upstarts.

I'll admit to being a Jordan fan in the past, but that was an evolution from being an Eddings fan, and that stemmed from being a Weis & Hickman fan. Gotta roll with the punches.

Funny, I dislike all of those authors, well perhaps Bakker is alright; he at least tries to put some meaning behind his words.

I can't see how you can compare those books (I haven't read the complete works of any of those authors), but from what I have read, they are completely different.

Who the hell cares "which is the best fantasy series out there"? The point is people are enjoying them

and P.S. just write whatever. There is no original plot, or original ideas. Everything stems from reality, which in itself isn't even original.

MattW · Aug 3, 2007

JBI said:
Funny, I dislike all of those authors, well perhaps Bakker is alright; he at least tries to put some meaning behind his words.

You are entitled to your opinion, but you also aren't a rabid defender of WoT (I'm guessing...)

It's when someone makes a judgment that book X is the greatest thing ever, and can never see that it has flaws (as do all books except mine), and never even attempts Y or Z, and even goes so far as to dismiss Y and Z for trivial reasons.

Fanboyism.

I can't see how you can compare those books (I haven't read the complete works of any of those authors), but from what I have read, they are completely different.

But much more the same than not. Huge cast, sprawling fantasy landscapes, detailed histories, long books, extended series. Those things more than any other should appeal to the same readers, and the differences are in the execution.

JCT · Aug 3, 2007

I like the first three books of the WoT. The second is a little dry but has a fantastic ending. The third book, The Dragon Reborn, is easily the best book RJ ever wrote: It was fast paced, tightly plotted and just a fun read. Its amazing how things slooooowed after that book.

I think a read of the first three is worth your time but skip the rest.

MattW · Aug 4, 2007

The one with Dumai Wells was the high point, and I read through Winter's Heart. Waiting for the conclusion to be in used bookstores before I pick it up again.

JBI · Aug 4, 2007

MattW said:
You are entitled to your opinion, but you also aren't a rabid defender of WoT (I'm guessing...)

It's when someone makes a judgment that book X is the greatest thing ever, and can never see that it has flaws (as do all books except mine), and never even attempts Y or Z, and even goes so far as to dismiss Y and Z for trivial reasons.

Fanboyism.

But much more the same than not. Huge cast, sprawling fantasy landscapes, detailed histories, long books, extended series. Those things more than any other should appeal to the same readers, and the differences are in the execution.

No, I am not a WoT fan, if anything you can call me a Lewis Carrol fan, being that I think Through the Looking Glass is the best fantasy ever written.

My point is, aesthetics are all relative, therefore comments like "he is the best" "she is the best" mean nothing.

Perhaps plot wise these guys are similar, but from a literary point of view, their styles are completely different. From what I have seen of each of these authors, they all offer a unique thing (well, one could argue neither of them are truly unique, just different from each other) and each imbue their own literary style.

In terms of contender, what does the winner win? We arguing over who's fans are bigger nerds? Generally the whole concept of writers being in competition with each other seems absurd to me, being that all writers are influenced, and influence others, and that is one major part of the craft.

RTH · Aug 6, 2007

MattW said:
After his opponent countered Chipmunk in the Shrubbery, Rand decapitated him with Dolphin Peekaboo.

Ahh - the time when a Heron marked master swordsman was something of awe. Before all the pyrotechnics and exponential power increases, and resurrections, and unstoppable channelers living in every village and under rocks.

Sounds like Dragonball Z.

Dave.C.Robinson · Aug 6, 2007

I read Eye of the World when it came out and quite liked it. As the series continued I liked it less and less. My own feeling is that he let his characters get away from him and lost sight of the story. Enough people like what he's doing that Tor makes a lot of money, however I'm not one of them.

HourglassMemory · Aug 6, 2007

These are the sort of events I try to avoid. that's why I always go for completly extreme and weird stuff that nobody else could think of...

BAHHH! Thank you Mr. Jordan....

I am the Meatlump King!

Unabashed Mercenary

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Company Man

No Time For Chitchat, Kemosabe.

I am the Meatlump King!

wrapped in plastic

Company Man

wrapped in plastic

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Call me Ishmael

... with the High Command