If your novel overlaps with someone else’s idea, is it plagiarism?Not necessarily. An editor told Utsudo that people think in similar ways, and it isn’t rare for authors who don’t know each other to write similar stories — the editor called it “the malice of the universe.” Premises and settings will inevitably collide, but every author’s “writing voice” is still different.

Translated from Utsudo’s original Chinese column.

Overlapping ideas or plagiarism: is all writing just copying?

　　There’s a saying that all writing is copying, and some say that however a story runs, it can’t escape thirty-odd possible endings. The endings may be much the same, but what the characters go through and who they are can vary in countless ways — and the journey, more than the ending, is what really draws readers in.

　　If it isn’t deliberate plagiarism, people don’t really mind — or don’t even notice. For both works to be discovered takes all sorts of coincidences, or one of them being very famous @@

　　But if it happens in a commercial setting, that’s a different story.

What editors call “the malice of the universe”

　　Once, while discussing a plot with my editor, I learned in passing that one of the works they had recently signed turned out to be surprisingly similar to another submission. Yet the two authors didn’t know each other, and the manuscripts weren’t even posted online, so logically it couldn’t have been plagiarism.

　　So the editor called this phenomenon “the malice of the universe” XD

　　The first time I heard that phrase, I thought it was adorable!

　　When plagiarism comes up, everyone gets nervous. It’s a hassle to deal with, and if someone deliberately sets you up, even an innocent person can suffer badly — branded with a false accusation and hit with fines. The best-known cases are probably across the strait, which you’ve likely heard about, so I won’t go into them here.

　　I was shocked when I heard about it. Back then I still thought it couldn’t be such a coincidence — maybe there really was some copying. But the editor, who’d been in the business for years, said: “This actually isn’t rare.”
　　His reasoning: human brains are built much the same, and we live in the same place, so our ways of thinking aren’t that different. Running into this is easier than you’d imagine XDDD

　　Hearing him say that really opened my eyes.

Each author’s unique writing voice

　　Premises, character types, settings and so on may inevitably collide, but an author’s “writing voice” is still distinct. If you often follow one author, you can probably sense their habitual techniques, word choices and narration — and of course, their style.

　　I hear more sophisticated plagiarism is even harder to spot — but frankly, if you have that much time on your hands, why not just create something yourself? Believe in your own creativity!

Be careful when sharing ideas with others

　　By the way, the editor also mentioned that an author once discussed a new project with an editor and it wasn’t accepted — only for the author to later find their idea used in a new work by another writer that same editor worked with… a writer more famous than them, and eagerly awaited by readers.

　　Either the editor genuinely forgot it had been someone else’s idea, or it really was malicious theft… the truth can’t be verified. It’s hard to guard against. I’ve also heard of writers awkwardly finding that a premise they’d discussed with a friend was used by that friend first.

　　But talking with others about the worlds in your head is such a joy. How to strike the balance, and who to share with, is probably something to think about.

　　Frankly, once everyone’s prose and storytelling skills reach a certain level, what makes a work stand out is an original premise.

　　Exchanging ideas with other writers is a wonderful, precious experience — sometimes it even sparks ideas better than the original. But if you find out someone is a bad kid who likes to steal inspiration, keep your distance QQ

FAQ

Further reading (in Chinese)

• Previous: #35 — Highlights from my sharing session
• Next: #37 — Bookstores closing: an increasingly tough publishing industry
• Start from the beginning: #01 — Utsudo’s debut
• Column introduction
• Utsudo’s books

About the author

Utsudo is a Taiwanese light novelist and novelist VTuber with more than ten years in the industry and 40 commercially published print books. Her novel 《遺失的情書》 received a 2022 Ministry of Culture youth creative award. The 《嘿！聽說妳在鬼島當作家》 series records her experiences as a novelist in Taiwan.

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