essbeejay | A note to plagiarists.

A while back this became a (very!) small issue for me, and it was swiftly corrected, so I didn't make a big deal of it. I was lucky enough to have one of my readers* catch and confront the perpetrator, as it were, and I was even luckier that said perpetrator did not get defensive or belligerent, but contacted me personally instead. After a private exchange the fic was removed with no ill feelings towards each other. I was extremely pleased and happy with the outcome especially since others have not been so lucky in the past.

After giving it all some thought, I wanted to go ahead and share what I said in the exchange in the hopes that it can help other writers out there struggling with inspiration and the craft.

Thanks for your message. I think the best thing for you to do would be to try writing a new beginning from scratch.

I know it's hard work writing - believe me, I know! - and that sometimes it's just so much easier to work with an existing story and change a word here and there to make things feel like they're yours somehow. But that path - the easier path - is less rewarding in the end, and if you are serious about writing, it's also extremely detrimental to your growth as a writer.

Right now, as it is, this story you've written still isn't really yours. And even if it diverges in future chapters, the fact remains that the beginning still doesn't really belong to you. It's someone else's work, someone else's time. My work and my time, actually.

It's because of that work and time I put into [fic name omitted] that I am so happy and proud of how it's turned out. It was - and still is - extremely difficult work. But I couldn't be prouder of the end result.

I want you to be able to experience that too, but the only way you can do that is if you start over, using your own words, taking your own time to make your story uniquely yours and nobody else's. And you can absolutely do that. I know it's hard, but it isn't impossible. Trust me. I was there once too. Sometimes I still am.

Rewrite your story. Look to me for inspiration if you want, but make the words and the story your own. It may be one of the hardest things you have ever done, but if you keep at it, you can do it.

Good luck.

(*Many thanks to

kidstandout.)