Magpies, not Body Snatchers
Magpies,
not Body Snatchers by Rebecca Seaton
As John
Donne said, ‘No man is an island’. Writers need others for inspiration But to
what extent is drawing from others a good thing…or just plagiarism?
In school, we encourage children to think of themselves as magpies when they write: taking small things, inspiration and ideas from their peers. This is a big part of going to writing events for me: many events have included activities which have inspired my writing and sent me in new directions. Talking to other writers is often a good way to get out of a rut! After all, ‘As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another’ (Proverbs 27:17). Otherwise we would just keep doing the same thing.
Body snatchers, on the other hand, are different. They don’t just take the pieces you can spare, they take all that you are, the ‘body’ of the work. Once they’re done, there isn’t going to be anything left over for the original user! This would be like attending a writer event, overhearing an idea and going home to rewrite it with only minor changes to hide the deceit.
How can
we make sure we’re more magpies than body snatchers? Only take the sort of
inspiration we’d be happy to share ourselves. Are we taking the whole story so
the original writer couldn’t possibly use it any longer? Or are we thinking,
yes, I like the idea of a goblin queen but I could do something different with
that? Check with others, regularly sharing your work means somebody else might
spot an unintentional repetition of another author’s work. Always credit where
appropriate – give honour to those who have helped you. I’ve had cause to
contact people I’ve referred to in these blogs because, even though I haven’t
taken credit for their work or even necessarily quoted it, if I’m using my
interaction with them as an example, they should at least get a mention. I have
never had anyone refuse to be referenced and believe by both of us being able
to share the piece on social media, we’ve each extended our audiences.
If it’s
done properly, writing can be both our own thing and a shared experience.
Happy
borrowing – and lending!
#amwriting #amwritingfantasy #ACW
Rebecca writes fantasy novels, magazine articles
and the occasional play. Her
novel, A Silent Song, draws inspiration from her time studying in Wales and the story of Sleeping Beauty, amongst other things.
I agree about honouring those who help us. It's so important. Thank you.
ReplyDeleteLovely post, Rebecca Lucy! 'Iron sharpeneth iron'! That is true for ACWers. We should inspire
ReplyDeleteone another and be inspired by each other's ideas and writing. May it be both our own and a shared experience! Amen. Blessings.
I used to use what I called 'magpie poetry' when I was in the classroom. The pupils would decide on one word from each line of a known poem that they thought the most significant or useful. They'd list the words, then I would give them a bank of other 'function' words (such as connectives) they could use. They had to write a new poem using their list. It always works so well and sometimes the results are startlingly good! It also gives a deep insight into the language the original poet has used - always helpful for exam prep!
ReplyDeleteOoh, I might try that!
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