Plagiarism is a crime. U.S. copyright law protects an author by making it illegal for anyone to copy your work without permission. You don’t even have to file copyright paperwork to own exclusive rights to your work.
Be yourself, not someone else.
With practice, you might write like C.S. Lewis or Louis L’Amour, but your uniqueness, not being like someone else, is what makes you special. Should you ever copy someone else’s work? Absolutely, but not for publication.
In his early years, Mozart copied from the masters. By doing that, he learned what worked in music and what didn’t until his own style became recognized.
Study the masters, and strive to write better.
Just because a bestselling author writes in first-person point of view, present tense doesn’t mean you’ll have a bestseller by adopting that style. But if you learn to take readers into the character’s perspective and intensify the present moment, your own writing could become special. Let’s look at a great paragraph and see if we can make it better.
Great words from The Longest Ride by Nicholas Sparks:
I shift, feeling a lightning bolt shoot from my arm up to my collarbone. The world goes black. Agony. I breathe in and out, waiting for the white-hot agony to pass. Dear God, please. It is all I can do not to scream, but then, miraculously, it begins to fade. I breathe evenly, trying to keep the tears at bay, and when it finally recedes, I feel exhausted. I could sleep forever and never wake up. I close my eyes. I’m tired, so tired.
What we might see for an improved version:
I shift, and lightning flashes from my arm to my collarbone. The world goes black. Agony. I breathe in and out, wanting the white-hot pain to pass. Dear God, please. I’m on the verge of screaming when, miraculously, the pain fades. I breathe evenly, restraining the flow of tears, and when my muscles relax, I am exhausted. I could sleep forever and never wake up. I close my eyes. I’m tired, so tired.
Logic for making improvements:
- “Feeling a lightning bolt” is a telling statement. If we can rework the first sentence without the word “feeling,” readers are taken directly to what the character feels.
- A lightning bolt is seen in the distance, but lightning flashes reach where we are. A better first sentence might be: “I shift, and lightning flashes from my arm to my collarbone.”
- “Wanting” might be a better word than “waiting,” engaging the emotions slightly more.
- Since we’ve already used the word “agony” as a stand-alone statement covering a spectrum of physical and emotional suffering, let’s avoid repeating “agony” and focus on the specific “white-hot pain.”
- “It is all I can do not to scream” has two areas we might improve: First, we strengthen the sentence if we don’t begin with “it.” Next, we do better to state what something is instead of saying what it is not. Better: “I’m on the verge of screaming.”
- “It begins to fade” also has two areas we might improve: First, we strengthen the clause if we don’t begin with “it.” Next, we do better to show the action instead of focusing on the beginning of the action. Better: “the pain fades.”
- “Trying to keep the tears at bay” states the effort but not the results. Usually, we strengthen a sentence by going directly to the action, eliminating “try.” Better: “restraining the flow of tears.”
- “It finally recedes” has two areas we might improve: First, we strengthen the sentence if we don’t begin with “it.” Next, the clause tells what happens, but we miss seeing the results. Better: “my muscles relax.”
