Writing dilemma!

Posted byMoushmi RadhanparaPosted inFrom a book lover, Ramblings of my mind.Tags:, , , , , , , , , , ,

When you are both a reader and a writer, how do you deal with it? I mean to say, that both requires equal attention, peace and time and for me both mingles with each other. While I am reading, sometimes I get ideas of what I can write, but then as a writer, I think that somehow if I write about that particular thought, it would be duplicitous. It will be a by-product of someone else’s work and then I will be ‘not original’. But then when I do write it down, I do feel that what I was reading was just a way of an inspiration for me to create something else. Now, when I put it that way, I don’t sound like a cheater, but deep down I still wonder if it is original or am I just plagiarizing. Now, if the later is the situation, then I should stop writing with immediate effect. I have no notions of copying work.

 

In various fields of art, it has been repeatedly said, you look for inspirations; sometimes inspiration doesn’t come to you. And if we are looking for it, chances are we look for it in similar fields and even if the filed is different, it is we who are looking for the so-called inspiration, and so our options are limited. Don’t get me wrong; I am not justifying myself in any way. I have no intentions of doing so, what so ever. What I am trying to decipher is what if some of my writings are a product of something that I read? Now, if it was re-telling I would simply declare that it is a re-telling, but what if some specific idea, image, or even a line sticks with me and brings out an entire different picture?

 

I don’t know if you guys go through this, but as a reader I do face this occasionally which makes me trash some of the things I wrote, and if not trash, they remain unpublished, hidden on my hibernating folders and journals!

 

Do share your thoughts on this one. What do you think about it? Does this happen with you?

Published by Moushmi Radhanpara

A bilingual writer, Moushmi Radhanpara has authored three poetry collections so far, namely POSIES and 03:21 AM –An Ode to Rust & Restlessness, and Resignation of an Angel. She is also scribbling an unplanned rough draft of a story as a part of NANOWRIMO 2020 and hopes that something might come out of it. She has also co-authored two books, The Lockdown Stories and Mirage so far. Her poetries can be found on her blog https://aestheticmiradh.com/ and a few other online portals. She believes in the fact that a better reader makes a better writer. Reading a 100 books a year is her latest obsession. She can be found either drunk on coffee or hiding away from everything and admiring the gorgeous sun.

83 thoughts on “Writing dilemma!”

  1. It does happen with me a lot too Moushmi, sometimes I read a quote and that led to a whole poem, and sometimes there’s something I read and even I try to write, I know I just can’t match the one I read.
    Glad to see you ❤️

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  2. It happens to me most of the time and the last post was on Saturday which explains my predicament. Reading and writing take time, in jotting ideas and fleshing them to be translated into words. I think every week we need, to make a list of posts for a week and zero on dates to pen them down.

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      1. Same here. I was thinking how to sort out things in a better way. Will devote three hours in working out the novel tomorrow 🙂 Let’s see how it pans out and zeroing three days a week…no blogging!

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  3. I have the same problem at times so some things never get shared. But then I think that we all have a unique way of writing so even though the idea might be very similar we write it in our own unique way. Therefore it might speak to someone, help someone who would not otherwise be helped. Two ways to look at I guess.

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  4. No issues Moushmi.. it’s nothing of duplication or so.. ok, think like this.. we all are living on the same planet, face the same problems, dealing in different ways, same thoughts, thinking in different ways.. just like that.. all of us have different perspectives to look on life and its ways.. so topics we choose to write may be same, our thoughts may or may not vary, but our ways of presenting will surely be different and that’s where the art lies.. don’t overthink, just keep penning.. miles to go dear.. all the best.. hope I could help you out a bit, from my two cents here.. 👍🏼😇🤗💕

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    1. YES!! Thanks so much. I cannot tell you how much you helped. I wasn’t even expecting all of you lovely guys to have left such thoughtful comments, but here you did, and have successfully left my mind at ease. Thanks so much dear.

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  6. Moushumi I suppose most of us face this dilemma. Now with time as number of people I am following, time given to reading have increased , ensuring maximum posts are covered. Yes the ideas we do get while reading but I won’t say duplication as few topics are vast to cover with different perceptions. Though mine posts till yet haven’t been clashed.
    Moreover difficulty I am facing is to maintain the equilibrium between reading and writing and in search of topics. As for me to complete every set of 100 posts too is a big challenge as i don’t want to reduce the quality of my writings just to complete the numbers.

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  8. “What I am trying to decipher is what if some of my writings are a product of something that I read?” That’s a great question. Are we a product of what surrounds us? I have to think that, no matter what you create, what I create, has some influence of what is surrounding us.

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  9. I have faced this dilemma, Moushmi. Now I can leave my worries behind for I have found someone who feels the same way. Thanks for writing this!

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  10. i get ideas (inspiration?) from many areas. i dont see it as duplication as you would be putting your spin on it. plagiarism is more of a direct copy. if someone was inspired to paint a portrait after viewing the mona lisa, as long as they dont copy it, is that duplication/plagiarism? put your worries aside and take the inspiration and do it.

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  11. I have never faced this issue, my content is absolutely original. It’s because I am talented 😎.. see?
    So when I read books written by great writers I always feel they have somehow, be it in antiquity, taken my ideas and already used it. Same happens with blog posts by others. Maybe I should leave the task to others, and just read.

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      1. Haha was kidding re..I wish I knew what I am doing when I write, most of the time I am totally clueless, but yes confident, like fools are 😀

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  13. I think we all face this dilemma and I don’t feel it’s plagiarism! Yes, we can find inspiration from what we are reading, but our thoughts and feelings always influence our writing, and that makes a big difference!!

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  14. I will share my experience –
    I do not write with immediate effect, like you said. Some things, with time, just become part of my being and then perhaps part of my original expressions in unknown ways.
    I have a lot of unpublished writings as a response to my readings. They haven’t felt true enough for me to publish and I could post them with reference to what inspired them but I never felt like putting the time – they are part of my growth and can remain so. I enjoy posting only what comes out of raw download of creativity.

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  16. RELATABLE!!
    I often end up feeling awful about my own work simply because I feel I could’ve done better. And this feeling is heightened when we read the works of other wonderful people. But i think it’s important to note that we all are different and work at different speeds with different skills so don’t doubt yourself, you’re amazing!❤️

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  17. There is nothing wrong with being inspired by other people as long as what you write is your own thoughts and come from your heart. I am inspired every day by other people’s recipes. If I like the recipe exactly as they posted, I give them credit. If I change it just a little I state adapted from and give them credit. However, If I change many ingredients I call it my own. Great post!

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  18. I kind of feel you here. There is a thin line between inspiration and plagiarism and being an overthinker which i am, i prefer taking the route of complete originality. Considering even the inspiration part from someone else’s work as being the seeds of that person. Somehow it doesnt feel right that the idea was not original. So i stop there itself instead of allowing myself to write more. The inspiration part is only limited to the daily observations in self life. And only when something comes out from the heart uninterrupted and without any effort and without thinking about anyone else’s words. People may say inspiration from other’s work to come up with your own is not copying but I struggle to accept that. Milawat si lagti hai chahe kitni bhi thodi si kyun na ho.

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  19. if someone or something particularly inspires me to write a post I always acknowledge that at the bottom … I’ve had so much professional work plagiarized that I am careful to not do that to others.

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  20. I have the same concerns involving plagiarism, and I make sure not to use the same words or phraseology as something else I read somewhere. And if I’m taking an idea from another source, I always make sure I give the person the credit for it. This became an issue in my last post. I didn’t use a scholar footnote, though, which would have make it legal in the academic world, but I don’t know if I broke a legal law by doing it the way I did. Plagiarism can happen unintentionally, too.

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  21. Pingback: Day 18: Creative writing and guilt! – Vishal Bheeroo

  22. Writers are, I believe, first and foremost, readers.

    There was a time when I felt that I was not doing my part as a writer when I have been doing no writing, but have been reading things for a while. I basically took a break and have been reading.

    However, I was told that reading is part of a writer’s work. We read to get information, to be inspired, to learn and get ideas.

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  23. An interesting and conflicting topic no doubt. Most professional writers say again and again that it’s important to read and read a lot. I think this makes sense so you can see what works and what doesn’t, what’s good vs. bad, and what’s been done.

    That said I also think it’s a slippery slope, especially if you’re not paying attention or watching yourself. It’s not impossible to start writing what you’ve been seeing (reading). In fact, I’ve heard of people taking whole stories, changing the details by inserting their own and then publishing that. That’s not your story. I don’t think it’s okay to take specific details from someone else’s story and then use them in your own (unless you’re referencing them and giving due credit of course). For instance, if you read a book about werewolves and the author has decided in their world the color of the werewolves eyes reflects their age (changes every decade let’s say) then you think ooooo I like that, same goes for my werewolves. It’s a minor detail and I don’t think that is necessarily defined as copying and yet it is and you know that wasn’t your idea. Maybe my example is too general and people will argue this point but I think I’ve made it.

    That said, I believe it’s super important to study our craft. Use structural cues and details. What makes their chapters successful? Why were you so drawn to their characters? Why did that twist fall flat? Why was the book too long in your opinion? For instance, I recently read the All Souls Trilogy by Deborah Harkness and was very satisfied. I enjoyed the pacing and found the characters to be unique (relative to each other) and dynamic despite the flaws in each book and the story as a whole. I have been going over these things that worked and didn’t work with myself, asking WHY and HOW among other things. Sooner than later I hope to write some posts regarding this.

    Perhaps don’t read other books when you can’t come up with your own ideas, at least not until you have. I think we are prone to borrowing because we NEED something and don’t want to make the efforts to get them for ourselves.

    My problem? Reading is a great excuse NOT to write, because I’m studying after all, right? 😉 Thanks for starting the discussion.

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  24. I understand what you are saying. I know some of my ideas are probably from something I’ve read but I know at least one story I’m working on isn’t, because it is based on my great grandmother’s life. Interesting thing to think about though.

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  25. Sometimes it’s happen, I copy others stuff just to make my point even deeper and broad to help readers to spark their own ideas.

    Reading just help you to connect the thoughts in mind and helps you to generate even more best solution and IDEAS.

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  29. This is a very relevant question, Moushmi. As both a writer and reader, I can say that the struggle is real, but I do think part of it depends on what specifically the “idea” is that you get from another writer. Is it a character? I often find other authors’ characters inspiring, in that they make me ask “what if there were another character with some of these traits, but also with his/her own qualities?” That’s where a number of my characters come from. Or is it a plot? There are plot elements from other stories that, when recombined with your own original scenario, add to the uniqueness of your story. Overall, every writer is going to be influenced to some degree by what he/she reads– it seems the question is whether you as a writer can effectively make those characters or elements your own by incorporating other factors.

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  30. I think humanity and knowledge revolves around the basic principle that creativity requires inspiration to evolve from. So I don’t think it’s a bad thing to garner inspiration from other sources as long as you are changing it and adding to it. There’s a difference between being inspired by something and flat-out plagiarizing. Good read. Thought provoking.

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  31. You’re right to raise the danger of the blurring between reading and writing, and the temptation (often unconscious) to ‘copy’. For me it’s a question of voice. If you have written a lot and have established some kind of voice, then that’s largely how you write – no matter what you read. If you haven’t found a voice yet, maybe it’s OK to copy because it might just help you find your own style.

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  32. Oh yes! And sometimes I am writing a comment on a post that someone has written and suddenly I’m off and away and wanting to write a 500 word piece all about what they wrote about. Frankly I exhaust myself. This was a lovely post. Katie

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  35. Pingback: Literary Osmosis – The Inquisitive Inkpot

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