That was my idea

[Reshbod]

Don't you hate it when you think of a cool story idea that no one has ever thought of before only to take a break from writing to read a few stories and come across one that is very similar to the idea you just had.

I should probably stop reading! (yeah, right)

 

[sr71plt]

Don't you hate it when you think of a cool story idea that no one has ever thought of before only to take a break from writing to read a few stories and come across one that is very similar to the idea you just had.

I should probably stop reading! (yeah, right)

Right. I don't do much reading in my story areas precisely so that I don't unintentionally pick up on someone else's idea. I may write stories similar to others--but not because I've inadvertantly stolen from them.

(I must admit I've picked up on an image I found in one of Fresh Face's story, though, because it was just too luscious not to use from different angles.)

 

[redpaint]

I have run across that in my painting. the thing that bothers me is when they take the same ideal and do it way cooler than I did or could.

 

[sr71plt]

I have run across that in my painting. the thing that bothers me is when they take the same ideal and do it way cooler than I did or could.

Right!

 

[slyc_willie]

I was halfway through writing a story in which everything a writer writes is acted out by a woman he doesn't even know . . . when the movie Stranger Than Fiction came out.

To make it worse, it was a Will Farrell flick.

 

[Leto Degeneres]

I was halfway through writing a story in which everything a writer writes is acted out by a woman he doesn't even know . . . when the movie Stranger Than Fiction came out.

To make it worse, it was a Will Farrell flick.

...and then?

 

[sr71plt]

...and then?

And then he sued Hollywood and they settled out of court and he has a nifty swimming pool in his back yard.

 

[Lee Chambers]

Don't you hate it when you think of a cool story idea that no one has ever thought of before only to take a break from writing to read a few stories and come across one that is very similar to the idea you just had.

I should probably stop reading! (yeah, right)

It happens. There are no original ideas. I'm writing a story and when I told a friend of mine about it, he said "Oh yeah, they already do that in this book!"

I'm still writing the story.

 

[slyc_willie]

...and then?

I stopped writing it, of course. Yes, I know the idea had been done before the movie came out, and I'm glad the movie has more or less vanished.

Maybe in time, I'll get back to it.

Once I scrape the bad taste out of my mouth.

 

[Leto Degeneres]

And then he sued Hollywood and they settled out of court and he has a nifty swimming pool in his back yard.

...and became a folk hero.

 

[slyc_willie]

And then he sued Hollywood and they settled out of court and he has a nifty swimming pool in his back yard.

Now, why the hell didn't I really think of that?

 

[sr71plt]

...and became a folk hero.

And was the subject of a movie that made Hollywood millions . . .

 

[slyc_willie]

And was the subject of a movie that made Hollywood millions . . .

None of which I'd ever see because I signed away all rights for a $5,000 contract.

Woe is me . . . .

 

[Leto Degeneres]

None of which I'd ever see because I signed away all rights for a $5,000 contract.

Woe is me . . . .

...which you spent on a 65-inch TV to watch the movie and eat burnt popcorn.

 

[slyc_willie]

...which you spent on a 65-inch TV to watch the movie and eat burnt popcorn.

Which was then interrupted -- right at the "good" part -- by the little one demanding to watch Dora the Explorer.

And, to make it all worse, the aging me was played by an aging Will Farrell, who would later say during an interview, "I always liked Sick Willie's work."

ARGGHHH!

I'm reminded of Jon Bon Jovi, a la Bed Of Roses :

"While I dream about movies they won't make of me when I'm dead . . . ."

 

[Leto Degeneres]

Which was then interrupted -- right at the "good" part -- by the little one demanding to watch Dora the Explorer.

And, to make it all worse, the aging me was played by an aging Will Farrell, who would later say during an interview, "I always liked Sick Willie's work."

ARGGHHH!

I'm reminded of Jon Bon Jovi, a la Bed Of Roses :

"While I dream about movies they won't make of me when I'm dead . . . ."

Laughing hard. YOu could always win the lotto tomorrow. Then we can repeat this whole thing over again!

 

[slyc_willie]

Laughing hard. YOu could always win the lotto tomorrow. Then we can repeat this whole thing over again!

I don't gamble. I either win big or lose big, I've noticed. I went to Lost Wages once and turned a $300 investment (total) to almost six thousand in winnings at a craps table (I think they called it something else; I'm not good at gambling jargon). Walked away feeling I did good.

The next night, I tried my hand at Blackjack.

I managed to break even for the weekend.

I figure, if I ever buy scratch-offs or a Quick-Pick, I'd have to spend several hundred over time to get some kind of payoff. But then, that goes against my basic dislike of money, either spending it or receiving it.

Me and money . . . we don't mix well.

 

[Leto Degeneres]

I don't gamble. I either win big or lose big, I've noticed. I went to Lost Wages once and turned a $300 investment (total) to almost six thousand in winnings at a craps table (I think they called it something else; I'm not good at gambling jargon). Walked away feeling I did good.

The next night, I tried my hand at Blackjack.

I managed to break even for the weekend.

I figure, if I ever buy scratch-offs or a Quick-Pick, I'd have to spend several hundred over time to get some kind of payoff. But then, that goes against my basic dislike of money, either spending it or receiving it.

Me and money . . . we don't mix well.

I use the express lane for gambling. I drive up to the front door, hand the doorman my wallet, then drive back home. Cheaper that way.

 

[slyc_willie]

I use the express lane for gambling. I drive up to the front door, hand the doorman my wallet, then drive back home. Cheaper that way.

That was in a stand-up routine somewhere, wasn't it . . . .

 

[Leto Degeneres]

That was in a stand-up routine somewhere, wasn't it . . . .

It's second hand for sure. Besides, truer words were never spoken.

 

[TE999]

I read somewhere that there are eight (or ten) basic plots and everyone gives their own spin on them...be it a book, movie, play or magazine. Edgar Allan Poe wrote the first detective story, Jules Verne the first sci-fi and so on.

There are bound to be similarities in stories, screenplays, etc. for the simple fact that there aren't that many plots to choose from. Well, James Joyce's 'Finnigan's Wake' comes to mind, but that's imcomprehensible gibberish IMO...sorta like Allen Ginsburg's poetry.

 

[Leto Degeneres]

I read somewhere that there are eight (or ten) basic plots and everyone gives their own spin on them...be it a book, movie, play or magazine. Edgar Allan Poe wrote the first detective story, Jules Verne the first sci-fi and so on.

There are bound to be similarities in stories, screenplays, etc. for the simple fact that there aren't that many plots to choose from. Well, James Joyce's 'Finnigan's Wake' comes to mind, but that's imcomprehensible gibberish IMO...sorta like Allen Ginsburg's poetry.

No wonder my wife left me. She heard it all before.

 

[DeeZire]

"Good poets borrow, great poets steal." T.S. Eliot

 

[IsabellaKing]

I hate it when I read through a thread, knowing what comment I'm going to add at the end, only to find that someone else has beat me to it.

My words of wisdom - stolen by someone else.

 

[dr_mabeuse]

I hate it when I read through a thread, knowing what comment I'm going to add at the end, only to find that someone else has beat me to it.

My words of wisdom - stolen by someone else.

That's why i never read the entire thread.

But really, it's not the idea so much as it is the execution, at least in my world.

An old device for generating plots is to take someone else's story and change the era or setting and rewrite it. Authors who have to churn out a lot of material (like romance authors or Pulp writers of the past) do this all the time.

Shakespeare did it, and it worked out pretty well for him.