Original oR cLonE??

[dArkNESS rISiNG]

i haven't been on this in so long...i think sumbody deleted my last username...

well hi everyone and im making this thread because i have a sort of dilema.

im working on a story that is very similar to another very popular story. well when i explain it it'll be obvious what story im refering to...

okay here it goes. my story is in a world about ten times as big as Earth, but is divided into 8 sections because of a thick mist. the story takes place far into history, the sixth age to be exact and technology is highly developed. okay, but here's where im having my problem. the main plot to the story is of a very high god that was ousted of his realm. his fall brings all sorts of problems to the world. now, a few hundred years later, the fallen god has recovered and wants revenge. the fallen god gathers a host of powerful humans, of many different races, to fight to gain his spot back on the top. of course, though, the fallen god has oppositon, some greedily wanting to claim his spot, others who want to stop a war that will likely destroy the planet. well, it gets really complicated as the story progresses. i won't get into that.

but um...is it bad that this story sounds so much like Malazan Book of the Fallen?? my magic system is also very similar, with an set of older, more defined realms being used by the Immortals (the holds) and then a newer, more advanced set of realms used by those who were born into the 6th age (the warrens). i've had no intention of my story turning out this way, but it did. will that be apparent in my writing or does it look like ima nother clone taking used ideas from already established authors??

[James Carmack]

"Nihil novum sub solis." That being said, when you're too dang close to another idea, particularly from a popular franchise, it's time to go back to the drawing board. I can remember being a glorified rip-off artist in my early days (with such winners as M-Force [X-Men], Mesozoic World [Jurassic Park] and Galactic Strife [Star Wars/Star Trek]). Admittedly, I was 12 at the time, but still...

Naturally, those bad ideas were sacked, but they're a rather dramatic example of pitiful rip-offs (a fact I vigorously disputed at the time). Now, some similarity is inevitable. We all know that everything's been done several times over. It's all in how you present it. If I were you, I'd take a hard look at the story, compare it to this Malazan Book of Fallen and find ways to rework the needless points of convergance. (Actually, I almost thought the plot was derived from Mortal Kombat.) In the end, you may end up scrapping the whole thing, but hopefully it'll help foster more "original" ideas.

It's up to you. If you're really stuck on the plot as it is and you think you can deal with everyone crying "Attack of the Clones!", then go right ahead. Shoot, I thought RahXephon was a shameless Eva rip-off until I actually saw it. Yeah, there were similarities, but I'd argue that RahXephon's better than it's vastly more popular rival. (Helps when the director isn't all nutty and the sponsers aren't strangling you for offensive content.) So you never know, you might just build a better mousetrap. Stranger things have happened.

[dArkNESS rISiNG]

thanx. yep. i will have to do that. i love my plot though. i don't think im going to be able to get rid of it. i've worked on it for years. everything has evolved so much, so i think i'll keep what i got but try to incorporate new ideas into my story and world. thanx again!

[James Carmack]

It's all in how you serve it up. Skip the parsely, replace the baked potato with fries, and maybe, just maybe they won't mind the fact that it's a lot like the six-ounce sirloin they had at Western Sizzlin.