rat289 1 | 142 ☆
Apr 12, 2007 | #281
Basically, your point is that as long as essaywriters.net's FRAUD is on par with the fraud of other outfits, it's OK?
I'm not saying it's OK I'm saying that is pretty much the way of it. If you work for a good company then I would consider you one of the lucky ones. Is it freelance work or are you an actual employee or permanent contractor? That makes a difference.
The work I do is strictly freelance. I've worked for good people and crooks. If you know how to protect your work you can make good money with the crooks. One of the best methods is employing a "pay as you go" system ($ after step-outline, $ after treatment, $ after first draft, ect...). There have been some occasions I've been taken but even then I got something out of it. Either more work which I did get paid on or screen credits and in my line of work those are more valuable than money.
If you've been in the game for a while you have to know you're going to get taken from time to time as you learn and grow. We all do. If it happens to you, learn from it and grow. Find a positive to build on. Move on. By move on I mean after you've fought as hard as you can to get your money.
Do you proof on the side?
I was entirely paid. My problem is people that are slimeballs!
We are never judged by what we do, only by what we've done - A. R. Sanfilippo
I spend on average 14 hours a day behind my desk when I'm working on my writings. As each revision is concluded I take a week or two off to let the story age a bit... What would you do with a week or two off from work?
This is what I do, what I have done:
Quote:
Originally posted by Charles Konsor
I think I heard somewhere (not sure where, or who, or anything like that . . . take this as you will) that good writers plagarize, great writers steal.
Everything, everything EVERYTHING has been done before. Everyone will be able to say, this scene reminded me of this story, or this character reminded me of that character. This is not bad, it just shows that the story effected the person, made them remember, made them connect it with other thoughts and stories.
I don't think you're plagarizing. Indeed, I think it's very, very hard to plagarize, even if you are trying to. Stories are stories, and if you're capturing the human expirence through your own mind then your story is original.
Also, if you actually write the story you'll probalby find it's 100 x different then the one you read. And if you don't write it . . . then I'm afraid I have nothing to say to you.
A little bit drunk.
-Charlie
Not to split hairs Charlie but there are too many new writers here and this needs to be cleared up. The term "Everything has been done before" doesn't refer to parts of a story, locations or even character types. What is meant by that statement is that in theory every possible plot line has been done. That is also where the saying "A good writer plagiarizes a great writer steals" comes from. A good writer will take a the plotting of a story and make it original work, a great writer will take the plot and make something insanely original and highly creative. 48 hours' plotting morphs into Rush Hour - example of good. Romeo and Juliet is converted into Titanic - example of great. While Rush hour used the formula of a loner cop forced to buddy up with a partner, Titanic takes the structure of Romeo and Juliet and creates an unique story. I'm sure it looks like Charlie and I are saying the same thing. We're not. I'm sure Charlie understands what I'm saying, I'd even bet this was what he was trying to say. I'm going to try to clear it up for you a little.
Today seems to be Titanic day for me (I seem to be using it in all my examples). Titanic is simply put, Romeo and Juliet on a boat. That plot line has been used so many times dating further back than Shakespeare. If you wanted to write a love story where the villains are differing societies you are free to do so. However, if you write a lover story where the villains are differing societies and place it on a ship destined to sink you may... MAY... have a problem.
Now let's say you want to write a story about Titanic before and up to the sinking. In other words you want to tell the story of Sue and Bill who were heading to America for a new start. You know, tell the same tale from another's point-of-view. You can do that, no issues. Let us say that you have Bill and Sue sitting at the Captain's table on the exact same night that Jack and Rose were, cheesy but still no issues. Where you would run into a problem is if you use the same FICTIONAL characters that were used in Titanic. Any character from Titanic who is/was a real person is fair game. You could even have Bill save Sue from jumping to her death and have the captain, Mr. Moody and Molly Brown standing around talking about it with Bill... you could even bring up the fictional line that "somebody slipped and almost fell there a few hours ago" and you're still ok... no issues. However, if you have Jack there you've got a problem. More so, if Jack chimes in with "yeah, right, she slipped. She was going to jump and I stopped her" you've got a huge problem.
You can't protect an idea with a copyright. You can protect finished work and characters. Jack is protected but the ship designer isn't; he was a real person. However, you can't not use the characteristics of that character that were made up. You have to form your own opinion of his personality based on your OWN research. A good example of this would be to compare the leads of Tombstone and Wyatt Earp (sp?)... I think that was the film's title, it stared Costner as Earp. You'll see both stories have Wyatt but Tombstone's Wyatt is considerably different than the other one. Why, if they were the same man? Because, the writers researched Wyatt Earp and based on their findings combined with story needs and opinion came up with what they BELIEVED his personality to be... and that work can be protected.
Before I scare any of you new writers into a shell let me follow that up with this... even though you can't protect your ideas, you're ideas are still safe. Finished work is the best way to protect an idea but our individuality protects our ideas too. If Cameron had hired ten writers to each write a copy of Titanic he would've ended up with ten very different stories. No two writers will turn out the same final draft of one idea. Look at the time it took to make the first Star Wars movie and the first Star Trek film. Does anyone really believe that Paramount had no clue of the basic idea behind Star Wars? Fox knew what Star Trek was all about.
Sharing broad storkes is healthy and good for your craft. Try not to share the finer points of your story. The broad strokes can't be protected but the finer ones could be. To answer the original question I would have to say you're ok. Remember stay away from what can be protected and take the rest!
This is what I've done...
Re: Characters screaming....
You seem to be in the starting stages of your story. First write a synopsis to yourself. Just include the basic strokes; the beginning, the middle and the end. Once you have a page long synopsis that you feel is very solid begin fleshing it out a little more. Think of the main plot points. What puts the story in motion (The inciting incident, the reason for the tale, ect...)? How does the story end? What major event between the inciting incident and the climax spins the character into a new direction? Those would be your major plot points.
ie. Titanic
Short synopsis -Jack meets Rose on the doomed boat and falls in love: Jack meets and falls for Rose, a well-to-do member of high-society. Rose is engaged to be married. Jack sets in motion of helping Rose "live" by leaving that lifestyle and being with him. Rose comes to her senses and goes to Jack. The ship hits the iceberg and begins to sink. A race against time ensues as Jack tries to save both his and Rose's lives. Partially successful Jack manages to save Rose but at the cost of his own life.
Main plot points:
Inciting Incident: Jack meets and falls in love with Rose - he must have her no matter the cost
Major Reversal 1: Rose rejects Jack and his lifestyle
Major Reversal 2: Rose sees the light and goes to Jack just before the boat hits the iceberg - now Jack must save her life.
Climax: The boat sinks, Rose is safe and Jack is dead.
Once you have that much done then move into the next phase; stepping out your outline. I do it with index cards. I write on a separate card the main plot points and place them in order on a large table (as if you're drawing a time line). Then take one plot point and work backward. Create as many scenes as you can from the main plot point backwards to the plot point before it or the beginning of the story (books and movies both have scenes but if you want you can call them story events) Don't forget to ask questions to yourself... the answer is almost always a scene.
ie. Jack meets and falls in love with Rose...
Q: How does Jack get on the boat if he's poor?
A: He won a ticket.
S: Jack is playing cards; he gets a lucky hand and wins a pair of tickets for the Titanic
Q: A pair of tickets? Why 2?
A: He has a buddy he's traveling with
S: Jack needs a friend; a minor character to help spread out the exposition
Q: How do Jack and Rose meet?
A: He saves her.
S: Rose twists her ankle and Jack catches her before she hits her head.
Q: Why in the world would she consider leaving that life to be poor with Jack?
A: Because she's a free spirit
S: Rose is sitting at another dull gathering, she can't take it. She darts out of the room crying.
Q: The Jack and Rose meeting is kind of weak, can you do better
A: SUICIDE! After that dinner she goes to jump off the back of the ship, Jack saves her!
Ok, that should be enough to get the idea. If you haven't seen Titanic go rent it. Once you draft as many scenes as you can that lead up to your plot point you then must order them and cut what isn't needed. In my example I gave two ways Jack and Rose can meet. I cut the ankle one in favor of the jumping one (I should note that Q+A stuff is about all I put on an index card in addition to a brief scene description). I have a lot of exposition (non-dramatic information the reader/viewer needs to fully get the story) a good way to get the expo out there is if Jack had a buddy. I could drag down the beginning of the story by a few "Jack meets his buddy" scene but in the end it isn't important to the story so I bring the buddy in mid-friendship (dialogue and interaction can show the audience that Jack and dude have been pals for a long time) In doing so I begin following a very important rule of story crafting - Start the story as close to the inciting incident as possible. In the end Jack needs to get on the boat with a friend, that's where the story starts... how did Jack get on the ship.
Once you have a good step outline from the start to each plot point and to the end of the tale you're ready for the next step - Treating the outline. Make sure before you start this step that you really like your step outline. The story flows, there are no gaps in the tale... you want to be as happy as an artist can be with the tale. Take each card (which represents one scene) separately and draft a synopsis of it. In other words a scene is a short story that when placed with other scenes in order works to tell a larger story. So each scene should have a beginning, middle and an ending. A scene should also be dramatic. In a scene you start off with somebody or thing wanting something. Somebody or something wanting something directly opposite of the other persons want. A series of actions taken by each to help them achieve their opposite goals. A winner, somebody has to win and that victory has to move the tale into the next scene and generally leave the hero in worse shape than when the scene started.
ie. Jack wins tickets.
On your index card you have: Jack wins two tickets for a trip on Titanic.
Treatment: Jack and Antonio are teamed up playing poker. The pot is huge and in it are two tickets for passage on Titanic. One of the two locals has a good hand, the other, like Antonio, has nothing; it's down to Jack and the huge local. As luck would have it Jack wins. The local punches out the other local and Jack and Antonio rush to catch the ship.
For this postings sake I'm keeping the treatment short. Normally it would be another block long. The scene opens with two sides wanting the same thing. Jack's side wants to win, the locals want to win... there can only be one winner. The actions each side takes to reach their goal is the betting and folding. Jack's side wins. On the surface it looks like all is good for Jack, how does this scene leave Jack worse off than before the scene started? Had Jack lost he would have lived! We needed to get him on the ship... he's now on the ship... he should've brought a wetsuit!
Once you treat each scene the hard part comes. You must go over the treatment and edit and revise the plotting of your story. Ask yourself of each scene is there a want? Is there an opposite want? Is there action to achieve the want? Is there a winner? Any scene that doesn't have these four basic elements needs to be reworked and if you can't get them in there you must cut the scene and place the exposition elsewhere in the story. Editing and revising your story is going to be the most difficult thing you ever do. It is hard to cut our own work. Editing is an art and it takes a long time to hone that skill. When you get your treatment edited down and the story is solid then and only then will you begin to "write" your story... Just as you did with the cards for the treatment you take one scene at a time and tell the story of that scene. Keep in mind this is the first draft of the work people will see. It must contain everything you feel is important to help pull your reader into that world. Once the first draft is done you start the edit cycle again and again and again...
I hope this helps you a little in trying to flesh out your story. I'm sorry this post got away from me and became as long as it is. Good luck with the project and always keep this in mind: Anybody can write; a writer makes what he writes better. That means the first draft is always going to be bad... you judge your skill by the revisions.
Should I go on? During my down time I spend hours tutoring aspiring writers on all sorts of issues. Writing is a craft and we are artists. We have an obligation to pass on the skills of our trade. I don't charge a dime for any of it. I've spent weeks drafting how-to material for people who were having troubles picking up the craft. Do you know how many miles I've travelled, on my own dime, to meet with writer groups to assist them where I can? It would stagger the mind. I'm sorry if my sense of fairness drives me to look at everything objectively before piling on. I'm sorry but your opinion of this site is completely wrong and driven by emotions evoked by some sort of betrayal or screwing you haven't shared.
