tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6650080146272323615.post7313095325396852601..comments2023-05-22T10:56:58.915+01:00Comments on Chloe Tells Tales: Reduce, Re-use, RecycleChloehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00183206722136871230noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6650080146272323615.post-11421132640946558522013-08-22T09:10:51.713+01:002013-08-22T09:10:51.713+01:00It's similar to the sort of thing I was talkin...It's similar to the sort of thing I was talking about. And your story reminds me of those, possibly mythical, stories about people like Charlie Chaplain coming second in a Charlie Chaplain lookalike competition. Chloehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00183206722136871230noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6650080146272323615.post-43521047749685450862013-08-22T06:59:09.761+01:002013-08-22T06:59:09.761+01:00I recently had a sample chapter of a humorous stor...I recently had a sample chapter of a humorous story for children turned down. One of the stated reasons was a scene they thought was funny but would be over the heads of the target audience. In fact I'd pinched the scene (but reworked it so I didn't plagiarise myself) from one of my most popular novels for children of exactly the same age group!<br /><br />Maybe not quite the sort of thing you're talking about, but an example of how much this business is based on opinion and subjectivity, and how ultimately, as William Goldman said, "Nobody knows anything".billybloggerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06892046980111756373noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6650080146272323615.post-34866311388300758082013-08-21T10:11:20.450+01:002013-08-21T10:11:20.450+01:00Yeah, I think you've kind of got what I mean e...Yeah, I think you've kind of got what I mean even though I didn't explain it very well in my post! Re-using whole passages might never be appropriate but how about a few words - like a really cool simile you've thought up. But it's probably just lazy writing!Chloehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00183206722136871230noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6650080146272323615.post-60670032054618874892013-08-21T10:10:11.664+01:002013-08-21T10:10:11.664+01:00I think I agree with you, though I was thinking ab...I think I agree with you, though I was thinking about a situation where it's almost impossible that the same person would've read both bits of work. Say... a short story read only by a handful of judges when you first started writing and then your second novel or something. <br /><br />It's unlikely in that case that the writing would be good enough to re-use in bulk, but I was thinking more about individual similes or metaphors that work really well. Chloehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00183206722136871230noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6650080146272323615.post-62208642908848158802013-08-20T19:44:01.498+01:002013-08-20T19:44:01.498+01:00Interesting question.
I'm sorta mixed. I gues...Interesting question.<br /><br />I'm sorta mixed. I guess if I were taking a short story and expanding that exact story into a novel, I think it'd be okay. But if it's a totally different story, I think I'd feel kinda weird reusing something. And I'd work as hard as I could to rewrite what I had and make it better. <br /><br />At one time, it may seem like that storm description is perfect, but you might come up with something even better. <br /><br />But maybe repeating some words you used from the first, I don't think that's a problem so much. Somewhere there's a line that you cross over to where it's almost the same thing.Suzihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16502606950280751205noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6650080146272323615.post-45456060933280642282013-08-20T12:13:07.468+01:002013-08-20T12:13:07.468+01:00Fascinating blog, Chloe and especially relevant to...Fascinating blog, Chloe and especially relevant to those writing comedy. Do you potentially throw away a great gag in a story that might only be seen by a few hundred people? <br /><br />Speaking for myself - and I'm not suggesting that others will agree - I think it's only fair to your readers to create something as fresh and new as possible each time. I wouldn't want to go to see a film and suddenly think: hey I've seen this car chase before in another movie. I'd feel cheated.<br /><br />I'd also suggest, to quote your example, that if a writer can't think of two or more great ways to describe a storm then he or she shouldn't really be in the business. Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17490099461053127387noreply@blogger.com